Xiaoqing Ding "At the End of a Rainbow"
Jonathan LeVine Gallery
This event has ended.
At the End of a Rainbow is the first exhibition of oil paintings by Xiaoqing Ding, an artist known for exploring a variety of mediums through her work including pastels, egg tempera, and silverpoint. Ding’s years of training in traditional Chinese art forms combined with exposure to American culture in more recent years, results in a captivating fusion of old world technique and modern subject matter. Her distinctive imagery explores the nature of sexuality and eroticism through themes of yearning, fantasy, identity, moral struggles and personal politics.
Through her artwork, Ding references symbolism from her Chinese heritage combined with multi-cultural influences such as Greek mythology, European fairytales and Medieval studies. Works in this exhibition, painted in oils on round wooden panels and on paper, feature colorful and highly detailed imagery inspired by Italian Renaissance masters, including reinterpretations of classic Botticelli works such as The Birth of Venus and The Three Graces as well as The Death of Procris by Piero di Cosimo.
Nearly all of the pieces in this show contain figurative allegories involving women and foxes. In traditional Chinese folklore, the fox was often regarded as an animal with supernatural qualities, symbolic of cunning, mischief and seduction. Demons and departed souls were believed to appear in fox form and, in certain circumstances, foxes were believed to be able to assume human form. In context, these sly creatures stir the sensuality of their human companions. Although rendered in traditional costumes, Ding’s female figures assume strong and sexually liberated roles.
Media
Schedule
from October 23, 2010 to November 20, 2010
Opening Reception on 2010-10-23 from 19:00 to 21:00