Current exhibitions
Dusseldorf, Germany
Shanghai, China
<<Provoking Relations>> is a result of an on-going exploration on paper as a primary material language during Yao Hai’s 3-month residency at Lepsien Art Foundation in Düsseldorf. He explores the production relations between people and things, and the essence of being part of this evolving relationship in the ecosystem as an artist.
He selected several elements as interfering languages, including circles, squares, colors, metal rivets and sewing machine, and introduced these elements to a physical production relation with paper. Either they are tangible or intangible; imaginary or real, these elements are the inducements and energy to explore possibilities in paper.
Deploying the abstract idea of a circle to embark on a course of action to intervene; applying water-based colors on paper as an approach to alter its shape; exploiting metal rivets to mediate a spatial relationship, by using these three unrelated material languages to mediate and provoke the primary material language, all these languages have evolved into a symbiotic relationship. With this approach, Yao Hai emphases on the evolvement of a relationship between things, and the connection between a thing in its new form of existence to other things. He attempts to utilize the relationship networks to translate things into a new artistic language.
Yao Hai believes that the significance of his practice is the evolving process of the symbiotic relationship between the course of actions and his material languages. In the context of a basic relationship, different things can inspire new and unpredictable languages that incubate and shape new relationship context.
Yao Hai finds the study of the trajectory of these subtle relationship networks intriguing and the exploration process makes him feel closest to arts.
Exhibition will be on view from Nov 14 - Nov 23 from 12 - 6pm at the Art House Dusseldorf. More information coming soon! (instagram @yaohaiart)
“HK” employs circle as a driving force or a basic visual language to unlock sculpture practice with metal materials. In Yao Hai's art practice, he continues to examine the significance of various languages as the driving forces in a creation process.
Yao Hai will be showing this work "HK" in a group exhibition "Selected Zone" alongside other brilliant artists at Rongyi Art Museum in Shanghai. Exhibition will open on Nov. 5th, 2019 from 3-6pm.
HK, 2019, Metal and circle, 75 x 63 x 16cm
Rongyi Art Museum
Shanghai
2019.11.5 - 2020.2.20