Artwork Description

Title: Swimming
Artist: Yan Bo (闫博)
Date: 1996
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 39.4 x 25.6 in (100 x 65 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Swimming is a striking oil painting by Yan Bo, depicting a solitary male swimmer captured from behind, poised with arms stretched upward, seemingly ready to dive. The composition draws attention to the strong musculature of the back, framed against the distorted and luminous blue geometry of a swimming pool. The perspective and composition evoke a sense of stillness and control, contrasting with the undulating forms of the water.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Though Yan Bo is primarily known for his later abstract and material-based works, Swimming illustrates his mastery of figurative form in his earlier practice. Executed with confident brushwork and nuanced tonal variation, the painting hints at the artist’s developing interest in texture and surface. The realistic rendering of anatomy set against abstract ripples of water prefigures his later exploration of tactile depth using mineral pigments and nontraditional supports.

3. Historical Context
Created in 1996, Swimming is situated within a period of rapid transition in Chinese contemporary art, when artists increasingly sought to express individuality within the tension between realism and abstraction. Yan Bo, born in 1970, is among the generation of Chinese artists who came of age in the post-1989 art scene, characterized by experimentation and material innovation. This piece reflects both technical discipline and an early shift toward more conceptual approaches.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The painting is reported to be in very good condition. There are no visible signs of surface damage, cracking, or discoloration. The paint surface and canvas remain structurally stable and well-preserved.

6. Artistic Significance
Swimming stands as a rare and elegant example of Yan Bo’s early figurative work before he moved into sculptural and mixed media forms. The painting exemplifies a moment of introspective precision and subtle motion, evoking a quiet meditative energy. Collectors of contemporary Chinese art will appreciate this piece as a formative expression of an artist who would later become known for tactile abstraction and philosophical objecthood.