Artwork Description

Title: Edge Series NO.1
Artist: Yi Tan
Date: 2014
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 37.4 x 57.1 in (95 x 145 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
This compelling work, Title:d Edge Series NO.1, is a large-scale acrylic painting by contemporary artist Yi Tan. Measuring 95 x 145 cm, the composition centers on the structural grid of a modernist building façade, rendered with crisp lines and cool tones. The piece reflects a fascination with architecture, transparency, and spatial rhythm, using a reduced palette of steel greys, pale pinks, and electric blue to depict the interplay of light and geometry within the building’s skeletal form.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Yi Tan’s Edge Series exemplifies a minimalist and architectural approach rooted in geometric abstraction and contemporary urban aesthetics. Influences may include modernist architects like Mies van der Rohe as well as visual artists working in the lineage of precisionist painting and optical minimalism. Tan’s controlled use of acrylics and modular repetition of linear elements conveys a meditative clarity, echoing themes found in both Bauhaus discipline and East Asian spatial philosophies.

3. Historical Context
Created in 2014, this work arises from a period of rapid urban development and architectural innovation in East Asia, especially China. Yi Tan's focus on the skeletal infrastructure of modern buildings may be interpreted as a commentary on the transparency and rigidity of institutional structures, or the visual language of industrial expansion. The stark delineation of forms mirrors an era of increasingly rigid social and architectural frameworks, while the subtle tonal shifts suggest contemplation and introspection amidst urban growth.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The painting is preserved in very good condition. The surface is stable, with no visible abrasions, cracking, or discoloration. No restoration has been noted, and the acrylic layers maintain their original saturation and integrity.

6. Artistic Significance
Edge Series NO.1 exemplifies Yi Tan’s ongoing exploration of spatial logic and constructed environments. The work invites reflection on the interface between man-made order and emotional detachment in contemporary life. It offers collectors a sophisticated visual narrative grounded in architectural clarity and conceptual restraint—an important piece within the dialogue of contemporary Chinese abstraction and urban introspection.