Deng Yu
The works of Deng yu thus carry within them a freshness, a deceptively naive and “cute” which turn out to be terribly provocative on second reading. Her favorite character, the “Tomie” avatar, the neon yellow cut-out silhouette of a little girl projected into the heart of fantastic and phantasmagorical landscapes can thus, depending on the gaze or the composition be perceived as an erect penis which enters the heart of the work, or conversely a vagina from which emerges the scene taking shape before our eyes.
Works
Yayoi
Biography
Born in 1981 in Guangdong Province, Southeast China, Deng Yu graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (Bachelor of Arts in 2005; Master of Arts in 2008). Presented at numerous collective exhibitions in Guangzhou, Shanghai or Beijing but also in Korea and the United States since 2005, the work of Deng Yu is honored during her first individual exhibition at the Orange gallery in Guangzhou (China) bringing together an anthology colorful works reflecting the fantastic imagination of the artist. Deng Yu is a painter who is part of this generation of young Chinese born in the early 1980s that Zhang Qing, deputy director of the Shanghai Art Museum, and curator of the exhibition Infantization presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon in 2010, qualifies as the Gelatin Generation”.
Born in 1981 in Guangdong Province, Southeast China, Deng Yu graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (Bachelor of Arts in 2005; Master of Arts in 2008). Presented at numerous collective exhibitions in Guangzhou, Shanghai or Beijing but also in Korea and the United States since 2005, the work of Deng Yu is honored during her first individual exhibition at the Orange gallery in Guangzhou (China) bringing together an anthology colorful works reflecting the fantastic imagination of the artist. Deng Yu is a painter who is part of this generation of young Chinese born in the early 1980s that Zhang Qing, deputy director of the Shanghai Art Museum, and curator of the exhibition Infantization presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon in 2010, qualifies as the Gelatin Generation”.
“They let their imaginations wander into a world of glamour, kitsch, design, showbiz and are inspired by new scientific theories and futuristic fantasies. Alien, mythological or manga cartoon characters populate their dazzling visions of the future. […] Their life is like a bag of jellybeans, icy but malleable, seemingly transparent but with no center to grasp. Unlike their parents, this generation grew up in a consumer society characterized by a stable political system and exceptional economic growth. But the apparent carelessness of this generation, marked by the same enthusiasm as the mythical years of Pop Art and the contribution of similar elements in the construction of their works (bright colors, derivatives of popular subculture and references evoking youth. ..) should not make us forget that these artists, ultra connected and born in the heart of globalization are also particularly involved in concerns such as cultural democratization, the preservation of the environment or women’s rights.
The works of Deng yu thus carry within them a freshness, a deceptively naive and “cute” which turn out to be terribly provocative on second reading. Her favorite character, the “Tomie” avatar, the neon yellow cut-out silhouette of a little girl projected into the heart of fantastic and phantasmagorical landscapes can thus, depending on the gaze or the composition be perceived as an erect penis which enters the heart of the work, or conversely a vagina from which emerges the scene taking shape before our eyes. Its landscapes, composed of plants and animals from the marine or forest are very graphic and colorful. Both psychedelic and organic, they symbolize the explosion on the surface of the canvas, all the pent-up desires and despair that lurk in the hearts of all those who fail to express their feelings, which is worth to the artist to provoke real echoes among the young populations of the big Chinese cities.
Exhibitions
Career
Solo exhibitions
2021
Sea Salt Lemon, Kui Yuan, Gallery, China
2020
Float, Laniakea Gallery, Cocopark, Shenzhen, China
Lilliput, Times Square, Shanghai, China
Be the Bravest Version of Yourself, Spring Street, Virginia, USA
2019
The Huge Rabbit and Lilliput, Poly Canal Plaza, Foshan; Monster Attack, Binjiang Street, Longhu, Chengdu, China
A Mirror Reflecting Life, HUO·XIAN Art Space, Guangzhou, China
2018
Gulliver’s Journey, K11, Guangzhou, China
Gulliver’s Journey — Lilliput, K11 Select, Wuhan, China
2017
Chronology – From Da Vinci to Andy Warhol, Starbucks Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2016
DENGYU – Why Tomie, YANG QUE Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2014
Crazy Zoo – The Adoption Project, FEI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Tomie’s World, press conference & solo show, RU YI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2013
The Frog Prince in the Wonderland, FEI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2012
The Image Kingdom, RU YI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2011
Fa:-li:-luk, Wilber Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Solo exhibitions
2021
Sea Salt Lemon, Kui Yuan, Gallery, China
2020
Float, Laniakea Gallery, Cocopark, Shenzhen, China
Lilliput, Times Square, Shanghai, China
Be the Bravest Version of Yourself, Spring Street, Virginia, USA
2019
