Yang Feiyun was born in 1954 in Baoton, Inner Mongolia. He came to Beijing to study art and graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1982. He then became a lecturer in the Department of Design at the Central 
Academy of Drama. In 1984 he was appointed lecturer in the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and is currently an Associate Professor there. Since the 1980’s, he has traveled extensively, showing his work in over twenty exhibitions world-wide including the “Japan Exhibition of Asian Art,” Bangladesh, 1986; the “Invitational Exhibition of Eight Famous Artists,” Guilin, 1987; “Contemporary Oil Paintings from the People’s Republic of China,” Harkness House, New York, 1987; the “Seventh National Fine Arts Exhibition, Beijing,” 1989; and the “’91 Biennial of Chinese Oil Painting.” In addition to winning numerous awards, his paintings are included in the collections of the National Art Museum of China and the Gallery of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, as well as the Fushan Museum, Japan. Yang Feiyun resides in Beijing with his wife, who is also a painter.
Artist's Wife With Her Dog, 1989
Oil on Canvas
39 3/4" x 32" (101cm x 81.3cm)About this work
Though Yang Feiyun’s wife is not his only subject she is his most constant one. This portrait of her with a dog began when he made a trip with his art students to study and paint minorities and their specific costumes. He borrowed the dress his wife is wearing in this portrait from a woman he met. At the time of the sitting, they had a dog in their home and while he was painting her portrait she picked up the dog and Yang saw the scene develop.
Instantaneous Static, 1989
Oil on Canvas
33 7/8" x 29 7/8" (86cm x 75.9cm)About this work
Often a particular painting will become identified with an artist and serve to represent the artist throughout their career. “Instantaneous Static” is one such painting. It has been widely reproduced in books and articles on Yang Feiyun and on contemporary Chinese painting. Even the artist himself says that he agrees it is one of his most interesting and classic pieces. Quite simply, he was painting a portrait of his wife when she made a gesture to brush something out of her eye. Yang Feiyun says in that moment, he saw the painting he wanted to make. The artist acknowledges the title is a rough translation of the French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson’s phrase, “the decisive moment” which is the perfect definition for the work.
