Yeorae Yoon

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (September 2 - December 15) :

Yoon’s research focuses on the highly original painting of Gao Fenghan (1683-1749). Gao was born and grew up in Jiaozhou, a small town located on the east coast of Shandong province. In middle age, Gao began to work in the field administration, initially in Anhui​ province, as a low-level official. In 1737, at the age of 55, his right arm was paralyzed; shortly afterwards, he was dismissed from his position due to malicious slander. In order to support himself Gao subsequently continued to paint using his left hand, first in the​ Jiangnan region and later in his hometown in Shandong. Prolific and versatile, Gao​ Fenghan produced a large amount of paintings and calligraphy in various genres and techniques. During her residency at NYU Shanghai, she plans to work on two main projects. First, she will visit museums to study Gao Fenghan’s paintings first-hand. Shanghai museum has a large collection of Gao’s paintings. In addition, she will attempt to see as many of his paintings as possible in other museums within striking distance in order to understand better the characteristics of his works and judge their qualities. Secondly, she will make field trips to the sites in the Jiangnan region that Gao visited and painted. The map of his travels is fine-grained, connecting small Anhui cities such as Shexian, Anqing, Huizhou and the small Jiangsu city of Taizhou with the major urban centers in Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Yangzhou. She hopes to make short trips to these cities and follow the routes of his travels to understand what geographical and topographical features attracted Gao’s attention and artistic interest.