From December 19 through January 23, Galerie Terra will display work by the young talented Beijing artist Wenna, who completed her studies there in graphic arts. Recently she became familiar with clay and transformed her drawings into sculpture for the first time. From mid-October until the opening of the exhibition on December 19 she is working as an artist-in-residence in Delft. The exhibition in Terra includes ceramic sculptures and paintings.
The subjects of Wenna’s drawings and sculptures are based on Chinese traditions and represent a fairy-tale world with mythological figures. However, she creates new stories in her own book: Wenna Jing. The word ‘Jing’ after her name in the title indicates that the book is a guide for her life and work. Next to a page with a text in classical Chinese characters, for instance, there is a drawing of a mythological Chinese figure.
The drawings and stories in her book form the basis for the beautifully-detailed figures in clay, in which the attention is particularly drawn to the facial expressions. In the wall paintings she sets thick, prominent lines and then colors them in, in contrast to the traditional Chinese painting technique. She works from the situation at the given moment, without first sketching and without a detailed prior plan. The work emerges spontaneously and intuitively.
In Delft, Wenna has been invited to create a wall painting on the schoolyard of the Stanislas College (Krakeelpolderweg), together with pupils of the school.
On Saturday, December 19, at 5:00 pm Wenna will give a presentation about her work.