Born in 1962, Shanghai, China
Lives and works in Shanghai, China
Ding Yi (Chinese, b.1962) is a Contemporary painter from Shanghai. He holds degrees from both the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Institute (1983), and Shanghai University’s Fine Arts department (1990). Ding is one of China’s foremost Abstract painters, his work having been exhibited around the world including the Venice Biennale, Yokohama Triennale, and Sydney Biennale. His paintings are characterized by an acute attention to detail, with systematic repetition of forms and layering. The main motif in Ding’s work is the cross shape, which he has used throughout his entire career. The artist is best known for his large-scale, densely patterned paintings. His works from the 1980s were monochrome and influenced by De Stijl and Mondrian. There were no Figurative elements in these pieces, only lines forming patterns of intersecting grids. During the 1990s, Ding began experimenting more with colour, material, and overall technique; his grid pattern is still present during this period, but such materials as charcoal, watercolour, and chalk are seen on a variety of surfaces including screens, fans, and card. Since the 2000s, Ding has worked with a much brighter palette of colour for his work, and continues to produce stunningly intricate paintings. Ding currently lives in Shanghai, painting and lecturing at the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Institute.
Education
1990 Graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
1983 Graduated from the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Institute, Shanghai, China
Solo Exhibitions
2008
DING YI - recent works, Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
Appearance of Crosses from 1989 – 2007, Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
2006
Graticule – Ding Yi's Works from 1989 to 2006, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai, China
2005
Ding Yi – Appearance of Crosses, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom
2004
Small Works, ShanghArt Gallery, Shanghai, China
Crossed Vision, CAAW - China Art Archive & Warehouse, Beijing, China
2003
Appearance of Crosses, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland
2002
Appearance of Crosses, Galerie Waldburger, Berlin, Germany
2000
Ding Yi: Fluorescence on Tartan, CAAW - China Art Archive & Warehouse, Beijing, China
1999
Not a Chinese Show, GATE Foundation Gallery, Amsterdam (with Hong Hao), Holland, The Netherlands
1998
Ding Yi: Crosses '89-97, The Art Museum of the Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
1997
Ding Yi: Crosses '97, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
1996
15 x Red, ShanghArt Gallery Shanghai, Shanghai, China
1995
Ding Yi - Opere su Carte – Paper Works of Ding Yi, La Galleria degli Archi, Comiso, Italy
1994
Ding Yi's Work on Paper, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, Guangzhou, China
Ding Yi's Abstract Work, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Group Exhibitions
2010
The Official Opening of Minsheng Art Museum – Thirty Years of Chinese Contemporary Art 1979-2009, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Exhibition in the Sky, Pudong tower advertisement boards, Shanghai, China
Shanghai, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
Shanghai Modern Exhibition, CAI, Sapporo; Gallery Monma, Sapporo, Japan
Chinese Contemporary Art in the Year of the Tiger, Centre Culturel de Rencontre, Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
Photo Exhibition of Contemporary Artists, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Chinese Contemporary Artist in Their Twenties, Beijing Angle Modern Art, Beijing, China
2009
ShanghART Group Show, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai, China
Footloose, Galerie Waldburger, Brussels, Belgium
Collision-Experimental Cases of Contemporary Chinese Art, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China
Out of Shanghai, Museum Gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Otterndorf, Germany
Fan Ceremony-Works On Paper, Yard Gallery, Holywood, United Kingdom
Domus Collection New York | Beijing, White Space, Beijing, China
ShanghART Group Show, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai, China
Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass, USA
Shanghai History in Making from 1979 till 2009, 436 Jumen Rd., Shanghai, China
Another scene-artists' projects, concepts and ideas, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai, China
Warm Up, Minsheng Art Museum, Bldg F, No.570 Huaihai Rd, Shanghai, China
Un-natural-A New Ciscussion on Nature and Chinese Traditions, Beijing Center for the Arts, Beijing, China
