The Vanguard Gallery greets the winter season with a show of young Chinese talent. Both born in the ’80s, Wang Xin and Ye Linghan epitomize an emerging dynamism at play in the contemporary Chinese art world.

Ye uses a masterful yet distinct technique of color washing and staining. His most impressive works here are four small-scale depictions of Greek and Roman statues called Sculpture at Will 1-4. Look for how Ye places paint exactly where it will blend with surrounding colors to create shadows and lines.

The Zhejiang native also turns to Chinese history for subject matter. The Tang dynasty royal horse Zhao Ye Bai is featured in a huge Cubist-influenced work called The Head of Zhao Ye Bai & Blue. Reminiscent of Georges Braque, Ye manipulates the historical creature’s image with modern techniques.

Stronger lines and bolder paint strokes define Ye's architectural studies. United States, Oh United States is a stunningly precise depiction of the top of Manhattan’s Chrysler Building, while Architecture is a Brutalist building with impenetrable black windows and relentlessly straight lines. Boundary of Dream and Reality offers a bird’s eye view of a model city chillingly devoid of people and life—just empty grey streets slicing between rectangular buildings.

Taking up less gallery space, Wang Xin’s two videos deliver equally strong impact. The Hubei native studied at the China Art Academy before graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago’s new media department. The video Pumpkin Land plays on a small monitor, showing an eerie landscape colored only by sand-toned wheat and orange pumpkins. A child moves among them, stopping to touch and arrange them. It’s a haunting scene, calling to mind the hazy days of childhood—ephemeral, yet seared into memory.

In the gallery’s side room, cordoned off by a black curtain, Wang’s second video plays. Bathed in yellow and purple neon light, a girl with an afro sits behind what appears to be a drum kit. Against a backdrop of urban noise, she twirls an umbrella above her head, taps her fingernails on hollow metal and snores heavily. Dystopic yet oddly comforting, it's a challenging and enjoyable piece.

Placed side by side, these new works by Wang and Ye present a compelling picture of contemporary Chinese art. Standing apart from M50’s burgeoning commercialism, the exhibition is highly relevant and well worth a visit.

DETAILS:

What: "Go Back to the Future"

Where: Vanguard Gallery

When: Dec. 27