Xiaoqing Ding
At the End of a Rainbow

Gallery II
Solo Exhibition

October 23, 2010 through November 20, 2010

NEW YORK, NY (September 23, 2010) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce At the End of a Rainbow, a series of new works by Chinese-American Brooklyn-based artist Xiaoqing Ding, in what will be her debut solo exhibition in New York.

At the End of a Rainbow is the first exhibition of oil paintings by Xiaoqing Ding, an artist known for exploring a variety of mediums through her work including pastels, egg tempera, and silverpoint. Ding’s years of training in traditional Chinese art forms combined with exposure to American culture in more recent years, results in a captivating fusion of old world technique and modern subject matter. Her distinctive imagery explores the nature of sexuality and eroticism through themes of yearning, fantasy, identity, moral struggles and personal politics.

Through her artwork, Ding references symbolism from her Chinese heritage combined with multi-cultural influences such as Greek mythology, European fairytales and Medieval studies. Works in this exhibition, painted in oils on round wooden panels and on paper, feature colorful and highly detailed imagery inspired by Italian Renaissance masters, including reinterpretations of classic Botticelli works such as The Birth of Venus and The Three Graces as well as The Death of Procris by Piero di Cosimo.

Nearly all of the pieces in this show contain figurative allegories involving women and foxes. In traditional Chinese folklore, the fox was often regarded as an animal with supernatural qualities, symbolic of cunning, mischief and seduction. Demons and departed souls were believed to appear in fox form and, in certain circumstances, foxes were believed to be able to assume human form. In context, these sly creatures stir the sensuality of their human companions. Although rendered in traditional costumes, Ding’s female figures assume strong and sexually liberated roles.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Xiaoqing Ding is originally from Beijing, China, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. With eight years of training in traditional Chinese Art forms in Beijing, she came to the United States to continue her studies and hone her craft. In 2001, Ding received an MFA from Hoffberger School of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, followed by a full scholarship residency at Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture and a grant from The Joan Mitchell Foundation. In the years since, the artist has continued exhibiting her work while receiving numerous awards, honors and fellowships.