Yi Pai - Century Thinking A Contemporary Art Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Inaugural Exhibition, Hadrien de Montferrand Gallery, Beijing, China
2008
The Tale of Silk – A Hermès Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2007
Mahjong - Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria
85 New Wave – The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Strategy on Paper – Works on Paper Invitational, Square Gallery of Contemporary Art, Nanjing, China
The Tale of Silk – A Hermès Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Rejected Collection – More the 40 Chinese Artists / Over 60 Rejected Proposals, Ke Center for Contemporary Arts, Shanghai, China
Harmony and Difference – East China Contemporary Sculpture Invitational Exhibition, Art Space of Fine Art College, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Shanghai Attitude – Invitational, No. 3758 Qixin Rd., Minhang District, Shanghai, China
2006
In the Name of Material, HSS Art Centre, Shanghai, China
Zhangjiang Art Park Opening Ceremony, Zhangjiang Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Art in Motion, Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Mahjong - Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany
Hyper Design. 6th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
MOCA Envisagel – Entry Gate: Chinese Aesthetics of Heterogeneity, Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Contemporary China, PKM Gallery, Seoul, Korea
The Blossoming of Realism – The Oil Painting of Mainland China Since 1978, Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Works on Paper, Xuhui Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Transform-Artists Created by Their Works, Jing Art Gallery, Shanghai, China
2005
Pictorial DNA Made in China, Galerie Urs Meile. Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
Mahjong - Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
Alien Illusion, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Shenzhen Art Biennale, OCT Contempory Art Centre, Shenzhen, China
Cina. Prospettive d' arte contemporanea / China: As Seen by Contemporary Chinese Artists, Provincia di Milano, Spazio Oberdan, Milan, Italy
2004
Persona3, China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW), Beijing, China
Shanghai Modern, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany
DIAL 62761232, Callers Location, Shanghai, China
Dreaming of the Dragon's Nation: Contemporary Art from China, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin, Ireland
2003
Chinese Maximalism, Millennium Art Museum, Beijing, China
New Painting, Yibo Gallery, Shanghai, China
Junction-Chinese Contemporary Architecture of Art, Lianyang Architecture Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Open Sky, Grand Opening of Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art , Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
An Openning Era, NAMOC (National Art Museum of China), Beijing, China
2002
The 1st Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Crossing Cultures, Kunsthaus Muerz, Mürzzuschlag, Austria
Ost + West, Kunsthaus Wien, Vienna, Austria
24:30 Contemporary Art Exhibition, Bizart, Shanghai, China
2002 Shanghai Abstract Art Group Show, Liu Haisu Art museum, Shanghai, China
Metaphysics 2002, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Two Abstract artists in Shanghai, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai, China
2001
Take Part II, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
As Long As They Catch Mice..., Munkeruphus, Dronningmolle, Denmark
1st Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China
Gallery Opening, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, USA
Take Part I, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
Living in Time, Contemporary Artists from China, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
Off Triennial, Zeit Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
Yokohama Triennial, Yokohama, Japan
Towards a New Image, Twenty Years of Chinese Contemporary Painting, National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou; Chengdu Modern Art Museum, Chengdu, China
Ornament & Abstraction, Museum Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland
Inauguration Exhibition of the New Gallery, China Art Archive & Warehouse (CAAW), Beijing, China
Metaphysics 2001, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2000
Looking In / Looking Out, Art Show 2, East Quad Art Gallery, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA
Fuck off, Eastlink Gallery, Shanghai, China
Shanghai 2000, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA
2000 China - Korea - Japan, Contemporary Art Exhibition, Changning Cultural District Center, Shanghai, China
1999
Last Five Minutes, EastLink Gallery, Shanghai, China Collecting Exhibition, Modern Chinese Art Foundation, Caermersklooster, Belgium
