Wang Zhiyuan：Field Threshold

The term “threshold value”, across various fields of humanities, broadly denotes a liminal state. Taking stock of this, Wang Zhiyuan entitles his solo exhibition “Field Threshold” (sharing the same phoneme with field, range etc.,) which incorporates the concepts of “field” and spatial realms in the color field painting. This title underscores the artist’s ongoing focus, observation, and engagement with realms beyond contemporary painting, while hinting at a transformation and sublimation embedded within the apparent tranquility in his works of art. When comparing today’s revolutionary technological changes with the immense impact of the Industrial Revolution on visual creation and the broader cultural domain from the late 19th to the early 20th century, questions emerge: can contemporary creators afford to ignore, or divert their gaze from, the rapidly evolving technological landscape? Conversely, do the breakthroughs and new concepts emerging from diverse disciplines—such as natural science and technology—engender unprecedented possibilities in the realm of artistic practice, and if so, what might these be? Furthermore, can these parallel references and their underlying logic be justifiably translated into actual practice?

These questions have always been central to Wang Zhiyuan’s work, where he now focuses his creative efforts on exploring changes within the layers of imagery. Acrylic, a material widely used in contemporary painting, becomes Wang’s medium of choice. This highly opaque product of the post-industrial era dries faster compared to traditional oil paint, and its vibrant color properties also resonate with the aesthetic imageries under the colossal shift of the era. However, Wang’s approach does not adhere strictly to the original properties of these materials; instead, he counterintuitively seeks to forge a new path by investigating the underpainting of an image. Through the spraying process, mediums, water, and other substances dilute or disrupt the basic structure of the pigment. This, after repeated applications, paradoxically leads to a series of unexpected visual effects and textures. Additionally, the process of the artist working around the canvas becomes more evident through actions of accumulation, which Wang considers an indispensable part of the speculative process.

In addition to employing wider brushes and rollers for wall painting as in his earlier works, the artist has recently introduced complete or partial arcs between layers, interlacing them across different color strata to craft multidimensional spaces within the paintings through the use of lines. The operation of different body parts, such as arms (which maneuver rollers and brushes) or fingers (which hold colored pencils), allows the paint to provide the artist with the most immediate “sensation” through the traces left in contact with the canvas. Each “sensation” then becomes a signal-like feedback, guiding the next steps in the painting process.

Wang Zhiyuan conceives abstraction as a verb, an ongoing process of generation, drawing from individual experiences and global phenomena. While adhering to the principle of freedom, his practice is influenced by a vast array of classic works in the history of art: from the inception of abstract painting to the methods and concepts available in contemporary art throughout the 20th century, while making adjustments to fit his need. In a time when digital technology ubiquitously permeated in our everyday access to information, masterpieces are readily displayed on digital screens, seemingly putting art history within arms’ reach. Yet the depth of information one can access is contingent upon one’s drive to searching and exploring, much like the distance between the artist’s “field threshold” and the maneunvers within his process, or even the mathematical formulation of functions hinges on his ambition to push his own range boundaries. 

Zhiyuan Wang was born in Zhangjiakou, Hebei in 1990 and currently lives and works between Beijing and Shanghai. He received his BFA from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou in 2013 and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2015. Wang explores the ever-evolving images and the relational properties of image-making in his painting-centered practice. For him, the painting process, as well as the medium itself, represents both the inspiration and the reference behind his works, revealing expansive contemplation over the power relations embedded in art history as well as the contemporary art world. Probing the nuances he finds in the beauty of the imperceptible or the intangible, Wang constructs worlds of light and color in his meticulous works.

Wang’s recent exhibitions and residencies include “The Sea of Time,” Gravity Art Museum, Beijing, China (2023); “Concrete Painting,” Boxes Art Museum, Foshan, China (2023); “The Texture of Expression,” OCAT Xi’an Museum, Xi’an, China (2022); “Sunlight, Air, Water,” CLC Gallery Venture, Beijing, China (2021); “Wang Zhiyuan,” MOU PROJECTS, Hong Kong (2021); “I have nothing to say and I am saying it,” OCT Boxes Art Museum, Foshan, China (2019); Lucid Art Foundation Residency, Inverness, California, US (2016); “Edge Effect,” Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, US (2015).