Overview
'I take something that is meant to be ignored or quickly forgotten and turn it into something that makes me wonder and linger. That is my way of combating the feeling of being overwhelmed by all the information that is thrown at us on a daily basis.'
Han Bing is recognised for her sensitive yet disruptive visual language in paintings that deconstruct pictorial reality and open up new dimensions. Having recently moved to Paris after living in New York, Los Angeles and Shanghai, her practice draws on urban elements, including street scenes and architectural façades. She takes inspiration from the textures and patterns that appear in cities - especially the 'errors' and 'glitches' generated by ripped posters. For the artist, 'painting is a way to resist all the information that is being forced on us', and her observations of city life serve as a starting point for the processing of emotional impressions.
Taking inspiration from various sources, including theatre, science and literature, Han allows the dynamics of the works to guide their compositions. She creates using oil sticks and spray paint, occasionally allowing surprises during the process to introduce an unexpected twist to the work. 'My paintings are representational at times, but it’s more that there is a dynamic where a few patches have met unexpectedly and turned a bewildering situation into something that made sense to me at that particular moment,' says Han. Her works gradually move towards abstraction as figurative elements are filtered and deconstructed into fragments.
Han Bing is recognised for her sensitive yet disruptive visual language in paintings that deconstruct pictorial reality and open up new dimensions. Having recently moved to Paris after living in New York, Los Angeles and Shanghai, her practice draws on urban elements, including street scenes and architectural façades. She takes inspiration from the textures and patterns that appear in cities - especially the 'errors' and 'glitches' generated by ripped posters. For the artist, 'painting is a way to resist all the information that is being forced on us', and her observations of city life serve as a starting point for the processing of emotional impressions.
Taking inspiration from various sources, including theatre, science and literature, Han allows the dynamics of the works to guide their compositions. She creates using oil sticks and spray paint, occasionally allowing surprises during the process to introduce an unexpected twist to the work. 'My paintings are representational at times, but it’s more that there is a dynamic where a few patches have met unexpectedly and turned a bewildering situation into something that made sense to me at that particular moment,' says Han. Her works gradually move towards abstraction as figurative elements are filtered and deconstructed into fragments.
Based in Paris, Han Bing was born in China and has lived in New York, Los Angeles and Shanghai. She holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York and a BFA from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Her first solo exhibition in a French institution took place at CAC Passerelle, Brest, in 2024. Her work has also been shown in exhibitions at institutions including Le Consortium, Dijon (2022 and 2024); UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2020); and the National Art Museum of China, Beijing (2008), among others. She was included in the group exhibition Saturation at Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Pantin, in 2022.
Videos
Artworks
Meditations in an Emergency, installation view, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2020.
