Ying Yefu revives the ancient gongbi genre at "Anesthetic," the latest of multiple solo shows of his at Art Labor. Gongbi traces its origins to the Han dynasty, two millennia ago. A flourishing of the arts during the Tang and Song dynasties saw the art form develop and become popular. Renowned for having more technical difficulty than the freer xieyi, "sketching thoughts" genre, gongbi art was extremely valuable. In resuscitating this ancient art form, Ying applies his own contemporary art aesthetic.

The gongbi style is notorious for its flat lines and lack of dimension, but Ying Yefu pushes the genre's boundaries to create movement and perspective. In many of his figurative works, he creates the illusion of plump flesh by shading the folds in children's skin; in the three works entitled Yi Huan Quan, he gives the appearance of movement by replicating each figure several centimeters to the left.

The mindless, pointless activities people do to pass the time comprises this exhibition's theme. The painting Treating the Lobster depicts a man operating on a dead crayfish; Knitting shows a middle-aged nurse knitting with noodles. Each piece is aesthetically pleasing, but more disturbing the closer you examine it. You sense the hyper-realism in Ying's art that relies solely on carefully placed, sharply-wrought lines.

Symbolism also is rife in Ying's work. Whenever a bald child appears in a painting, it is the artist himself, held back by emotional strife. A difficult family situation (his mother left the family when Ying was very young) underpins much of his output, and he often shows himself locked inside peaches (symbolizing both longevity and the world), struggling to hold things together. Look, too, for the artist's use of webbed duck feet and yellow beaks. Ducks, for him, represent family, which is disturbing when viewing Air, in which a bald child inflates a duck-billed man from a pump.

Ying Yefu is part of the so-called Jelly Generation of Chinese contemporary artists who were born in the '80s. The first generation to grow up without having experienced the Cultural Revolution, they embody a fresh movement of contemporary art in China. In drawing from ancient times, Ying embodies a desire to reshape and rework the past in a way that's meaningful and comprehensible to all who didn't live through it themselves.

DETAILS

What: Ying Yefu's Anesthetic

Where: Art Labor Gallery

When: Through Jan. 5

Web: www.artlaborgallery.com