Yun Gee: Yun Gee Solo Exhibition
In 1998, Lin & Keng Gallery presented a solo exhibition of Yun Gee (Zhu Yuanzhi), accompanied by the publication of the artist’s second monograph.
As early as August 1995, when the gallery was still located at its former premises, it had presented a major solo exhibition of Yun Gee’s oil paintings, featuring thirty-three oil paintings and three works on paper. Three years later, in November 1998, the gallery organized another solo exhibition devoted to the artist. The works presented were entirely different from those shown in the previous exhibition, and the scale of the exhibition was further expanded. In addition to significant works from different periods of the artist’s career, the exhibition featured a rare group of oil paintings and a sculpture dating from the 1950s.
Yun Gee’s artistic career can be broadly understood through three major periods associated with San Francisco, Paris, and New York. The 1998 exhibition brought together works spanning all three periods. It featured nearly thirty oil paintings, eleven works on paper, and a rare bronze sculpture, Confucius.
The original model for Confucius was created in 1930. In this sculpture, Yun Gee portrayed the solemn figure of Confucius, conveying the spirit of a learned thinker deeply concerned with his country and people. A precious photograph of the artist with the sculpture has also been preserved. Together, the sculpture and the photograph not only attest to Yun Gee’s artistic practice beyond painting, but also provide an important clue to understanding his engagement with Chinese culture and intellectual traditions. The bronze edition was reproduced in 1998 with permission from the artist’s family.
Yun Gee’s solo exhibition was held at Lin & Keng Gallery from November 14 to December 1, 1998. Through works spanning his San Francisco, Paris, and New York periods, together with the simultaneous publication of the monograph and related research texts, the exhibition offered a relatively comprehensive presentation of the artist’s artistic trajectory, shaped by his experiences across different cities and his sustained engagement with both Eastern and Western cultures. The 1998 publication Yun Gee, published by Lin & Keng Gallery, comprises 96 pages and documents works presented in the exhibition.
