Artist Statement
My practice treats painting not as static representation, but as a somatic act, a tactile reaction between the body, memory, and the environment. Under the concept of the “body as archive,” my work is motivated by the experience of cultural displacement as a first-generation immigrant, and the urge to resist the acceleration of modern society by slowing down and record time.
My sources draw from two distinct heritages: my early training in traditional Chinese calligraphy and my background in documentary photography. Tracing a trajectory from photographic archives to big-scale somatic canvases, I synthesize the structural discipline of calligraphic mark-making with the raw, atmospheric sensibilities of Western abstraction, using fluid washes, charcoal, and tactile media to evoke the atmospheric and geological essence of the places I inhabit.
My process is deeply somatic. Working with big-scale canvas, my entire body enters the canvas. I paint non-repetitive, horizontal calligraphic marks, where each stroke responds to my breath and to the present moment. Departing from rigid wooden stretchers, my pliable canvas sheets establish a three-dimensional, site-responsive relationship with the surrounding space and the viewer.
Ultimately, my work explores the threshold between presence (Shi) and absence (Xu), mapping a personal journey through displacement in pursuit of space and peace.
我的艺术实践并不将绘画视为静态的再现，而是一种身体性的行动—，是身体、记忆与环境之间的一场触觉反应。在“身体作为档案”的概念下，我的创作源于我作为第一代移民的文化流变（displacement）经历，以及在过度加速的现代社会中，通过放慢节奏和记录时间来对抗速度的渴望。
我的创作源泉来自两种截然不同的传承：我早期接受的中国传统书法训练以及我的纪实摄影背景。从摄影档案的记录性出发，过渡到大尺幅的身体性画布，我将书法笔触的结构性约束与西方抽象艺术中纯粹、充满氛围感的感性相结合，利用流动的稀薄晕染、木炭和触觉媒介，去唤起我所居住之地的空气氛围与地质质感。
我的创作过程具有深层的身体性。在面对大尺幅画布时，我的整个身体都会融入画面之中。我书写着非重复性的横向书法痕迹，每一笔都呼应着我的呼吸与当下的瞬间。通过脱离坚硬的木质内框，我柔软的画布与周围的空间及观众建立起一种三维的、特定场域响应的关系。
归根结底，我的作品探讨了“虚”与“实”之间的临界点，映射出一段在流变中寻找空间与宁静的个人旅程。
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BIO
Yanmei Jiang is a New York–based painter born in Guangzhou, China. Her practice explores the concept of the “body as archive,” developing embodied memory through large-scale abstract painting rooted in muscle memory. She creates flowing, interwoven surfaces in which color remains distinct yet relational, where displacement and environmental experience generate new ways of seeing and sensing.
She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2023. Jiang first gained recognition for her photography series Me and Me, which received the Taipei Photo New Talent Award and is included in collections such as the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation (Germany) and the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum (China).
Since transitioning to painting in 2021, her recent highlights include a 2025 solo exhibition at the Chinese American Arts Council / 456 Gallery in New York and a residency at AnkhLave Arts Alliance on Governors Island.
