Shen Yongji’s new art exhibition, “What Materials Know,” at the H Foundation in San Marino (Photo – Paolo Calchi Novati)
August 16 through October. 10, the San Marino-based H Foundation for the Arts will present Chinese sculptor Shen Yongji’s new art exhibition, What Materials Know. The show is the H Foundation’s first modern art exhibition this year and Shen’s first solo exhibition in the United States. Admission is free, and the exhibition features 13 artworks displayed in two airy rooms at the H Foundation, 2492-2494 Huntington Drive.
By Paolo Calchi Novati
Shen’s vivid sculptures combine a traditional Chinese technique, cuo jin yin (gold and silver inlay), with modern materials such as crystal resin and acrylic paint. He said he “does not want any style to define his art,” but added that he often draws inspiration from Chinese objects. According to Shen, he began thinking about the pieces in this exhibition during the COVID-19 pandemic as a “healing method” to cope with the struggles and uncertainties he was facing at the time.
One piece that drew attention was “Sumeru,” a huge rectangular creation whose blue coloring gradually becomes lighter from bottom to top. The piece is meant to represent hell, earth and heaven. However, Shen said it also represents human life: “You keep trying to move upward, thinking that once you reach the next level, things will be different. But when you finally cross that boundary, you realize that, in the end, it’s actually still the same.”
Another feature of the show is a looping video showing Shen creating some of the artworks in the exhibition.
Right outside the exhibition building is a table with small slips of paper where visitors can write what they thought of the show. Their messages will be posted on the H Foundation’s social media account.
Explaining why the Foundation chose to exhibit Shen’s work, H Foundation program director Emily Zhang said, “We were very much intrigued by how he uses contemporary material language in dialogue with the traditional technique, which is cuo jin yin.” According to Zhang, the purpose of the Foundation is to highlight Asian and diasporic artists whose work could spark interest and dialogue.
The Foundation’s next exhibition will celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday using photos and brief video messages from Asians who have immigrated to America.
On August 17, Yongji will fly to his hometown of Ningbo, China, to join his wife, who is due to give birth on August 19.
Artist Shen Yongji at the opening night, explaining one of his pieces (Photo – Paolo Calchi Novati)
Shen Yongji’s”Sumeru”, 2026. Gold, copper, aluminum, nacre powder, acrylic, crystal resin, carbon fiber, fiberglass (Photo – Paolo Calchi Novati)
Leave a Reply