Under The Microscope: Zhuang Hong Yi

“We have been aware of Zhuang’s work for a long time. It has this sheer rawness and simplicity that’s really quite amazing. The works creep the line between painting and sculpture, they’re these incredibly tactile hybrids; you can see how he has hand-manipulated each petal of rice paper; you can see the fingerprints in the acrylic, and the smears of colour where he has slashed his hand across the canvas. What is so fascinating about his work is that there are strong allusions to Western impressionism, and yet there is an aesthetic feel to the work which is distinctly Eastern.” Jonny Burt, Unit London co-director, 2015

Hong Yi’s flowerbed series was painstakingly produced with individually folded origami rice-paper flowers covered in layers of sprayed pigments and acrylic. From a distance the colours shimmer iridescently and, as the observer moves across the work, these colours shift and change, transforming the image. From a closer vantage point, the meticulously twisted paper flowers and layers of paint take centre stage. The more traditional works stray further into the realm of action painting: they are emotive bursts of shape and colour, paint is poured and flung onto a canvas textured with layers of flowers.

“Over the last three years I have looked to the sunsets, I have gone to different countries to see the real landscapes, the light and the movement. I give the energy to the painting, and the painting reacts by giving me new energy and inspiration.” Zhuang Hong Yi, 2019