Huang Yong Ping

Huáng Yǒng Pīng was born in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in 1954. Before receiving formal training, he was largely self-taught, developing an early interest in both Chinese traditional painting and Western avant-garde movements before enrolling at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now China Academy of Art) in Hangzhou, where he studied painting and graduated in 1982. During his student years, he became increasingly influenced by Dadaism, Chan Buddhism, and French post-structuralist philosophy which would later define his artistic style. ==Early career==

Huang Yong Ping’s early work can be divided into four periods: anti-artistic affectation (fan jiaoshi zhuyi), anti-self-expression (fan ziwo biaoxian he xingshi zhuyi), anti-art (fan yishu), and anti-history (fanyishushi).[citation needed] In 1986, Huang co-founded Xiamen Dada (廈門達達) with Zha Lixiong, Liu Yiling, Lin Chun, and Jiao Yaoming, a radical avant-garde group influenced by postmodernist ideas. The group often challenged traditional notions of art; they famously burned their own works in protest, with Huang stating, “Artwork to artist is like opium to men. Until art is destroyed, life is never peaceful.” Following this act, Xiamen Dada refrained from further public exhibitions. == Later career after leaving China, 1989-2019 ==

After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, while Huang was in Paris for the Magiciens de la terre exhibition, he decided not to return to China. His works subsequently changed dramatically and focused prominently on Taoist and Buddhist philosophies. He suddenly was immersed in western ways. In 1996, Huang participated in Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, and in 1997, the "Skulptur.Projekte" in Münster, Germany with his sculpture "100 Arms of Guan-yin". The Guanyin figure is associated with Buddhism and has multiple arms. Huang Yong Ping interprets this famous deity through his own 100 Arms of Guan-in by placing mannequin arms holding various objects on a metal structure which is itself an enlarged version of Marcel Duchamp's 1914 readymade Bottle Rack. In 1999, as he became a citizen of France, Huang represented France in the Venice Biennale. Huang Yong Ping held his first solo exhibition in Norway at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, titled Ping Pong, which ran from April to June 2008. The exhibition was curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran, Hanne Beate Ueland, and Grete Årbu. This exhibition marked a significant moment in Huang's international career, showcasing his conceptual installations that often merged Eastern and Western philosophies. His works frequently explored themes of cultural identity, politics, and spirituality, challenging traditional art forms and embracing anti-art sentiments. For his first UK solo show in The Curve, Barbican Art Gallery, London from 25 June-21 September 2008 he created an installation that explored the imperial history between Britain and China in the 19th century, focusing on the Opium Wars. The exhibition took its title Frolic from the name of a ship built to transport goods between British India, China and Great Britain. In 2012, Huang's serpent d'océan, a monumental sculpture depicting the skeleton of a giant sea serpent, was installed in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins. == Controversies ==

Some of Huang’s works sparked debate, including: Bat Project II (2002) involved taxidermy bats and faced removal by Chinese authorities prior to exhibition. Theatre of the World (2008) at the Vancouver Art Gallery drew criticism from animal rights groups for containing live insects in enclosed enclosures. ==Personal life and death==

Huang incorporated many different Chinese philosophies into his works, like Chan Buddhism, Taoism, some western philosophies and Dada, which led to the formation of the Xiamen Dada group. There are many similarities between Chan Buddhism and Dada as the common phrase suggests, “Chan is Dada, Dada is Chan." Both Chan and Dada are direct and reflective about aesthetic importance and the impossible reality of reality. However, Chan Buddhism and Taoism are constantly changing, and since Dada is Chan and vice versa, this should be the case for Dada. However, they are opposed to adding more movements making it a paradox and essential having this idea work against Dada's main ideas. The use of these philosophies are an example of “cross-cultural exchange” He died in Paris in 2019. ==Selected solo shows==

;2016 • "Monumenta," Grand Palais, Paris; • "Wolfgang Hahn Prize,” Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; • “Bâton Serpent III: Spur Track to the Left,” Power Station of Art, Shanghai. ;2015 • “Huang Yong Ping: Bâton Serpent II,” Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing ;2014 • “Les Mues,” HAB Galerie – Hangar à Bananes, Nantes, France; • “Huang Yong Ping: Bâton Serpent,” Maxxi, Rome. ;2013 • “Amoy/Xiamen,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France; • “Abbottabad,” Hôtel de Gallifet, Aix-en-Provence, France. ;2012 • “Circus,” Gladstone Gallery, New York; • “Bugarach,” Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris; • “Lille 3000, Fantastic,” Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse, Lille, France. ;2011 • “Huang Yong Ping,” Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, England. ;2010 • “Huang Yong Ping,” Musée Océanographique de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco. ;2009 • "Huang Yong Ping: Arche 2009,” Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris; • “Huang Yong Ping: Tower Snake,” Gladstone Gallery, New York; • “Huang Yong Ping: Caverne,” Kamel Mennour, Paris. ;2008 • House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospective, UCCA in Beijing ;2007 • “Huang Yong Ping,” Bernier and Eliades, Athens; • “Huang Yong Ping: From C to P,” Gladstone Gallery, New York. ;2006 • “Pantheon,” Centre International d'art et du Paysage de l'ile de Vassiviere, l’ile de Vassiviere, France; • “Les Mains de Bouddha,” Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris. ;2005 • House of Oracles, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, U.S.A ;2003 • “Huang Yong Ping,” Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts; • “Huang Yong Ping,” Beacon Project Space, Beacon, New York; • “Huang Yong Ping,” Fundacion NMAC, Cadiz, Spain; • “Huang Yong Ping,” Groningen, The Netherlands; • “Huang Yong Ping,” Musée Dominique Vivant Denon, Chalon-sur-Saône, France. ;2002 • Xian Wu, Art & Public, Geneva, Switzerland • "Om Mani Padme Hum," Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, U.S.A. ;2000 • "Taigong fishing, Willing to Bite the Bait," Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, U.S.A. ;1999 • One man, nine animals, part of Venice Biennale, installed in château de Caen since 2007 ==Bibliography==

• Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (2015) == References ==