江演媚是一位常驻纽约的画家，出生于中国广州。她的创作以“身体作为档案”为核心概念，通过基于肌肉记忆的大尺幅抽象绘画，发展具身性的记忆表达。她构建出流动且交织的画面结构，使色彩在保持各自独立性的同时形成相互关联，在位移与环境经验的作用下生成新的观看与感知方式。
她于2023年获得纽约视觉艺术学院（School of Visual Arts）艺术硕士学位。演媚最初以摄影系列《Me and Me》获得关注，该系列曾获得台北摄影新锐奖，并被德国Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung基金会及中国成都当代影像馆等机构收藏。
自2021年转向绘画以来，她的近期重要项目包括2025年于纽约中美艺术中心 / 456画廊举办的个展，以及在Governors Island的AnkhLave Arts Alliance驻留项目。
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CV
- EDUCATION
2023 MFA, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
2010 BA in Journalism, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
- RESIDENCIES & PROJECTS
2025 Grand Scale Mural Project, Uptown Grand Central, New York, NY
2025 AnkhLave Residency, Governors Island, New York, NY
2023 ChaShaMa Exhibition Residency, New York, NY
- SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 “A Toe in the Water”, 456 Gallery (Chinese American Arts Council), New York, NY
2017 “Me and Me”, Ray Art Center, Shanghai, China
2016 “Me and Me”, 12th Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Lianzhou, China
- SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 Echoes of Home: Egypt Edition (Off Biennale), Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt
2025 “Anything Goes”, Bushwick Open Studios, Brooklyn, NY
2025 “Blue Line: A Journey of Reawakening” (Performance), AnkhLave Residency, Governors Island, NY
2025 “The Journey”, Hot Water Cool Art Annual Exhibition, New York, NY
2024 “Welcome to the Wonderland”, CP Project Space, New York, NY
2023 “Playground and Dreams”, ChaShaMa Gallery, New York, NY
2023 “Idylls & Reveries”, VillageOneArt Gallery, New York, NY
2023 “Cement, TaiL of A Gecko”, Temple Gallery & Tutu Gallery, New York, NY
2023 “Echo Box”, Latchkey Gallery, New York, NY
2023 “Stockwell Collective Show”, Boston, MA
2021 “Wild Horses”, Sim Smith Gallery, London, UK
2018 17th DongGang International Photo Festival, DongGang, South Korea
2017 “The Port and the Image”, China Port Museum, Ningbo, China
2017 “La Maison de Z: Made In China”, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France
2016 8th Three Shadows Photography Award Exhibition, Three Shadows Art Centre, Beijing, China
2016 8th Fotobook Festival Kassel, Kassel, Germany (traveled to Beijing, China)
2016 Taipei Photo Festival, Taipei, Taiwan China
2015 Xitek EOS New Talent Award Exhibition, Beijing, China
2015 “CONNECT”, LensCulture Network Exhibition (Online)
2015 “@Daily Snapshot”, Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China
2013 Volume: Birmingham’s Art, Book, & Print Fair, Birmingham, UK
2013 “From Print to Publishing*, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, UK
2012 Times Museum Community Art Festival, Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou, China
- AWARDS & HONORS
2016 Emerging Talent Award, Taipei Photo Festival, Taiwan
2016 Shortlist, Dummy Award Kassel, Germany
2016 Shortlist, Three Shadows Photography Award, China
2015 Winner, Xitek EOS New Talent Award, China
- PUBLICATIONS
2021 “ABOUT US: Young Photography in China”, Hirmer Publishers, Munich. ISBN: 978-3-7774-3656-2
2017 “The Port and The Image: Documenting China’s Harbor Cities”, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House. ISBN: 978-7-5535-0889-4
2017 “Enning” (Self-published photobook with Wenjun Chen)
- COLLECTIONS
Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Foundation, Munich, Germany
Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, Chengdu, China
- LECTURES & WORKSHOPS
2013 Mentor, Photography Book Workshop, Lishui International Photography Festival, China
2013 Mentor, Handmade Book Workshop, Fei Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2012 Mentor, Self-publishing Book Workshop, Times Museum Community Art Festival, China
- SELECTED PRESS / BIBLIOGRAPHY
2024 CanvasRebel Magazine, “Meet Yanmei Jiang,” Feature Interview.
2022 The Brooklyn Rail, Exhibition Review, New York.
2021 LensCulture, “Feature: Yanmei Jiang’s Photography and Abstract Approach,” Digital Publication.
2020 VICE China, “Artist Interview: Breaking the Boundaries Between Documentary and Abstraction,” Digital Feature.
2018 IMA Magazine (Japan), “Selected New Voices in Contemporary Photography,” Print Publication.
2017 IGNANT (Germany), Feature Presentation of Me and Me Series.
2017 The Eye of Photography (France/USA), “The delicate, handmade photobooks of Wenjun Chen, Yanmei Jiang, and Du Bao Ni”.
2017 Portrait Magazine (人物), “The Gaze of the New Generation: Yanmei Jiang,” Feature Article.
2016 Marie Claire (China), “Art and Identity: Emerging Female Artists,” Feature Interview.
2015 The Paper (澎湃新闻), Feature Profile and Artwork Review.