Yang Yongliang: Eternal Landscape
September 21, 2019 – March 15, 2020
Yang Yongliang’s practice is rooted in his deep respect and reverence for Chinese art history, specifically classical Chinese landscape paintings (shan shui). The landscapes in this school of thought are landscapes of the mind—contemplative compositions in which the Chinese literati (scholars/artists/court officials) would imbue their ideologies into images of nature. Yang grew up in Shanghai in an era of rapid urbanization and, while a student of tradition, he also embraced new media to make sense of the changing world around him. This exhibition includes film, video, photography, and a virtual reality. It takes its name from Yang’s seminal virtual reality work Eternal Landscape (2017), in which he mastered new technologies to “paint” a Song Dynasty shan shui landscape, furthering his exploration of the interconnectedness between tradition and modernity.
This exhibition was organized by the Orange County Museum of Art and guest curated by Melanie Ouyang Lum.