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Date
1995
Format
Other
Exhibition Event Title
Fonds régional d'art contemporain des Pays de la Loire, Nantes
Date of Exhibition Event
1995
Location of Exhibition Event
Musée Léon Dierx, Saint Denis de la Réunion
Publisher
Fonds régional d'art contemporain des Pays de la Loire, Nantes (Pays de la Loire Regional Contemporary Art Fund, Nantes)
City
Saint Denis de la Réunion
Rights Holder
Fonds régional d'art contemporain des Pays de la Loire, Nantes (Pays de la Loire Regional Contemporary Art Fund, Nantes)
Art School/Style
Villa Médicis
Description
The book Au bord de l’eau, 108 brigands is written entirely in French and contains images of 120 large-scale, black-and-white portraits painted by Yan Pei-Ming. The paintings reference the Chinese literary classic “Au bord de l’eau” (at the water’s edge), an epic novel told in 120 chapters depicting the crimes committed by 108 brigands. This oeuvre of paintings was executed during Ming’s stay at the French Academy in Rome (Villa Médicis) in 1993. The 108 brigands portraits are depictions of people he has seen or met at Villa Médicis, friends, acquaintances, and often himself. The Franco-Chinese artist has spoken of creating anti-portraits or “anonymous portraits” – portraits that are supposed to look like no one in particular at all, representing the average person. “But most impressive and significant is that Ming, in constructing his “pantheon”, revealed remarkable insight into the dialect between the “portrait” and the “anti-portrait”, shedding light on urgent and complex questions relating to the art and life, history and reality, cultural differences and exchanges” (Hanru,18)*. “It is true that the characters in this series are individuals that Ming himself knew and met. However, the “reality” of their portraits, once subjected to the definition of the “brigands”, becomes almost fictitious, if not legendary” (Hanru, 18). The book includes a series of introductions. First, a preface by Ponthus Hulten, a Swedish art collector and museum director. Then, “Le Chinois” (The Chinese) by author Michel Enrici, which is followed by an introduction titled “L’anti-portait de Ming” (The Anti-Portrait by Ming) by Guangzhounese art curator and critic, Hou Hanru. Finally the series concludes with “Le brigand collectif” (The brigand collection) by artist historian Florens Deuchler. (Nicole Wang ‘26) Additional Sources: Hanru, Hou. “L’anti-Portrait de Ming.” Au Bord de l’eau, 108 Brigands , Fonds Régional d’art Contemporain Des Pays de La Loire, Nantes, Musée Léon Dierx, Saint-Denis de La Réuinion, 1995, pp. 15–19. https://www.estuaire.info/en/oeuvre/108-brigands-yan-pei-ming/ *quotes are loosely translated from the original French to English by Nicole Wang (‘26)
Rights Statement
