Jingyan DING: The Edge of Phenomenon: Curated by WANG Yaoli
Reality and the self are not as certain and undeniable as we might believe; rather, they resemble products of consciousness—accidental aggregations of information and sensation. — Jingyan DING
BONIAN SPACE is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition, The Edge of Phenomenon, by the artist Jingyan DING, from July 26 to August 31, 2025. Curated by WANG Yaoli, the exhibition presents nearly twenty new works by the artist. Rooted in an ongoing inquiry into the shifting relationship between "being" ("有" you) and "non-being" ("无" wu), DING's practice emerges from a growing sense of doubt and loosening of the self. His paintings evolve from an intuitive flow of imagery toward a more introspective exploration and cultivation of "emptiness"("空" kong).
"Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence. Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations." — Tao Te Ching, Chapter One
The exhibition title, The Edge of Phenomenon (the Chinese title is translated as "To Observe Its Manifest"), draws from this first chapter of the Tao Te Ching. Through this core Taoist concept, Jingyan DING attempts to reconsider the philosophical duality of "being" and "non-being," centering on "Dao" and "emptiness". Within his restrained and abstract compositions lies a deep, systematic reflection on perception, existence, selfhood, and the very act of seeing.
As DING began to reflect on the logic and limits of self-construction, he turned to the concept of "emptiness." The impermanence and futility of life prompted him to let go of attachment and intuitively demystify the external world. In reading the Tao Te Ching, he came to understand that "The Dao is empty, yet inexhaustible" — "chong" ("冲" emptiness) signifies a state that enables absorption and generation, like the formless Dao, whose power is limitless. In approaching things "as they are," DING shifted from depicting concrete subjects toward contemplating how things appear in consciousness. "Too much talk leads to exhaustion; better to hold to the void ("冲" chong)," emphasizes the importance of suspending surface judgments. Emptiness, or "chong," is what encompasses all things. This resonates with Husserl's phenomenological concept of "epoché"—the bracketing of any assumption about whether an object truly exists, in favor of focusing on how experience appears in consciousness.
The manifestation of "being" is an extension of "non-being." DING further examines the relationship between presence and absence in probing the existence of emptiness. To him, they are not opposites. His work is not driven toward a definite affirmation or negation but hovers within a generative, open, and intermediary state. "Wu" is not void in the sense of negation, but rather, like the mathematical concept of zero, it is the origin of all potential. In his painting Untitled (0) (2025), black and white appear as interflowing, mutually generating forces, allowing viewers to see how "being" and "non-being" are fundamentally entwined. Within "wu," one perceives the existence of "you"—this interplay defines what painting means for Jingyan DING: a tool to reveal the invisible through the visible.
Only through the deep dimension of "formlessness" can the virtuality of the visible world be revealed. Fragmented canvases, ruptured edges, blurred figures, mirrored symmetries and their disruption—these elements are not merely stylistic gestures, but visual articulations of philosophical propositions. Flow, fragmentation, blur, reflection, and blank space become DING's means of testing the boundary between illusion and reality. These strategies transform the act of viewing into a fluid experience where the image no longer offers a fixed focus point. The viewer is drawn into a space of floating, dislocation, and uncertainty—yet one that is tangibly perceptible. Within DING's work, the act of "seeing" is reactivated. The artwork is not a fixed or completed image, but rather an empty conduit one can enter. It invites the viewer to approach through non-action (无为 "wu wei"), and to perceive the myriad phenomena of "you" through the field of "wu."