This is Ni Youyu's second solo exhibition in Shanghai, after A Brief History in Shanghai Museum of Art in 2012. The exhibition will show the artist's latest installation works themed around "time" and "galaxy" in Arario Gallery's new space located on Hengshan Road.
Ni Youyu thinks that timeliness is dispensable to his art creation and the only works he feels passionate about are of those that do not make any difference whether they were created ten years earlier or later. The artist has been contemplating on the theme of this exhibition since his last solo exhibition in Shanghai three years ago.
The exhibition title Invisible Force comes from the title of the largest work exhibited. This work represents a force that exists but cannot be seen or touched yet could affect the audience within a certain scope. In this exhibition, the artist intends to underline an extremely light realm of “void” through the contrast of the heavy materials. As to this mysterious work, artist advises the audience to not take photos in a close range, and for the audience with a luxury watch or cardiac pacemaker to keep a safe distance.
Another main body of the work in the exhibition is “Dust Series”, originating from the first piece of Dust (2010) . The original work comes from a picture of space downloaded from the internet and the new worke is based on the night sky and star photography of German artist Thomas Ruff. This artistic dialogue is a way of paying tribute to the artist. Ni Youyu regards the starry sky pictures downloaded from the internet and those photographed by an eminent artist are essentially the same in the face of cosmos. In this series, he intends to subvert people’s fixed idea of art’s “stability” as well as the essence and value of art work as a “matter”.
This exhibition comprehensively expounds on the theme of Invisible Force, featuring the artist’s exploration and practice in various fields like painting on canvas, engraved painting, small still life device and photography. Most of the works are shown to the public for the first time.
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