Nai-Jen Yang

Nai-Jen Yang (b.1996) is a Taiwanese artist who works mainly with oil paintings, but also with photography, printmaking, and installation, trying to answer the question— what is painting (to me)?

After receiving a BFA (2018) and an MFA (2022) in Fine Art from Taipei National University of the Arts, she is now studying at The Royal College of Art in London, graduating the summer 2023. She has been exhibited both locally and internationally including Taipei, Beijing, and London.

Surface is the utmost important element in my practice. By painting on canvas that has only been primed with rabbit skin glue, I aim to create a looking experience that can only be fully comprehend by witnessing the works in person.

Through repetitive use of simple gesture and subtle palette, incorporate with the texture of the canvas and the shiny crystalize glue, I create the marks that slowly covered the canvas surface in its purest form. These marks are often invisible and only emerge when the viewer allows themselves their times with the paintings. The marks constantly change themselves visually, reacting to the surrounding light and the viewers themselves, creating an experience where the painting continuously evolve along with the gaze of the audience.