Looking In / Looking Out, Plug in Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada
Concepts Color and Passions, China Art Archives & Warehouse, Beijing, China
1999
Open Channels, The First Collecting Exhibition of Dong Yu Museum of Fine Arts, Dong Yu Museum, Shengyang, China
Abstract Art in City, Shanghai Art Academy, Shanghai, China
1998
Every day, 11th Biennale of Sydney, Contemporary Art Museum, Sidney, Australia
Mondrian in China - A Documentary Exhibition with Chinese Originals, The Art Gallery of the Beijing "Mondrian in China - A Documentary Exhibition with Chinese Originals",The Art Gallery of the Beijing"Mondrian in China - A Documentary Exhibition with Chinese Originals", The Art Gallery of the Beijing "Mondrian in China - A Documentary Exhibition with Chinese Originals", The Art Gallery of the Beijing International Art Palace Beijing, Shanghai Library, Guangdong Museum of Art, China
Jiang Nan - From the South of the Yangzi River, Charles H., Scott Gallery Vancouver, Vancouver, Canada
Eight Chinese Artists, Gallery Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland
AAA, Angulliara Ad Arte, Roma, Italy
China!, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
1997
In Between Limits - An Aspect of Chinese Contemprary Art, Sonje Museum of Contemporary Art, Klungju, Korea
Chinese Abstraction, Gallery Ursula Krinzing, Vienna, Austria
China!, Artist's House, Vienna, Austria; Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland; Charlottenburg Exhibition Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
A point of Contact - Korean, Chinese, Japanese Contemporary Art, Taegu Art & Culture Hall, Taegu, Korea
The Collection of Shanghai Art Museum, Inchon New World Art Museum, Inchon, Korea
Works by Shanghai Artists, Art Association Exhibition Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia
New Art from China, Flanders Contemporary Art, Minnesota, USA
The Chinese Roots, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Handover Exhibition, Hong Kong Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, China
Conteporary Chinese Art, Changning District Cultural Centre, Shanghai, China
Quotation Marks - Chinese Contemporary Paintings, Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Singapore
Outburst, Shanghai Art Academy, Shanghai, China
1996
China!, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Chinese Abstraction, Michael Wardell Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Direct d'Art, Salon International d'Art Contemporain, Nice, France
Shanghai First International Fax Art Exhibition, Hua San Art School, Shanghai, China
The First China Oil Painting Society Exhibition, China Art Museum, Beijing, China
Canton, Shanghai, Beijing, Central Art Academy, Beijing, China
In China Part II, World Trade Center, Bremen, Germany
Shanghai Art Biannual, Art Museum, Shanghai, China
1995
Shanghai Abstract Art, ShanghART, Shanghai, China
Change - Chinese Contemporary Art, Konst Museum Goeteborg and the Joenkoeping Laens Museum, Sweden
New Chinese Art: 1990 - 1994, at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Des Pais del Centre - Avantguardes Artistiques Xineses, Vancouver Art Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
In China, Gallery Carol Johnssen, Munich, Germany
New Chinese Art: 1990 – 1994, Art Centre, Chicago, USA
Making Their Mark, Works on Paper, Gallery Melbourne, Meridian, Australia
Aura Aurea, Chlostri Benedettini, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Chinese Contemporary Art, Goethe Institute, Beijing, China
1994
Union-Exhibition of Six Artists Abstract Art Works, Han Art TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, China
1993
China Avant-garde, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany; Kunsthal Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Museum of Modern Art Oxford, UK; Kunsthallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark
La Biennale di Venezia, XLV Espozione Internazionale D'Arte, Venezia, Italy
Shanghai Modern Art Exhibition, Gallery of Modern Art, Yokohama, Japan
Asia-Pacific Triennal of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia
Mao Goes Pop - China Post '89, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Victoria National Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1989
China Avant/Garde, National Gallery, Beijing, China
1988
Exhibition of Today's Art, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
1986
The First Exhibition of Young Shanghai Artists, Shanghai Artist Gallery, Shanghai, China
Inauguration Exhibition of the Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Concave-Convex, Xuhui Cultural Centre, Shanghai, China
1985
Exhibition of Modern Art by Six Artists, Fudan University, Shanghai, China