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Yan Haibin's paintings are mostly of foot-bound women from old
China. Zhou Tao with the Shanghai Daily reports that the
aim of the artist is to help modern Chinese women "smash the
shackles imposed on them by ancient customs".
For US-based artist Yan Haibin, a woman who came originally from
the countryside of neighboring Zhejiang Province, the road to
success as a professional painter was rough indeed.
"My story sometimes brings tears to the eyes of listeners
because it's hard enough for anyone to be successful as an artist,
let alone a girl from rural China," she says, lighting another
cigarette.
On a warm autumn afternoon in Shanghai, Yan starts telling her
story. A ray of sunlight through the trees throws shadows on her
scarlet qipao which is embroidered with Chinese dragons.
Yan's first solo exhibition in Shanghai, "The Female Legend," is
now running at the Tian Zifang gallery on Taikang Road. As the
title suggests, her paintings are of the lives of women, and
viewers with sharp eyes perhaps will be able to detect Yan's shadow
in the works.
Her 30 paintings are mainly of women from different eras in
ancient China. They look like a combination of Western oil painting
and Chinese ink-wash as viewers will first notice the strong hue of
the background, usually bright red or orange, and then discover the
typical Chinese lines of the character in the painting.
One picture, set against a vague background of red, features a
girl in white with a shoulder-pole carrying a monkey at one end and
a basin at the other. The girl earns a living from the monkey's
performances.
Other characters in Yan's pictures are usually elegant women -
in traditional Chinese dresses.
Born in a small village in Huzhou in 1971, Yan became interested
in painting at an early age, but she had no opportunity to be
taught art and had to learn to draw all by herself.
In 1987, Yan applied for entry to a normal university after
graduating from high school. "At least being a teacher was better
than being a farmer," she says.
However, she failed.
But she didn't give up her dream of being an artist. Yan started
working as a weaver in a local textile workshop but never stopped
drawing even when she couldn't afford with her meager income to buy
paper.
Her efforts finally paid off when she was able to enroll at the
Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now China Academy of Fine Arts) in
1992. She was taught oil painting and started to develop her own
style.
Yan says she believes that color is more important than
shape.
"When you take a look at a picture, what you see first is the
color, not exactly what the object in the picture is," she
says.
When Yan first started to paint, she found initial inspiration
in her childhood memories of the status of women in rural areas,
especially in her hometown.
As she grew up, Yan had seen many old women with small feet (the
result of the cruel custom of footbinding) and she realized that
she wanted to paint the lives of Chinese women.
That has resulted in Yan's series of paintings featuring women
working in different occupations but all with the same small
feet.
After years of practice, Yan has managed to combine Western
techniques with Chinese verve. She starts off with a bold color
when painting a background instead of the traditional way of doing
a Chinese painting which tends to employ subdued colors.
The background is also vague, without a specific object in
focus. But Yan retains typical Chinese lines when it comes to
depicting women and girls.
Yan's own experience also helps in her combining Western and
Chinese skills in painting. She lived in New York after graduating
from the art academy, and moved back to Shanghai in 2002.
Her move to the city also led to her romance with Peter Steckel,
a lawyer who's now her husband. The two met in a local restaurant
on the second day after Yan's return.
Now living in Atlanta in the United States, Yan continues her
art career.
Her exposure to Western art has resulted in her adoption of
painting with big strokes which helps her represent a feeling of
having broken free from restraints.
"Chinese women should smash the shackles imposed on them by
ancient customs," Yan explains.
And she is definitely a good example of a woman who has done just
that.
(Shanghai Daily November 7, 2005)
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