Background
Yi Ding was born in 1962 in Shanghai, China.
79 Fenyang Rd, Xuhui Qu, Shanghai Shi, China
During the period from 1980 to 1983, Yi studied decoration design at Shanghai Arts And Crafts Research Institute (present-day Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts).
In 1990, Ding received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, graduating from Shanghai University Fine Arts College.
Vor den Pferdeweiden 16-18, 27726 Worpswede, Germany
In 2001, he acted as an artist-in-residence at Kuenstlerhauser Worpswede in Germany.
2200 Wenxiang Rd, Songjiang Qu, Shanghai Shi, China
In 2005, Ding was appointed a professor at Shanghai Institute of Visual Art.
丁乙
Yi Ding was born in 1962 in Shanghai, China.
During the period from 1980 to 1983, Yi studied decoration design at Shanghai Arts And Crafts Research Institute (present-day Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts). Also, in 1990, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, graduating from Shanghai University of Fine Arts College.
In his early years, Ding worked at a printing factory. In the late 1980's, he started to make abstract paintings, using crosses and grids. The cross, whether "+" or "x" with thematic variation, is a motif, that the artist has declared to be a formal mark without meaning, which he uses in order to emphasize the rational approach to painting, while the context of this work is the industrial-paced development of the urban environment in post-socialist China. His works from the 1980's were monochrome and influenced by De Stijl movement and a painter Piet Mondrian. There were no Figurative elements in the pieces he produced during that period, only lines, forming patterns of intersecting grids. In the 1990's, Yi began to experiment more with color, material and overall technique. But his grid pattern was still present in his works of this period. Since the 2000's, Ding incorporated a brighter palette of color in his work, creating stunningly intricate paintings.
Also, in 2001, he acted as an artist-in-residence at Kuenstlerhauser Worpswede in Germany. In 2005, Ding was appointed a professor at Shanghai Institute of Visual Art. Some time later, he was promoted to the post of a Vice-Dean of Fine Art Department at the same educational establishment.
During his lifetime, the artist held numerous solo exhibitions at different galleries and museums, including those at the Galerie Karsten Greve in Paris, Galerie Karsten Greve in Cologne, Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai, Timothy Taylor Gallery in London and others.
Appearance of the Crosses
Appearance of Crosses 97-40
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses 2002-1
Appearance of Crosses 2007-5
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses 95-B64
Appearance of Crosses 92-10
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses 89-6
Shi-Shi 91-12
Appearance of Crosses 2004-11
Appearance of Crosses 94-11
Appearance of Crosses (in six parts)
Appearance of Crosses 2011-10
Appearance of Crosses 98-9
Appearance of Crosses 2003-6
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses 94-B32
Appearance of Crosses 2007-B3
Appearance of Crosses 2001.8 (Triptych)
Appearance of Crosses 01-03
Appearance of Crosses 96-33
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses
Appearance of Crosses 95-24
Appearance of Crosses
Quotations:
"What I want most is for every piece to have some freedom. So I will allow some things to happen by chance."
"It’s not my intention to do something that’s deliberately difficult. The major challenge for me is to explore a new language with which to express myself, not to simplify the technique."
"I found it necessary to distance myself both from the burden of traditional Chinese culture and from the influence of early Western modernism, in order to go back to the starting point of art, in order to literally start from zero."