Artwork Description

Title:Color Wheel 03

Artist:
Yan Lei

Date:
Undated (Contemporary)

Medium:
Oil painting

Dimensions:
180 × 180 cm (70.9 × 70.9 in)

Artwork Identification:
Color Wheel 03 is a compelling abstract oil painting by Yan Lei, measuring 180 by 180 centimeters. The composition features a minimalist arrangement of concentric rings, anchored by a small, bright white central circle. This is surrounded by a precise, narrow red band, followed by a dominant black ring that expands into a wide field of luminous yellow. The transitions between rings are smoothly blended, creating a subtle halo effect that draws the eye inward while radiating outward with energy and light. The bold chromatic contrasts—white, red, black, and yellow—create a powerful formal and symbolic balance.

Artistic Style and Influences:
This work is exemplary of Yan Lei’s minimalist abstraction and chromatic control. The formal simplicity of concentric rings aligns with the reductive practices of artists such as Ellsworth Kelly and Frank Stella, while the symbolic resonance of the palette evokes broader cultural and spiritual references. The precise, deliberate composition mirrors the systematic visual logic found throughout Yan’s Color Wheel series, where each color is not only formal but deeply atmospheric. The stark contrast of red and black, softened by the expansiveness of yellow, suggests both energetic tension and transcendental release.

Historical Context:
As part of the ongoing Color Wheel series, Color Wheel 03 reflects Yan Lei’s shift away from overt social critique toward a focus on visual perception, rhythm, and symbolic abstraction. Produced during an era of rapid digital saturation and visual fragmentation, this work reasserts the emotional power of analog color. The simplified geometry and pure hues may be read as meditative responses to complexity—drawing on both Western color theory and Eastern notions of elemental balance. The result is a painting that exists as both object and experience, balancing conceptual rigor with aesthetic intensity.

Provenance and Authenticity:
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

Condition and Conservation:
The painting exhibits minor discoloration at the center of the composition. Although located at the core of the canvas, the contrast is subtle, and the imperfection does not compromise the overall integrity of the piece. Otherwise, the artwork remains in very good condition.

Artistic Significance:
Color Wheel 03 is a potent demonstration of Yan Lei’s capacity to distill emotional, spiritual, and formal themes into a precise visual system. The interplay of color—moving from purity (white) to vitality (red), introspection (black), and illumination (yellow)—suggests a visual meditation on the cycle of experience or consciousness. Its clarity and compositional strength make it a highly desirable work for collectors of conceptual abstraction and contemporary Asian art. As the Color Wheel series continues to gain critical recognition, Color Wheel 03 stands out as one of its most symbolically charged and visually immediate examples.