Zhao Yanfeng
The Realm of Non-Action
by ZHANG Pingjie
In the second decade of the 21st century, a number of new art stars born in China are on the rise. Some of them have made their debut in the world, and some are coming to us.
Different from the previous generation, they had an international style as soon as they shot to fame, and they have embedded themselves in the trend of contemporary art in their way. Ge Ziyu is one of them. He came out of rural Anhui. Fortunately, he grew up in this Internet age. When he can look up, he can already see the whole world. When the space and time of art are no longer isolated, the quality of the artist becomes the supporting point of the artwork.
The tranquil profoundness, the spiritual realm of emptiness, calligraphy opened a door for him, as drizzle, nourishing and permeating all aspects of his later works.
Order art is a product of industrialization based on the premise of geometric arithmetic. It is divided into dynamic order and light order. The dynamic order focuses on the crisscross of the movements of some volume; the light order shows the burning degree and depth of the halo. It belongs to cold abstraction. In the Op Art era, the presentation of light was entirely a form of mechanical physics, but for light order works today, what is important is not the dazzling of light, not physical issue, but the emptiness contained in it, in Ge Ziyu's works, the uniqueness lies in the proper use of materials, allowing the medium itself to become a carrier of light and color, light is not an object of depiction, but a physical phenomenon. The light doesn't just stay on a flat surface, it spills on the rows of undulating spaces, and the grooves of different depths, as if the keys of a piano are being pressed, it exudes long-distance harmony at the same time. The subtle transformations between light and shadow, materials and space are intertwined into a soft and elegant melody. In the solemn and quiet halo, there is a kind of clarity that transcends the world.
All of Ge Ziyu's explorations are in pursuit of the inner dimension. He has tried various forms and materials; ink, installation, comprehensive materials, etc., from the vertical and horizontal hot abstraction to the cold abstraction of order, from two-dimensional to three-dimensional space, that all confirm the realm of the emptiness, and finally, he gains insight into the light order of the comprehensive material. When emptiness is the theme, all his works show the artist's " investigation ", light and shadow are the appearances, the medium of presentation, and what the artist shows is the ultimate concern for the endless emptiness.
Gouge grooves and draw lines, light and shadow are the boundaries;
Where is the peace of mind, and no action with the phenomenon.
This "phenomenon" is the appearance of his works.
—— 2021.12 In New York