NEW YORK, December 30, 2023—Atamian Hovsepian Curatorial Practice is pleased to announce YicJi’s Mythos Soup, the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery. Opening on January 18, 2024 at 227 E 24th St, the exhibition of new sculptures will also be Ji’s first in New York.

 

Shanghai-born Yichen Ji produces astonishing work that lives at the crossroads of digital, installation and sculptural work. As such, this remarkable young artistic savant, still a sophomore at the Parsons School of Design, represents the brilliant future of the art world. He has spent the past several years meticulously refining his skills in both sculpture and painting. His journey into sculpture-making marks a significant expansion in his artistic repertoire, introducing a new dimension to his already diverse skill set. In “Mythos Soup,” Ji’s innovative use of experimental materials such as circuit boards, electronic components and industrial materials (discarded aluminum, acrylic and other metal alloys) creates wholly original pieces such as “Virgin Mary” (2022) and “Lenticular Dream.” (2023) These works are sleek,  modern, and cyber-sexy. As such they also belong to the growing field of Futuro Environmentalism, repurposing materials rather than discarding them to the waste bin. Based on the memory of his childhood home, torn down due to eminent domain or “chai qian,” the large ( 27” x 59” x 18”) “Lenticular Dream,” created in 2023, recalls the work of Yaacov Agam and Dan Flavin. The soothing keyboard-like interplay of multicolored pictures is generated by code and video shots of the house. Ji created his highly personalized “Virgin Mary” using recycled materials found on eBay, sourced from industrial waste sites by the online sales giant. In so doing he continues to push the limits of contemporary art, challenging conventions, exploring new boundaries. His work takes us back to earlier traditions such as Renaissance religious art: Ji’s sci-fi and futuristic aesthetic both pays homage to and challenges Christian iconographic representation.

 

Yichen (Jack) Ji is now studying at the Parsons School of Design, and graduated with honors from Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. At Cushing, he received numerous awards including three Silver Keys in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, as well as the school’s “Excellence in Art Award.” As a young artist, he regularly placed first in local art competitions in Shanghai and nationally throughout China. Ji’s works were also selected multiple times to take part in charity auctions held by China Life Insurance, a member of the Fortune Top 100 Global companies. Ji's Centennial Symphony won First Prize in the Chinese Art Education Award and was exhibited at both the Shanghai Greenland Bund Art Gallery and the Shanghai New Art Museum. In 2018, he was awarded the Bronze Award at the Shanghai Student Art and Design Exhibition and the work was shown in the West Bund Museum. Ji's creations are also part of the Leo Gallery Collection in Shanghai.