INTERVENTION: YAN PEI-MING
CRUCIFIXION
Palace Chapel
18 May to 6 November 2016
Yan Pei-Ming
Crucifixion, 2015
Oil on canvas, 300 x 200 cm
The Tia Collection © Yan Pei-Ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2016
Photo: André Morin, Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris/Salzburg
INTERVENTION: YAN PEI-MING
CRUCIFIXION
In the series Intervention, launched in 2007, national and international contemporary
artists are regularly invited to create site-specific works or projects for the Upper
Belvedere, referencing its architecture, history or collection. To date, the series has
showcased works by Brigitte Kowanz, Marco Lulic, Gudrun Kampl, Tillman Kaiser,
Marianne Gartner, Lisa Oppenheim, Agnieszka Polska, Gerold Tusch, Christian Mayer,
and Rudi Stanzel. The current intervention is Crucifixion, a major work by the Chinese
artist Yan Pei-Ming, on show in the Palace Chapel of Prince Eugene of Savoy at the
Upper Belvedere. Running from 18 May to 6 November, this is the first showing of the
.
Intervention, we are now presenting the
seventeenth contemporary work at the Upper Belvedere
architecture, its history, or the collection. The aim is to inspire visitors to explore new
perspectives and make exciting discoveries revealed by aspects of these works. Following
Gudrun KAMPL, Gerold Tusch, Karen Kilimnik and, most recently, Rudi Stanzl, the Belvedere is
now showing an artwork by another acclaimed artist. Yan Pei-Ming is regarded as a major
figure in the international art world and impresses with his monumental works and their
characteristic expressive power. As the first intervention in Princ
, it
fulfils a long-held wish of mine. PeiCrucifixion creates a unique atmosphere in this
spiritual environment. A virtually unparalleled interaction between Baroque past and the
present, a spatial experience that cannot fail to mesmerize
Arco, Director of the Belvedere and 21er Haus.
Yan Pei-Ming was born in Shanghai in 1960 and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. At the
age of nineteen, he left China to become an artist and studied at the École Nationale
-Ming has lived and worked in Dijon and Paris ever since. On
the international stage of contemporary art, he is one of the most successful Chinese artists.
Yan Peige-scale portraits of prominent personalities, selfportraits, and animal paintings, as well as interpretations of art-historical masterpieces. His
expressive style, sweeping gestures, seemingly monochrome palette, fading out of secondary
pictorial elements, and the contemplative mood of his monumental works are all rooted in the
art.
The Palace Chapel at the Upper Belvedere
The Belvedere and its history hold an almost mythical character for me. The power of the
location, particularly the spiritual aura of the Palace Chapel, adds new layers of meaning to the
Crucifixion and helps it attain a new and profound impact. In the past, religious works were
created predominantly for a specific sacred place or particular liturgical rituals; these are no
longer the prime motivation. For me, the question about the significance of contemporary
works with a religious background plays a pivotal role, even if only with regard to the formal
inspiration. In the context of religious subjects, Crucifixion therefore takes on a completely
different role
Yan Pei-Ming.
The magnificent Palace Chapel at the Upper Belvedere has been largely preserved in its
original condition and reflects the great importance of church spaces to Prince Eugene of
Savoy. There is little to indicate
he exterior façade of the
southeast tower. Far surpassing the usual scope of a private devotional space, the chapel,
along with the Marble Hall, is the only room in the Upper Belvedere to occupy two storeys. The
interior boasts an astonishing array of art: a fresco on the ceiling depicting God the Father and
the Holy Spirit by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone, sculptures of the saints John the Baptist and Peter
by Domenico Parodi, and an altarpiece showing The Resurrection of Christ by Francesco
Solimena. For a period of six months, the Crucifixion by Yan Pei-Ming will replace the latter,
sparking an exciting dialogue between the contemporary work and its historical and religious
surroundings.
A pdf of the catalogue can be downloaded at the following link :
www.belvedere.at/presse
GENERAL INFORMATION
Exhibition Title
Yan Pei-Ming - Crucifixion
Dates
18 May to 6 November 2016
Venue
Upper Belvedere, Palace Chapel
Curator
Alfred Weidinger
Contact
Belvedere, Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Vienna
T +43 (01) 795 57-0
www.belvedere.at
Opening Hours
Daily 10 am 6 pm
Regular Admission
14 (Upper Belvedere)
Guided Tours
Belvedere & Winter Palace Visitor Services and Education
T +43 (01) 795 57-134, M [email protected]
Press Office
Belvedere & Winter Palace Press Office
Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Vienna
T +43 (01) 795 57-177
M [email protected]
Complimentary images can be downloaded for media
coverage of the exhibition at www.belvedere.at/presse