Two years ago I attended FRIEZE, an art fair in New York, for the first and probably last time. It was ice cold in the tents, spread across a small island in the East river, and the air was depleted of oxygen, all of which had been sucked into inflating the egos of the visitors, by my estimate. There were the well-to-do’s, and even more the rich, and then the hanger-ons, and the occasional art student who had scraped together the money for the astronomical entrance prizes. There were also a lot of people in yellow and green pants, and in jewels that by the laws of gravity should have dragged them to the ground but didn’t. Riddle me that.

In any case, the art was, for the most part, what this audience deserved. I was struck, however, by the painting below, which seemed refreshingly unafraid of narrative, and satisfyingly menacing without actual gore. I have now read up a bit on the painter, Yu Hong, and am impressed by her thoughtfulness. She is known for juxtaposing paintings of private scenes, herself, her family and friends, with historical events that happened at the same time of her depictions, not shying away from the long march of Chinese history. She integrates all kinds of models into her art, from early renaissance paintings to cave drawings of monks, combining styles with elegance. Importantly, she is focussing on women’s rights and issues in contemporary Chinese society and in the clip below explores the topic of melancholia in reaction to society developing on hyper-speed for her new series of paintings.

https://www.nowness.com/story/yu-hong-the-laughing-heart

For some reason the young man in the center of the group I photographed somewhere in Soho reminded me of the man in the painting. Would he have that deer-in-the-headlight look if he looked up?