Yi Zhou

Yi Zhou is a young Chinese artist, who has lived in Rome from the age of ten and studied between London and Paris with a degree in Political Science and Economics. She creates large multimedia installation artworks that blend film, digital animation, photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, and contemporary music composition. Her works explore the realm of hyper-realism and Pasolinian neo-realism: on one hand, she renders visual and tangible forms from the imagination and dreams, while on the other hand, she gives a surreal aspect to nature itself. Her work is a complex synthesis of imagination, literature, mythology, philosophy and new technology and is impregnated with Chinese and Mediterranean culture. Her works introduce the disturbing magic of both virtual and supernatural characters and landscapes as well as the ephemeral reality of life, love, and death while using the symbolic language of the unconscious. Blending ancient expressive methods, such as sculpture in marble, 35mm films, together with extremely technologically advanced ones, such as 3D-animation, Yi Zhou presents an anachronistic vision of life represented with irony and wit.

Yi Zhou has held solo exhibitions at the Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris, and live art performances at Deitch Projects, New York. Recently, Yi Zhou opened a solo exhibition entitled: “Three Cantos, Prefiguration: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso,” at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence (in the rooms Studiolo di Francesco I, Cappella di Eleonora di Toledo, and Terrazzo di Saturno) together with a public projection and performance in Piazza della Signoria. For the first time, she has presented one of her latest videos entitled "Avatars" at the Venice International Film Festival in september 2007. In january 2008, her 3d animation video, "Paradise" has been selected in official competition at Sundance film festival.
Yi Zhou is currently preparing a public artwork on place vendome entitled "1280 TOWERS" together with Galerie Jerome de Noirmont and Comite Vendome, opening on april 15th to May 15th 2008. At the same time, she is also preparing a solo a exhibition at the Galerie Jerome de Noirmont in Paris starting from April 10th until end of May 2008. Yi Zhou is currently collaborating to several film and video projects, and lives between paris, hong kong.

Site design : Thierry Tranchina, Matthieu Rynkiewicz & François Leturcq.

Yi Zhou Studio
6 Place Edmond Rostand
75006 PARIS
Tel : +33 1 40 51 72 64
studio@yi-yo.net
press@yi-yo.net

Galerie jérôme de Noirmont
38, avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
Tel : +33 (0)1 42 89 89 00
info@denoirmont.com

Press contact :
IC INSIGHT COMMUNICATIONS
Via Carroccio 6
20123 Milano
Italia
Tel : +39 02 58 177 001
Fax : +39 02 58 177 008

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008
"Hear, Earth, Heart"
Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris, France, April - May 2008

2007
"Il passato è remoto anzi sarà sempre presente
Una scultura, un video, un anello."
Galleria Nicola Ricci.
Pietrasanta, Italy, May 18 2007

2006
"Three Cantos: Prefiguration: Inferno, urgatorio, Paradiso"
Palazzo Vecchio: Cappella di Eleonora di Toledo, Studiolo di Francesco I, Terrazza di Saturno
Projection and Performance on the Façade of Palazzo Vecchio and Torre Vecchia, Florence, Italy, June 2006

2005
"Dreamscape"
Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris, France, May - June 2005

2004
"Mountaintank" Performance,
Deitch Projects, New York, USA, September 2004

2002
"Y_Game"
Noirmont Prospect, Paris, France, September - November 2002

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2007
Fiac 2007. Gallerie Jérôme de Noirmont. "Archetype". Grand Palais, Paris - October 18-22

64th mostra internazionale d'arte cinematrografica di Venezia. "Avatars" film screening. September 6-7th 2007

Verismo Magico, Not Gallery, from 18th September 2007 to 26th October 2007

"Good Morning Babylonia", Pékin. February 2d, 2007

2006
Screening short film for La Mer
White Space, Amsterdam, NL. - 14 Nov

Quarter relocated
Turin, Italy - From 11 Nov. to 15 dec

Musée du Quai Branly, 27th of June 2006

2005
"Biennale d'Art contemporain chinois" Montpellier, France, June - August 2005

"Le futur des villes"
Nancy, France, June - August 2005

"Festival Sonar"
Barcelone, Spain, June 2005

2004
"Fraicheur de vivre"
Shanghai, and Canton Museum of Contemporay art, China, septembre 2004

