Uncommon Beauty Announces International Representation of Young Queer Artist Wanying Jin
New York (July xx, 2020) — Uncommon Beauty Gallery is pleased to welcome artist and painter Wanying Jin to its robust roster of global artists. As the promising artist’s first international representation, Uncommon Beauty will feature her work in upcoming campaigns and a duo show next year curated by Mengna Da.
With a focus on portraiture, Wanying Jin aspires in her art to explore the contemporary connotations of elegance while conjuring unorthodox figures that are free from the mainstream notions of gender, race, and beauty. Her figures usually retain aloof against exquisite patterns and colored backgrounds, striking a fine balance between Renaissance-esque sophistication and bold chic fashion. The indifferent yet reserved gaze of her figures confronts the viewers in an unapologetic way, persuading the viewers to savor the subtlety of the figures’ facial expressions while reflecting on themselves.
The allure of Jin’s portraits is rooted in her unique sensitivity and compassion with all kinds of people – both real and fictional – who she encounters in life. Ambiguous in sex, race, and age, these characters have no interest in the labels that separate people from each other in today’s increasingly segregated world. The decorative patterns often seen in her work reflect· the dazzling world she draws inspiration from. She observes the complexity in humanity, transforms her perception of various emotions onto canvas, and in turn examines herself.
Hotel Lover, 2019
In her recent head portrait series, Jin brings a group of non-binary characters to life through a rich combination of media including oils, colored pencils, pastels, fabric and collage. Often times, she uses make-up tools rather than brushes to build the delicate and realistic texture of the figures’ faces. She is currently adopting this method to making larger human-size portraiture.
Untitled-3, 2020
Beyond her career as an artist, Jin has also worked with youth education and studied witch crafting. She is also actively working with her partner on strengthening communal mental health by building self-support communities to exchange and reconfigure emotions through art making.
Wanying Jin (b. 1995) is an illustrator-turned artist who currently lives and works in Shenzhen, China. She received her MA degree in Illustration from Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester, England) and BA degree in Illustration from the Arts University of Bournemouth (Poole, England). Recent showcases of her artwork include “Stay Ugly,” Manchester School of Art (2017) and “Marc Deck” at MarcD Gallery in Columbus, Ohio (2018).