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galleriesWater That Floats the Boat CanAlso Sink It: New Work by Yun-Fei JiJames Cohan GalleryNew York, New YorkJames Cohan Gallery is pleased to announce anexhibition of new works by expatriate Chinesepainter Yun-Fei Ji, opening November 16th andrunning through December 22nd.This will be Ji’s firstsolo exhibition at the gallery.Yun-Fei Ji was raised in China during the CulturalRevolution, a fact that fuels his exploration of Chinesecontemporary history, and furthermore directs his criticaleye on issues of modernization.The title of the exhibition,Water That Floats the Boat Can Also Sink It, is aChinese proverb that for Ji reflects the dark side ofdevelopment.The conflicting forces of water as providerand destroyer have been an essential theme for theartist.The Three Gorges Dam and the devastation it hascaused throughout the Yangtze Valley, including the displacementof over 1.5 million people from their ancestralhomes, have been subject matter for Ji’s allegoricalpaintings for a number of years. In this body of newworks, the dam becomes the backdrop as Ji exploresthe cultural and psychological effects of the flooding onthe rapidly changing fabric of Chinese life.At a first glance, the works appear to be traditionalChinese scroll paintings but, on a closer inspection, weare confronted with the less-serene depictions ofhomelessness and disaster.Yun-Fei Ji populates his richlytextured landscapes with vignettes of village life indeep distress. We observe supernatural encounterswith ghosts haunting the once densely populated valley,fleeing peasants scurrying amongst the demolished villageswith their belongings on their backs and corruptparty officials flaunting their machismo while trying tofind their role in the new China. Real life and fictionalnarrative collide, creating a dizzying array of historic andfuturistic encounters.Monumental in scale,Ji’s new paintings are his largestto date.The tallest vertical painting, Under the 143 MeterWatermark, is 118 inches high and has a stacked perspectivethat is densely filled with multiple layers of imagery.Water Rising is a long, horizontal, scroll diptych with theleft panel measuring 204 inches and the right panelmeasuring 114 inches.This diptych is hung on two perpendicularwalls with the panels meeting in the corner ofthe gallery.The figures in the left panel of this cinematicdrama appear to be running toward the figures in theright panel, almost as if they are due to collide with eachother—they are fleeing from somewhere, yet withnowhere to go at all.Yun-Fei Ji’s new body of work was completedduring his residence at the American Academy inRome on a Prix de Rome fellowship this past year. Jifirst came to the United States on a Fulbright scholarshipin 1985. Currently, he is living in London as anartist-in-residence at Parasol Unit Foundation forContemporary Art. In 2005, Ji had the honor ofbeing artist-in-residence at Yale University where hewas able to conduct extensive research with thehelp of scholars from a wide range of departments.Ji’s most recent solo museum exhibition, 2004’sThe Empty City, originated at the Contemporary ArtMuseum, St. Louis and went on to tour nationally atvenues including the Rose Museum, BrandeisUniversity, and the Peeler Art Center, DePauwUniversity. Also in 2004, the exhibition Yun-Fei Ji: TheEast Wind was organized at the ICA, University ofPennsylvania. Ji’s work has been in solo and groupshows throughout the United States and Europeincluding the Whitney Biennial 2002. John McCarthyYun-Fei Ji, Last Days Before The Flood, 2006. Mineral pigments and ink on mulberry paper. Image courtesyJames Cohan Gallery, New York.November 16, 2006 – December 22, 2006533 West 26 th Street, New York, New York212.714.9500 • www.jamescohan.com54 2006 Issue 4