Page 19 - The Documenta issue of World of Art magazine (2002)
P. 19
THe TeRROR
THe TeRROR PROjeCT yali Peng
PROjeCT UsA
courage, of joys, of anxieties, of fears, or the “pleasant deceptions”- like
Sincerity and the poet Giacomo Leopardi. They were of courage, of emotions, of spiritual
emotion in the “content” which daily offers the experience, the hope among people. Her
yali Peng Painting inner “position” fascinates by means of the indicative-chromatic power in
which she wraps her works.
Sensations, “values”, of a spiritual world that she “expresses” with
By Antonio Malmo
ANTONIO MALMO Is AN ArT CrITIC BAsED IN NAPLEs atmosphere in which the figurative art sometimes troubled by the internal thoughts of “escalation” of a society
marks, codes, cryptographs, and ideographs that somehow draw on her
oriental culture, enlivened. And yet, by her capacity to seize and express
through these things, the richness and the simplicity of her character is
In the “murky” and “oppressive”
scene finds itself on a world level, it
cold and unpleasant, “alienated” and “corroded” by consumerism and the
thirst for power.
seems almost impossible that a light,
of great intensity, could shine on the
horizon: and such is Yali Peng.
There’s no lack of unconcealed nostalgia or tender melancholia for her
world in the works of Yali Peng, for her friends far away, for the meadows
I must confess that it is to me a much
welcome occasion to be able to draft
all children of this world. Also, her “reflections” on the transience of things,
some critiques on the painting of this she has seen children running and playing in, carefree and dreaming like
on the “uncertainties”, illusions, on lost hope in an uncertain future are
American artist, originally from Taiwan. recurring themes in her works.
Her multifaceted and broad personality One can read a note of apprehension in the barbary perpetrated by
is expressed in a thousand “rivulets”, contemporary man on the ecosystem. Through the “light” that filters in
“inclinations”, “artistic interests”, the “windows” opened to the world, she sees an enormous crowd that
“projects”, and “areas of art”, always runs without goal, without ideals. For all that, a note of frozen stupor, of
with competence and depth. Of greatest great regret seems to assail her. For only a moment!!! Then the enthusiasm,
interest on an the joy of living spurs her on, recapturing and “pursuing” her “dreams”,
exploratory level are the techniques, her “madness”, her hopes with brilliant, intense, luminous colors. It is
the new inclinations, and overall the transported to the canvas with such expressive force that her emotions
“objectives” give advance notice to come out in the moment of “creation”, or better, of inspiration; it seizes
better feel the depth and to “emphasize” your mind as you admire it. Yali Peng transmits a myriad of messages to
her “possibility” and expressive capacity. the entirety of humanity. They are rife with eternal values such as peace,
goodness, love, solidarity among all the peoples of this universe. So it is
In many aspects, her C.V. is rich and with extreme sensibility and participation that the painter “recounts”
variegated considering her young age. these same messages through her designs and colors. For that reason, her
For good reason, her undeniable quality palette is blurred and variegated, rich in canvas whites, in yellows, reds,
is appreciated and demanded from the blues, and browns. The chromatic combinations are particularly pleasant,
art world. Her “energy”, her expressive and, from an esthetic viewpoint, most interesting, demonstrated by her
force born of love, of her passion, not excellent specific preparation. Also if she prefers to “express” herself with
juvenile, for the design principally, and for ink, she somehow knows all the painting techniques to perfection. It can’t
the colors. Her painting is an explosion be emphasized enough her continual quest for refinement and her already
of the most pleasant and delicate most notable styles.
sensations. It is sincere, spontaneous,
without the “academic overtones”. She This analysis of the motivation and problematics of the painting of Yali
is absorbed in the surrounding reality, Peng was more than ever necessary to make the validity and modernity of
curious and always fascinated with the her artistic-cultural work stand out. I would obviously be unable to cite all
phantasmagoric spectacle of Nature. It her beautiful works, but I will mention here a few: “Fantasizing”, “A Man’s
seems to me somehow restrictive to Loving Touch”, “Creative Force”, “Being Embraced by the Energy of the
define her painting as abstractism- in Universe”, “Spring Love Wind”, “Harmonious Sound of Taiko”, all of which I
the popular sense it is more diffuse would define a marvelous synthesis of her undoubted artistic quality.
than the meaning. She is “instinctive”,
quick in stroke, in mark, in delineating Finally, in my opinion, Yali Peng is without doubt, one of the more
and suggesting her movements of interesting and worthy artists in the field of international figurative art.
WORLD of ART 17
