Zhihong Yang presents her most contemporary art and Chinese calligraphy work
From Thursday, May 20th to Wednesday, June 30th, artist Zhihong Yang’s “Couplet (对子)” can be found at the Rinconada Library free for the public to view and enjoy. For more information, contact Zhihong at Zhihong.Yang2020@gmail.com.
The installation features elegant Chinese calligraphy on red couplets (春联 chun lian) and a life-sized photograph of a metal gate. The calligraphy is done in rich black ink and lustrous silver paint. Beside each artwork will be an explanation available in English and a QR code that can be scanned with a phone for access to a website with the translations of anything in Chinese.
At the exhibit, Zhihong’s most recent works, such as A couplet from Tsinghua campus (水木清华对联) and A piling of feelings in the age of mechanical replication (机械复制时代的百感杂陈), can be found. The pieces displayed give insight to Zhihong’s views on various topics, such as the rapid development of technology and the changing political and economic climate in China and the US. The layout of the artworks create a unique symmetry, while the use of calligraphy on photographs integrate modern elements, all adding to the aesthetics and contemporary style Zhihong manifests.
“Multiple pairs in the image coexist, in which one can draw thoughts related to each individual’s experiences,” says Zhihong, referring to one of her works displayed, Memorial of 2020, No. 1 (庚子和辛丑年纪念), “and many viewers shared with me that they walk away thrilled.”
Rinconada Library is located at 1213 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303. Due to COVID-19, Rinconada Library is only open on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10AM – 5PM, and Thursday 2PM – 8PM.
For more information about the installation, please click HERE.
About Zhihong Yang
As a Chinese calligraphy artist and an avid art enthusiast since childhood, I have many visual memories from China, where I grew up and attended college, and several cities in New England, Seattle, and Manhattan in the United States. However, it’s in Palo Alto, breathing the air of creativity, I decided to create visual arts as my main engagement in life.
Since learning Chinese calligraphy as a child, my take on it has greatly evolved over time. Ink on paper and derived materials are common media in contemporary art. Its abstraction and fluid nature symbolize humanity and intellectual capacity. It expresses emotions and stories with visual subtlety. It also creates deep immersion experiences for viewers. I believe that varieties of art forms can connect through integration with colors, lights, and shades, as well as texture and scale, and the connection itself is aesthetic.
I want to show that art forms that are deeply rooted in different cultures, such as Chinese calligraphy, can be emboldened into the artistic scope of today’s high-tech world. Carved in bone, in stone, and many monumental existences on earth, Chinese calligraphy can exist in many forms and provide valuable insights into how we want our landscape to be.
Since studying computer science in China from 1986 and working for Lenovo, FactSet, and Amazon as a software engineer, my path interweaves with many people in China and in many parts of the world. I want to explore in arts regarding immigration, the impact of the information society on human life, the environmental impact, as well as the best of human achievement of our time, computer technologies, the age of transformation from physical space to the digital one.
In one of my recent works that are displayed in Rinconada Library in Palo Alto, Couplet, I put a pair of red couplets on a metal gate. Behind the metallic grid were dark plywood panels to conceal anything possibly existing inside. These devices were connected and locked in a crudely but functional manner. The panels were littered with spray paint. Slogans from 2020, from BLM to MAGA, from Great Rejuvenation of Chinese Nation, to Restore Nation’s Soul lined up there as well. Written in ink, the couplets read: “Harmony and content are full of blessings, and the two words, Peace and Safety are worth a thousand dollars”. There are multiple pairs existing in the image and coexists in a natural way, in which one can draw thoughts related to each individual’s experiences, and many viewers shared with me that they walk away thrilled.
I also want to demonstrate that green materials like ink on paper and many home objects can be the sources of great creations. And this accessibility can help the community engage in artistic activities.
I enjoy teaching in Palo Alto Art Center, writing couplets for Lunar New Year, as well as volunteering on various occasions.