"Generation Video"
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France, January 2004

2003
"Lovemeforeverandnever" in collaboration with the Crazy Horse
Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France,November 2003

40Views of an Icon" by Comme des Garçons
Spazio Consolo, Milano, Italy, November 2003

"FIAC 2003: Fantasme Fantastique"
Galerie Jerome de Noirmont, Paris,France, October 2003

"Made in China"
Fondation d'art contemporain Daniel et Florence Guerlain,France, Septmeber 2003

"40Views of an Icon" by Comme des Garçons
Hermitage, Moscow, Russia, September 2003

"Biennale de Tirana 02"
Tirana, Albania, September 2003

"DVDbyNumbers Presentation"
SonyDreamWorld, Paris, France, September 2003

"Something about love"
Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, Luxembourg, July 2003

2002
"Premiere Vue"
Passage du Retz, Paris, France, September 2002

"Alter Ego"
Musee de l'Histoire de l'Art, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, July 2002

"www.whitneybiennial.com," online exhibitio, March 2002

"C'est pas du Cinema"
Fresnoy, Lille, France, January 2002

Monographie
éditée par la Galerie Enrico Navarra,
sortie le 29 Mai, 180 pages

1280 Towers
Place Vendôme, Paris, 2008
avec le concours de la galerie Jerome de Noimont et du comité Vendôme. Music installation: The Dream of Yi by AIR. www.pocket-symphony.com/

Avatars
2007. Presented at the 64th international Venise film festival.

Whale Tails
Whale Tails, Flash animation, 2007

Stromboli
Stromboli consists of a 35mm film projected on a white marble plate from Carrara, on which is engraved the Face of the mythological figure of Medusa.
The film was shot in the volcanic isle of Stromboli in October 2006.

Nebulea
flash animation, 2007

Paradise fountain
The Paradise fountain sculpture is made of resin. 53 x 72 cm. 2006
This imaginary fountain was originally conceived for the 3D animation “Paradise”.

Paradise fountain black & white
flash animation, 2006

Paradise
3D animation, 2006. Duration : 03mn 23s.

L'amour et le crâne
" L'amour et le crâne " is a sculpture in volcanic stone on a marble plate, inspired by a poem by Baudelaire entitled "l'amour et le crâne". The same poem is also the inspiration for the video " Souffle gaiement des bulles rondes qui montent dans l'air, comme pour rejoindre les mondes au fond de l'ether ".

Souffle gaiement des bulles rondes qui montent dans l'air, comme pour rejoindre les mondes au fond de l'ether
2006

Lucifer (Three Cantos)
Video installation view in Capella di Eleneora di Toledo. 2006

Black and white moons
35 mm short film featuring Roger Federer, 2006. Duration : 02mn 45s.

Purgatorio (Three Cantos)
Black marble sculpture displayed in Studiolo di Francesco I

Paradiso (Three Cantos)
3D animation projected on white facet of the white marble with rose carved. Displayed in terrazza di Saturno

Limbo flags
Embroidery cotton/wool. 147 x 94 cm. 2006

The red thin line
The Red Thin Line C-print, from the red thin line animation, 90 x 120 cm. 2005

Daphne Trees
Trees made of aluminium, with 3D animations "One of these days" and "About Seana"

One of these days
Digital 3D vidéo animation, 2004. Duration : 03mn 10s.

About Seana
Digital 3D vidéo animation, 2005. Duration : 06mn 05s.

For the time being
Vidéo and 3D animation, 2005. Duration : 07mn 29s.

Strawberry field forever
Flash animation, 2005

Black fruits
Vidéo and 3D animation, 2005. Duration : 03mn 10s.

Yi vs Yi
Digital vidéo, 2004. Duration 02mn 30s.

Mountain Tank
Live performance at Deitch Projects, New-York, USA. September 2004

Something about love
Flash animation, 2003

Y Game
Noirmont Prospect, Paris, 2003

The end of communism
Flash animation, 2002. Duration : 16s.

Jump Tomorrow
Flash animation, 2002. Duration : 09mn 14s.

Puck
Flash animation, 2002

1flower
Flash animation, 2002

Comme des garçons
Flash animation, 2002

Lovemeforeverornever
Digital Vidéo, Flash animation, 2006. Duration : 01mn 54s.

Almost
Flash animation.