Yonggeng Li

In his exhibition "Verschreibung," which takes place from July 5 to August 30, 2014, at the Galerie SHI FANG Fine Art in Düsseldorf, the Chinese artist Li Yonggeng presents works from his eponymous series.

The pieces for the exhibition were created between 2006 and 2013. They all follow the same principle: Li stretches a canvas with a colored fabric, which he then injures or allows someone else to injure, before sewing it back together.

The title of the series, "处方," can be translated as "Verschreibung," understood in the context of a doctor's prescription for medication or therapy. Li plays with the methods by which humans treat their environment, maintaining a medical context that can also be extended to other areas of life. His work with the canvas is an exploration of his own approach, the ways he interacts with the material, and the interplay that arises between the artist and the artwork.

Thus, the artistic endeavor can also become a self-prescribed therapy. Li positions himself as both the injurer and the healer.

The result is the evidence of the confrontation between artist and artwork. The uniqueness of embroidery as a technique lies in the fact that each step is always traceable, making the artwork a witness to this encounter. This traceability is important to Li, as the impact on the viewer is essential to the creation process of the artwork.

The technique of embroidery is also interesting as a reference to Chinese tradition. As a folk art technique, it is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and there are still several schools today that teach this craft. Despite this connection to Chinese tradition, Li maintains a distance from the tradition of figurative embroidery that is still taught today and sees himself more in line with the tradition of European artists.

Li's fascination with the everyday and craftsmanship is also reflected in his other works. In his series "Haus-bauen," he experiments in a completely different way with techniques and everyday objects, assembling them into sculptures that derive their strangely ephemeral and playful aura from the ordinariness of their individual components. In this approach, from the everyday to the auratic, one might also draw a connection to Joseph Beuys, whom Li cites as a significant influence on his work.