Yan was named as a Who's Who Contemporary Artist in Shanghai in 2011 - the youngest to be named and one of only a few women. She started painting at the age of seven, and has traveled extensively throughout China for inspiration.
"I am a big believer of provenance. I also believe art is an expression of one's discovery of and faith in life," says Yemin Yan.
Art by Chinese artist Yemin Yan, who was featured at Shanghai's Top 8 Artists exhibition, can now be purchased online. The art collection includes watercolor, fan, and landscape paintings. Each piece of art is one of a kind and handmade. The paintings are available at http://www.etsy.com/shop/YeminYAN
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The art is a mix of Western style and traditional Chinese paintings. The Chinese art is influenced by the styles of the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and depicts daily life. Each Chinese painting also contains a variety of motifs and symbols.
Yan's artwork has appeared at the World Expo 2010 (Mao Tse Tung Art Exhibition), China-Japan Arts Exhibition, and the Shanghai's Top 8 Artists Exhibition, among dozens of others. She was also profiled in the latest Who's Who List of Contemporary Artists in Shanghai (first published in 1993, and republished in 2002-08 and 2011).
Yan's rise reflects an increasing fascination among Western collectors with contemporary Chinese art. Today, the Chinese art market is among the fastest growing in the world, with modern Chinese art raking in record prices internationally and domestically. While in 2004, only one of the top ten best-selling artists in the world was Chinese, this figure increased to five out of ten in 2007. In 2011, China overtook the UK as the largest art market in the world after the United States, with auction sales totaling $8.5 billion.
"With auction prices soaring, hundreds of new studios, galleries and private art museums are opening in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai," David Barboza of the New York Times was quoted as saying. "Chinese auction houses that once specialized in traditional ink paintings are now putting contemporary experimental artworks on the block."
ith the growing value of Chinese art, painters like Yan are in high demand in the West. Fascination with Chinese art has increased while the country emerges as an economic power, and the demand for such art is set to rise in the next few years. Yan's work, which harmonizes Eastern and Western styles, is a testament to the growing exchange between East and West. Yan hopes that through her paintings, people will come to understand the life and attitudes of Chinese people.
