From The Art Newspaper:
Huang Yong Ping is a conceptual artist whose works combine Chinese traditions with current concerns. Born in Xiamen, south China, he emigrated to France in 1989. In the mid-1980s he was a leading proponent of the Xiamen Dada movement. His seminal work from this period, The History of Chinese Painting and the History of Modern Western Art Washed in the Washing Machine for Two Minutes, was exhibited at the landmark “China Avant-Garde” show in Beijing in 1989 which precipitated an invitation to display the piece at the “Magiciens de la Terre” show at the Pompidou in Paris, as well as Huang’s move to France.
After leaving China, Huang’s work developed from its Dadaist roots into huge, complex installations. His most controversial series, Bat Project I-IV, was made in response to an incident in 2001 when an American spy plane collided with a Chinese military aircraft over the South China Sea (p22). The series was withdrawn from shows in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing because of diplomatic jitters.
He represented France (with Jean-Pierre Bertrand) at the 1999 Venice Biennale and has had a string of recent exhibitions at major international venues including a travelling show co-organised by Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo and the Kunsthallen Brandts in Odense where it is now on view until 21 September; and a touring retrospective “The House of Oracles”, which debuted at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 2005, travelled to Vancouver Art Gallery and closed at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing in June.
