Lot 20
**Originally Listed At $300**
Yang Yang (Chinese-born American, b. 1953). Nude Figure on Bull. Mixed media: gesso, gouache, and paint on board, n.d. Signed at lower right. A mythic tension radiates from this richly textured mixed media painting, where a nude rider clings to the arched back of a powerful bull. Built from gesso, gouache, and layered paint, the surface rises and crumbles like an eroded relief, giving the figures a presence that feels excavated rather than simply rendered. Color flickers through the crevices in tones of earth, rust, and mineral blue, summoning the sensation of something ancient pushed forward into the present. The rider embodies the duality that threads through Yang Yang's practice, appearing both human and otherworldly. The body curves in unmistakably anthropomorphic form, yet the head bears horns or pointed ears, and a subtle ridge along the lower spine hints at the suggestion of a tail. Size of painting: 19.25" W x 15.25" H (48.9 cm x 38.7 cm); of frame: 27" W x 23" H (68.6 cm x 58.4 cm)
These features create a being balanced between species, neither fully animal nor fully human, an echo of the hybrid figures that populate much of the artist's imagined world. With one arm extended, the figure grips a lasso that sweeps across the bull's massive frame. The gesture is ambiguous: is the rider guiding the beast, restraining it, or participating in a ritual that binds both creature and handler in a single arc of motion The ambiguity is central to the work's magnetism, and Yang uses line and texture to blur the boundary between domination and communion.
The bull itself emerges from the layered medium with monumental force. Heavy contours sink and rise through the encrusted surface, while flashes of red and blue pulse beneath the earthy tones, suggesting heat, struggle, or spiritual charge. The entire tableau feels sculpted by instinct, as though Yang were carving a memory rather than painting a scene.
In this untitled work, the artist's long engagement with hybrid identities and mythic storytelling comes into sharp focus. The figures resist containment, shifting between categories and prompting the viewer to linger in that unsettled space where narrative becomes a matter of interpretation rather than instruction. The painting invites contemplation, not conclusion, offering a vision where forms evolve, merge, and transcend the boundaries that seek to define them.
About the artist: Born in 1953 in Nanchang, China, Yang Yang grew up in a household grounded in both engineering and education. His father, Yang Ge, was an engineer and his mother, Qi Hua Ling, a teacher. At age sixteen, Yang encountered the painter Zhu Yu Hu, whose influence would remain profound throughout his life. He later described Zhu not merely as an art teacher but as a mentor who shaped both his artistic foundation and his philosophical outlook.
In 1975, Yang graduated from Yichun Teachers College in Jiangxi. He began his teaching career at Xiao Gang High School and later taught at Nanchang Qishanhu School, balancing his duties as a literature instructor with an increasing devotion to art. During this period he also pursued further study at Jiangxi Teachers College, where professors Qixianmu and Zhang Yuanyou left a lasting impact on him - Yang would later call them "soul makers."
In 1984, Yang Yang made a pivotal decision: he left China and moved to the United States to deepen his artistic studies. At Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he earned his Master of Arts degree in 1987 and joined the faculty there as an art instructor. His years in the Midwest proved formative, both academically and artistically, and introduced his works to American audiences for the first time. His early exhibitions gained critical attention, with works featured in publications such as "ArtNews," "Interview Magazine," and "Art & Antiques."
Yang Yang's art is marked by its mythical landscapes where animals and humans coexist in fluid, ambiguous states. His palette often gravitates toward monochromatic tones, layering texture and form to explore humanity in ways that defy racial or ethnic boundaries. His works provoke interpretation rather than provide resolution. As the artist himself has said: "There is no answer. You just have to think about it. If the artist does not tell the story, there will be a thousand stories."
Throughout his career, Yang Yang has exhibited widely across the United States and internationally. He has shown at major institutions such as the Xi'an Art Museum in 2004, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2007, and the ShanDong Art Museum in 2014. His work has been collected by notable institutions including the Mobile Museum of Art and continues to appear at international fairs such as Art Basel, Art Palm Beach, Scope Miami, and Art Hamptons.
With more than four decades of work, Yang Yang has cultivated a vision that transcends cultural boundaries. His paintings invite audiences into an illusory world - one where myth, history, and memory intermingle, and where every viewer becomes a storyteller.
Provenance: private Burbank, Illinois, USA collection via inheritance 2024, acquired between 1970s to 2000s
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#196580
- Condition: Signed at lower right. Mounted in custom frame with suspension wire on verso for display. Both painting and frame are in excellent overall condition.
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| $0 | $299 | $25 |
| $300 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $19,999 | $1,000 |
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| $100,000 | $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 + | $20,000 |