8 July–2 September 2012
Ecole Supérieure d’Arts Plastiques
de la Ville de Monaco
1 Avenue des Pins
Monaco-Ville
Hours: daily, 11–19
The Project
Known principally for oil paintings almost exclusively reserved for bichromatic expression—the use of two colours, black and white or red and white—Yan Pei-Ming has in recent years explored a new medium that is for him synonymous with nomadism and lightness: watercolour. The exhibition he designed for The Monaco Project for the Arts will be the first of mostly previously unreleased watercolours on diverse subjects.
37 new watercolours in various formats based on Monaco’s contemporary history, formula one pilots, and the Princely family will be on show this summer at the School of Fine Arts in Monaco. This change in medium from oil to watercolour, and in supporting canvas to paper, offers the artist a new freedom vis-à-vis his work and has led to new developments, particularly towards works in colour. He describes himself as a portrait painter who confronted centuries of Western painting but wanted to discover his own colour style. Just as he did with oil, he infuses watercolour with his personal technique and language. Likewise, he has always been interested in the concepts of individuality and anonymity, and the fluidity and transparency of watercolour allow him to explore new topics and to welcome new characters in his pictorial universe. His watercolours, like his paintings, tell a contemporary story in which he addresses socio-political issues and expresses his concern for the construction of identity and history through the portrait.
Yan Pei-Ming
Born in 1960 in Shanghai, Yan Pei-Ming has lived in Dijon, France, since the early 1980s. Notable solo exhibitions include: Tribute to my father, Dijon-Shanghai-Guangdong, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai and Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, (2005); Inside the red window-Confession, Massimo De Carlo Gallery, Milan (2005); You maintain a sense of balance in the midst of great success, David Zwirner, New York (2007); The Yan Pei-Ming Show, Massimo De Carlo, Milan (2007); Portraits of Artists, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul (2007); The Funeral of Mona Lisa, the Louvre, Paris (2009); Black Paintings, David Zwirner, New York.
The Monaco Project for the Arts
The Monaco Project for the Arts (MPA) is a non-profit organization authorized by the government, and placed under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco. It was founded in 2008 by Rita Caltagirone, with the help of Mr. Georges Marsan, Mayor of Monaco, and Isabelle Lombardot, Director of the School of Fine Arts of the City of Monaco. The MPA has two main missions: supporting the art school of Monaco and promoting partnership activities between culture, art, and education in the Principality. It provides young artists with scholarships to study at the school, awards prizes at year-end, and promotes opportunities for students to interact with today’s great artists and to experience major international public and private cultural institutions.
MPA members are not only patrons but also enjoy genuine cultural training throughout the year. A sustained program allows them to meet artists, collectors, curators, and professionals from public and private institutions through conferences, screenings, visits to museums, private collections, and cultural trips. Every summer, the MPA organizes an exhibition entitled The Project, where an internationally renowned artist is asked to design an in situ project in collaboration with students from the School of Fine Arts.
In 2012 the guest artist, Yan Pei Ming, hosted one student from the school in his studio in Dijon, Yannick Cosso, who participated in the production of certain works designed for the artist’s Water Paintings exhibition.
The School of Fine Arts of Monaco
The School of Fine Arts is an institution of higher education and research that provides qualification courses in the DNSEP (Higher National Diploma in Plastic Expression – 5 years, equivalent to Masters degree), the DNAP (National Diploma in Plastic Arts – 3 years), and awareness training in the plastic arts for all audiences. Seventy students of all nationalities are currently studying art and stage design, and 250 students of all ages are enrolled in public workshops.
*Image above:
Yan Pei-Ming, Autoportrait, 2009. Aquarelle sur papier, 153 x 200 cm. Photography: André Morin. Courtesy of Massimo De Carlo, Milan and David Zwirner, New York. © Yan Pei-Ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2012.