The Huge Rabbit and Lilliput, Poly Canal Plaza, Foshan; Monster Attack, Binjiang Street, Longhu, Chengdu, China
A Mirror Reflecting Life, HUO·XIAN Art Space, Guangzhou, China
2018
Gulliver’s Journey, K11, Guangzhou, China
Gulliver’s Journey — Lilliput, K11 Select, Wuhan, China
2017
Chronology – From Da Vinci to Andy Warhol, Starbucks Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2016
DENGYU – Why Tomie, YANG QUE Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2014
Crazy Zoo – The Adoption Project, FEI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Tomie’s World, press conference & solo show, RU YI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2013
The Frog Prince in the Wonderland, FEI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2012
The Image Kingdom, RU YI Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2011
Fa:-li:-luk, Wilber Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Group exhibitions
2022
Elle(s), Galerie Loft, Paris, France
2019
Shanghai Toy Show, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, China
THE heART of SUMMER, The Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, China
2018
Eyes, Dunxing Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Shenzhen International Art Fair, Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China
2017
Hi21 Young Art Fair, LONG Museum, Shanghai, China
Shanghai International Art Fair, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, China
Love is on the Way, K11, Guangzhou, China
Contemporary Art Exhibition, Redtory Museum of Contemporary Art, Guangzhou, China
2016
Shenzhen City Art Fair, Shenzhen, China
2015
Shanghai International Art Fair, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, China
Shenzhen International Art Fair, Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China
Kids Triennial Canton, Hu Yichuan Art Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2014
Asia Contemporary Art Show, Conrad Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Hidden in the Market, Dongguan Farmers Market International Art Festival, Dongguan, China
2013
AArt, Shanghai, China
Other Regionality, Memorial Hall of Lingnan School of Painting, Guangzhou, China
2012
Self-Portrait, Hi Art Store, Beijing, China
China Young Artists Promotion Fair, China World Trade Center, Beijing, China
Common Ground, IFA Gallery, Shanghai, China
2011
A Special Exhibition of Chinese Arts & 16th Annual Los Angeles Art Show, Los Angeles, USA
2010
53 Art Museum Opening Celebration Series ‘Do My Stuff: Contemporary Art in Guangdong’, 53 Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
Open · Close: Exhibition of Six Young Artists From Guangzhou, Art Karlsruhe, Germany
New Era Animation Aesthetics Exhibition, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Biochemistry: Between Fiction or Truth, Animamix Biennial Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2009
Flowers in Full Bloom, Hong Kong Exit Gallery, Hong Kong, China
Superheroes – New Forces in Guangzhou Art, Shanghai Spring Salon Expo, Shanghai, China
Young Apartment Art Exhibition, Daliang District Popular Auditorium, Shunde, China
Art Beijing, Beijing Agricultural Exhibition Hall, Beijing, China
Young Asian Artists Exhibition, Chosun Ilbo Museum, Seoul, South Korea
Adventures, Asian Art Center, Beijing, China
Fork, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts University City Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
2008
Tomie’s World & Black Party, Trojan Art Platform, China
Hanging in the Air, Floating on the Surface, Not Approachable, Linda Art Center Inaugural Exhibition, China
Child’s Declaration, New Era Gallery Beijing 798, Beijing, China
New Vision ’08 – 5th National Art School Works Exhibition, He Xiangning Art Museum, China
Chinese Emerging Artist Award, Art Scene, Shanghai, China
Guangzhou International Art Fair, Jinhan Center, Guangzhou, China
Beautiful South – Group Exhibition of New Generation Guangdong Artists, Asia Art Center Beijing 798, Beijing, China
Tribute to Knocklin – Women’s Art Exhibition, Ruyi Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Three Forms – A Hidden Dream Landscape, Huihaoshe Gallery, Guangzhou, China
Contemporary Reinterpretation, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum; Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum, China
2007
Asian Contemporary Art, Acaf, New York, USA
Gods and Dolls, Qiantong Art Space, Songzhuang, Beijing, China
New Youth Art Exhibition of Guangdong, Guangdong Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
Introspection, the 70s and 80s, Distillery International Art District Beijing, Beijing, China
Yanhuang Art Museum, Beijing, China
Who Are They? Where Do They Come From?, Shanghai 1918 Gallery, Shanghai, China
Without You, Without Me, Songzhuang TS1 Contemporary Art Center, Beijing, China
Decentralized Generation, Post-70s Art Exhibition, 798 Art Festival Theme Exhibition, Beijing, China
New Youth of Shanghai, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Upside Down, 82 Republic Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2006
Chinese Art Today, National Museum of China, China
North-South Project, Guangzhou Loft 345 Art Space, Guangzhou, China
Superhero, Ruyi Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2005
Guangdong Triennial, Guangzhou Loft 345 Art Space, Guangzhou, China
Contemporary Chinese Painting, Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
The Importance of Research – New State of Graduate Students’ Creation at Guangmei, Shunde Rongcheng Art Museum, China
