YALLY  INDUSTRIAL  BUILDING      6  YIP  FAT  STREET      UNIT  3C      WONG  CHUK  HANG      HONG  KONG  +852  3575  9417        www.yallaygallery.net      info@yallay.net  

     

FADI  YAZIGI      Contemporary  art  from  Syria    Opening  Reception    Saturday,  November  7th  from  3  –  6  pm  (the  artist  will  be  present)    Exhibition  dates  November  5  –  28    YALLAY  GALLERY      6  YIP  FAT  STREET  3rd  FLOOR  WONG  CHUK  HANG  HONG  KONG    Enquiries  +852  3575  9417  info@yallay.net  www.yallaygallery.net      Art  is  the  culmination  of  uninhibited  creative  freedom  to  visually  express  the  social  and  political  situation  of  our  times.  My  works  are  a  nostalgic  chronicle  of  relationships;  the  source  of  my  stimulation  is  all  that  surrounds  me  and  all  those  who  have  left  an  indelible  mark  on  my  life.    –  Fadi  Yazigi    Yallay  Gallery  is  pleased  to  announce  the  first  solo  presentation  in  Asia  for  leading  Syrian  contemporary  artist  Fadi  Yazigi.  The  artist’s  long-­‐standing   practice   originates   from   his   Damascus   studio,  where   for  over  25  years  he  has  captured  the  spirit  of   the  Syrian  people   in   an   environment   besieged   by   decades   of   political  conflict.  Through  painting  and  sculpture,  Yazigi  exposes  a  range  of  emotions,  brought  to  life  in  gestural  figuration.        In  a  new  body  of  work  composed  entirely  of  square  reliefs  in  fired  clay,   depictions   of   men,   women,   and   animals—and   at   times  composites   of   the   three—contort   within   the   perimeters   of   the  sculpted   surfaces.   Evoking   Mesopotamian   terracotta   plaques,  Yazigi’s   figures  are  often   in  states  of  companionship  or   isolation,  and   uncomfortably,   sometimes   smiling.   The   faces   and   figures  emerge  as   if   from   the  windows  and  doorways  of   the  old   Jewish  Quarter   where   Yazigi   works.   It   is   this   quotidian   that   drives   the  imagery,   revealing   the   joy   that   can   be   brought   through  distraction,   the   awkwardness   of   uncertainty,   and   the   emptiness  of  the  unknown.      Yazigi’s   paintings   enlarge   and   multiply   his   narratives,   challenge  scale,   and   allow   mythological   creations   to   emerge   life-­‐sized.  Floating   Figures,   2010,   remains   in   the   human   realm,   yet   the  inhabitants   hover   and   intertwine,   not   fully   formed.   The   paint  unfolds  across  the  surface  while  spirit-­‐like  shapes  overwhelm  the  space.  What  remains  is  both  haunting  and  ethereal.  A  third  group  of   recent   works,   rendered   in   bronze,   allows   Yazigi’s   figures   to  fully   enter   three-­‐dimensionality.   Here,   the   artist’s   denizens  struggle   within   the   material,   entrapped,   and   sometimes  submerged,  in  the  unyielding  medium.      

Untitled,  2014,  clay,  25  x  25  cm    

Floating  Figures,  2010,  acrylic  on  canvas,  195  x  138  cm    

YALLY  INDUSTRIAL  BUILDING      6  YIP  FAT  STREET      UNIT  3C      WONG  CHUK  HANG      HONG  KONG  +852  3575  9417        www.yallaygallery.net      info@yallay.net  

Throughout  the  presentation,  the  captive  environment  of  Yazigi’s  world  is  laid-­‐out  explicitly,  revealing  a  complexity  of  emotion  that  can  be  cast   in  one  expression,  yet  outlasts  natural  modes  of  time.  For  while  the  gestures  and  visages  of  the  figures  express  the  lives  of  those  who  populate  a  contemporary  Syrian  metropolis,   their   forms  emerge  as   those   from  ancient  Sumerian   sculpture.   It   is  at   this   cross-­‐millennial   juncture   that   the   artist   answers   an   essential   meta-­‐physical   query:   for   certainly  what   is  there?  and  what  is  it  like?  are  questions  credibly  answered  in  the  content  of  Yazigi's  work.    Fadi   Yazigi  was   born   in   Latakia,   Syria   in   1966.   He   studied   at   the   Faculty   of   Fine   Arts   in   Damascus,  obtaining  a  BFA  in  Sculpture  in  1988.  Yazigi’s  art  is  housed  in  numerous  public  and  private  collections  throughout   the   Middle   East,   Europe   and   the   United   States.   Solo   exhibitions   include   City   Hall  (Thessaloniki,  Greece  2015),  Galerie   Tanit   (Beirut  2015),  Darat  Al   Funun   (Kuwait   2014),   The  Mosaic  Rooms  (London  2011),  Ayyam  Gallery  (Damascus  2009)  and  Al  Bareh  Art  Gallery  (Bahrain  2006).  Fadi  Yazigi  was   the  2007  Delfina  Foundation  artist-­‐in-­‐residence  Middle  East   representative   (London);  his  lecture  at  The  National  Gallery,  Poussin's  Sacraments  -­‐  Rites  of  Passage  and  Continuing  Creativity,  was  delivered   in   the   same   year.  He   has  participated   in   numerous   international   events   and   art   fairs  including  Art  Paris,  Abu-­‐Dhabi  Art,  Art  Dubai,  Art  Palm  Beach,  Beirut  Art  Fair  and  the  Sharjah  Biennale.        ABOUT  YALLAY  GALLERY  Located   in  Hong  Kong’s  burgeoning  arts  district  of  Wong  Chuk  Hang,  Yallay  Gallery  was   founded   in  2013  by  Jean-­‐Marc  Decrop.  The  gallery  exhibits  the  work  of  artists  from  emerging  art  scenes  in  China,  Indonesia,  South  Asia,  the  Middle  East  and  Pakistan.  It  is  one  of  the  first  galleries  in  Asia  to  showcase  art   from   the   Arab,   Iranian   and   Turkish   contemporary   art   scenes.   Decrop   is   among   the   earliest  collectors  and  dealers  of  first  generation  Chinese  contemporary  artist.  Having  settled  in  Hong  Kong  in  1993,   he   has   since   curated   numerous   institutional   shows   and   collaborated  with   artists   to   produce  pioneering,  monographic  exhibitions.  Yallay  Gallery  is  a  member  of  the  HKAGA  (Hong  Kong  Art  Gallery  Association)  and  the  SICD  (South  Island  Cultural  District).                                  

       

   The   opening   of   FADI   YAZIGI   Contemporary   art   from   Syria  will   coincide  with  the  Hong  Kong  Art  Gallery  Association’s  Art  Day  at  South  Island.  For  more  information,  please  visit  http://www.hk-­‐aga.org