Yiwei Gallery is pleased to present Body Mind Soul, a group photography exhibition featuring Rezeta Veliu, Chi Haibo, and Jeffrey Sklan.
Opening Reception with the Artists
Sunday, July 17th, 2:00 - 6:00 pm
1350 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, California 90291
Courtesy of Yiwei Gallery
Los Angeles based photographer Rezeta Veliu was born and raised in Pristina, Kosovo. In 1999, at the age of 14 she fled Kosovo as a war refugee and moved to New York. Her curiosity for cultures led her to live in Japan, Mexico City, Venice Beach, and Joshua Tree, and this nomadic lifestyle has fueled her creative journey as a photographer. This series Woman Is Stronger Than A Rock (Njëriu Është Më I Fort Se Guri ) was inspired by the hardships that women have endured and overcome and their bond to the unwavering natural landscape. Shooting on film, Rezeta captures the adversity and resilience of both subjects. She seeks to celebrate the strength of women by delving into the beauty of female liberation through the connection to Mother Earth. She also explores the symbiotic relationship between human vulnerability and the effortless acceptance of nature as a hopeful embodiment of our future on this planet.
Chinese photographer Chi Haibo finds his inspiration for Plant Poem ( Feng Ya) in Shijing, “Classic of Poetry”, which is the oldest authenticated anthology of poems in China spanning from the 11th to 7th centuries B.C. The poems reference more than a hundred kinds of plants and were chanted and sung both in humble fields and imperial courts. In keeping with the tradition of Shijing, Chi utilizes photography as his way of paying tribute to and celebrating plant life. This series is influenced specifically by two sections of Shijing, the “Feng” and the “Ya” which symbolize atmosphere and elegance, respectively. He aims to capture plants’ genuine state at one moment in time and reflect his own interpretation of pictorial aesthetics free from the bounds of traditional photography rules. The series of works can be experienced as a whole, and yet each photo can also stand on its own.
Courtesy of Yiwei Gallery
ELEGY is American photographer Jefferey Sklan’s collection of photographs paying tribute to lives lost in the epidemic of mass killings worldwide. Each image represents a discrete event.The series intentionally uses a rich color palette, as a nod to the classical painters who were Jefferey’s early heroes. The images were created as the viewer sees them, with neither artifice nor gimmickry. The collection begins with “A Lily for Orlando / Pulse Nightclub”, and ends with “A Lily for Nipsey”, a white lily on a blue field for the LA rapper and community activist, Nipsey Hussle.
The artist reception will be held on Sunday, July 17th, from 2 to 6pm. There will be live music performed by artists from CalArts, and a tea tasting experience provided by Tea Wave. Tea Wave is a company that sources single origin teas from high character, high quality, award-winning suppliers in Fujian, China. The founders, Michael and Joey, hope their teas can help you find calm in this crazy world. Parking can be found on the streets or in the neighborhood.
Courtesy of Yiwei Gallery
About Yiwei Gallery
Curating Meaningful exhibitions of local and global artists from our gallery in the heart of Venice, California. Open to all, our gallery focuses primarily on emerging and established women artists
From Los Angeles to Shanghai and beyond, we are dedicated to increasing exposure in international art markets for our Asian and other artists
