Artwork Description

Title: Street View
Artist: Jing Yuan
Date: n.d.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 22.8 x 19.3 in (58 x 49 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
This Untitled work from Jing Yuan’s Street View series measures 58 x 49 cm and is executed in oil on canvas. The piece is marked by a textured, almost archaeological surface—an abstract composition where rectilinear forms seem to float or erode within a pale, weathered ground. The artist employs a restrained, earthy palette and a distressed impasto that evokes layers of time and memory.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Jing Yuan’s aesthetic here veers into lyrical abstraction, influenced by Arte Povera and the material investigations of post-war European abstraction. The subdued tonality and weathered surfaces reflect an interest in entropy and the poetics of decay, reminiscent of Antoni Tàpies or the textured silence of Kwang-Young Chun’s minimalist language. The work eschews narrative in favor of mood and material resonance.

3. Historical Context
While undated, the work speaks to a broader contemporary trend among East Asian painters to interrogate surface and absence. Rather than presenting a literal “street view,” Jing Yuan offers a metaphysical interpretation of urban memory—suggesting the ghosts of structures and the erosion of collective visual culture. This may reflect ongoing concerns with cultural preservation amidst modernization and urban erasure.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The painting is in very good condition. The heavily textured surface exhibits no cracking or instability. There are no visible restorations or structural concerns. The artist’s intentional layering and material wear are integral to the work’s conceptual and visual impact.

6. Artistic Significance
This work represents a sophisticated abstraction within Jing Yuan’s urban-themed practice. By stripping the cityscape to its elemental remnants, the artist invites viewers to contemplate the silent palimpsests of space and time. It is a refined and introspective piece, ideally suited for collectors of minimalist abstraction and contemporary East Asian painting.