{"id":38045,"date":"2017-08-17T08:31:50","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T14:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=38045"},"modified":"2025-11-12T20:11:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T03:11:19","slug":"east-meets-west-in-yidan-guos-new-exhibit-at-finch-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/east-meets-west-in-yidan-guos-new-exhibit-at-finch-lane\/","title":{"rendered":"East Meets West in Yidan Guo\u2019s New Exhibit at Finch Lane"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cBack to Then (Self-portrait\u201d by Yidan Guo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Y<\/span>idan Guo is an artist who is combining ancient traditions with breathtaking examples of modern life. Her watercolor exhibition at Finch Lane Gallery,\u00a0East vs. West<\/em>, is just that.\u00a0 In the exhibition, the SUU professor presents a skillful mastery of Chinese Gongbi style painting, creating meticulously detailed portraits on Xuan paper or silk, and capturing a gorgeous sense of serenity within her subjects, each looking pensively into the unknowable distance.<\/h4>\n

In her artist statement, Guo says, \u201cMy portraits are a way of revealing a state of mind that is shared by every human being, a common concern about the meaning of happiness, fulfillment, morality and eternity.\u201d One of the most striking examples of Guo\u2019s ability to capture this moment within a portrait can be seen in the piece \u201cA Buddhist Monk.\u201d\u00a0 In the image, a young man in traditional red robes, called\u00a0ji\u0101sh\u0101<\/em>, looks caught in a moment of reverie, possibly about to speak, but equally at a loss for words.\u00a0 Guo has captured the complexities of a deep human moment in this painting, as she has in many others.<\/h4>\n

In \u201cBack to Then (Self-Portrait),\u201d another rare moment is beautifully captured by Guo.\u00a0 A moment that is frozen in time, in a more rich and complex way than a simple photograph.\u00a0 This image is also done on silk using the traditional method, but contrasts \u201cA Buddhist Monk\u201d in several ways.\u00a0 Guo focuses on more elements of the scene instead of solely the main subject of the portrait, and captures a still frame of a day, offering the viewer a glimpse into her past.<\/h4>\n
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\u201cA Buddhist Monk,\u201d 2009, water-based pigment on silk, 43\u2033 x 28\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The way that Guo contrasts East and West, however, is by exploring Western art in an equally masterful and poignant way.\u00a0 Opposite the traditional Chinese paintings in the Finch Lane Gallery space, a row of plein air watercolor paintings exhibit another layer of Guo\u2019s skill.\u00a0 These paintings focus on the scene instead of an individual. Some show places that may be familiar to people in the Utah area, as in \u201cMt. Timpanogos,\u201d and \u201cMorning Light on Cedar Breaks,\u201d but Guo also infuses her Western style with Eastern themes, however. Some of them feature Eastern architecture, such as \u201cSpring Buddhist Temple in Morning Light,\u201d a piece that is a celebration of colors and graceful spires rising into the air, the contrasts between light and shadows giving it the aura of early morning.<\/h4>\n

Whether it is her skillful use of traditional Chinese methods, her fantastic application of Western style, or her fusion of the two together, offering them the chance to play off one another in theme and influence, Guo\u2019s ability to display different kinds of watercolor painting is a delight not to be missed.<\/h4>\n

\u201cEast vs. West,\u201d watercolors by Yidan Guo,\u00a0Finch Lane Gallery<\/a>, Salt Lake City, through Sept. 22, Gallery Stroll receptions Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, 6-9 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cBack to Then (Self-portrait\u201d by Yidan Guo Yidan Guo is an artist who is combining ancient traditions with breathtaking examples of modern life. Her watercolor exhibition at Finch Lane Gallery,\u00a0East vs. West, is just that.\u00a0 In the exhibition, the SUU professor presents a skillful mastery of Chinese Gongbi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1560,"featured_media":38046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guo_self.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-30 15:39:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98576,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38045\/revisions\/98576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}