“The beauty that I admire is totally reasonable yet at the same time beyond expectation. A disciple should develop a mind which does not rely on anything, as in Diamond Sutra.” - Song Yige. Photo DR

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery presents Song Yige: Another Dimension - A Selling Exhibition from 9 to 18 May. Song’s first solo exhibition with Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery, Another Dimension showcases more than 20 contemporary paintings created between 2013 and 2014 by the Beijing-based, post-80s generation artist. The works investigate the interrelationship between daily objects, nature, emotion, memory and space. The melancholic subject matters in her early works, to the increasingly chromatic palette she created recently, all of which are fragmented visual collections from Song Yige’s memories, as well as her interpretation and vision of the modern society. Sombre and surreal, the settings accentuate the notion of loneliness and the works serve as vehicles for emotional liberation, in which the viewers are invited to experience the artist’s existential adventures.

Angelika Li, Gallery Director, Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery, said: “Song Yige is an outstanding young Beijing-based Chinese artist, with much self-awareness. She remains faithful to her own feelings towards daily objects and to her meticulous observation of emotions. As director of her own work, Song Yige depicts her protagonists -- ranging from objects to human beings to animals -- that seem immaterial to the stage and the time. Her work becomes the key dimension of her ideology of beauty as imperfection: it is not necessary to achieve absolute order and perfection; there can be incompleteness. The artist sets the stage for us to explore her unceasing pursuit of spiritual and artistic growth. All of these are embodied in Another Dimension, Song Yige’s first solo exhibition with Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery. ” 

Song Yige
Born in Harbin in 1980, Song Yige graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. She moved to Beijing and started her journey as an professional artist in 2008. Her sensibility and consciousness in the ever-changing world gives life and new meanings to her subject matters that directly confront us on the canvas and lead us to self-contemplation and reflection. From 2011 to 2012, Song was invited to participate in the six-month The Swatch Art Peace Hotel International Artist Residency Programme in Shanghai. Her works were featured in different exhibitions, including Song Yige, Hyundai Gallery, Seoul, Korea in 2010, SONG Yige Solo Exhibition, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong in 2011 and Introduction: Tempo (Group Show) in Zhong Gallery, Beijing in 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS

Song Yige, A Crane and a Boy, 2013, Oil on canvas, 178 x 215 cm. Photo: Sotheby's. 

A Crane and a Boy represents an imaginary dialogue between a legendary bird and a young, inexperienced boy in a mystical atmosphere imbued with silence and stillness. Keeping his head bowed in referential respect, the boy seems to be listening to the enlightening teachings of the crane, a symbol for wisdom, longevity and auspiciousness in Chinese tradition. The idea of spiritual ascension through different being-states is further emphasised by the presence of the staircase, another recurring theme in a number of works by Song Yige since 2009. This painting takes on a new spiritual implication, becoming a metaphorical vertical “bridge” soaring through all the different levels of universal existence. 

Song Yige, Meditate  2014. Oil on canvas, 170 x 190 cm. Photo: Sotheby's

In Meditate, the compositional elements are carefully selected and imbued with a strong symbolism that is at the same time universally acknowledged and enriched by the artist’s personal linguistic connotations. The abstract representation is often constructed like a theatrical stage or a movie set reminiscent of David Lynch’s dream-like visual imagery. The subject emerges in its three-dimensionality from flat backgrounds or appears as though pulled into claustrophobic tunnel-like rooms.

Song Yige, They, 2014. Oil on canvas, 129 x 153 cm. Photo: Sotheby's

Wild animal skulls, deer antlers, leopard and tiger furs are subjects often appearing in Song Yige’s pictorial imagery. In They, the mortal animal remains seem to be conferred greater physical and ancestral significance. The horned skulls emerging in casual order from the dark grey rear wall are reminiscent of hunting trophies, conveying both animalistic bodily vigor and the glorious human feats of strength. 

Song Yige, Flourishing Cactus, 2014. Oil on canvas, 203 x 192 cm. Photo: Sotheby's

In certain Song Yige’s recent works, the artist places a more explicit emphasis on human emotions. In Flourishing Cactus, the express references to human passions and sensual temptations are further intensified by means of the artist’s intriguing formal and compositional solutions. “With Flourishing Cactus I want to express that kind of excitement people might experience when confronted with desire,” Song Yige explains, “that particular condition characterised by the fullness of vigour and vitality.” 

OTHER WORKS: 

Song Yige, Big Fish, 2013. Oil on canvas, 147 x 122 cm.; 57 1/2  x 48  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, The Invisible Self, 2013. Oil on canvas, 157 x 197 cm.; 61 3/4  x 77 1/2  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, He, 2013. Oil on canvas, 60 x 100 cm.; 23 1/2  x 39 1/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Love, 2014. Oil on canvas, 155 x 110 cm.; 61 x 43 1/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Three Goats, 2013. Oil on canvas, 198 x 185 cm.; 77 3/4  x 72 3/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, A Crown, 2013. Oil on canvas, 153 x 175 cm.; 60 x 68 3/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Peach Blossom Trees, 2013. Oil on canvas, 155 x 154 cm.; 61 x 60 1/2  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Matches, 2014. Oil on canvas, 122 x 156 cm.; 48 x 61 1/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Three Fires, 2014. Oil on canvas, 128.5 x 156 cm.; 50 1/2  x 61 1/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, A Man, 2013. Oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm.; 23 1/2  x 19 1/2  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Life Journey, 2014. Oil on canvas, 155 x 110 cm.; 61 x 43 1/4  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Meander, 2013. Oil on canvas, 202 x 182 cm.; 79 1/2  x 71 1/2  in. Photo: Sotheby's

Song Yige, Rebirth, 2013. Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm.; 31 1/4  x 23 1/2  in. Photo: Sotheby's