In her exhibition at the renowned Format Gallery in Oslo, Ou Jiun-You is showing selected works from her long-term project Yàn, which she has been continuously developing since 2016. The title - the Chinese word for ink stone - refers to the central material of her work: a traditional stone that has been used for centuries in East Asian calligraphy as a water carrier and rubbing surface for ink pens. Based on the form and function of these objects, Ou examines their historical and aesthetic significance.
In the early works of the series, she worked on existing structures of the stone by erasing, preserving, faceting and reassembling - an approach that is both playful and precise. Over time, this practice developed into a kind of spatial calligraphy: lines became shadows, volumes and movement. The ink stones were broken down into individual parts, reassembled in new constellations and thus transformed into jewellery objects - carriers of stories, material memory and artistic handwriting. Yàn is not only an exploration of form and material, but also a search for the possibilities that lie in fragmentary work - a bricolage principle that does justice to the complexity of the stones.
Ou Jiun-You was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and now lives between Vienna and Taipei. She began her career by studying political science before turning to the material arts as a self-taught artist. Her growing interest in stone led her to Germany in 2015 to study at Trier University of Applied Sciences, Idar-Oberstein campus. Further stations included an Erasmus stay in Tallinn and work phases in Karlsruhe. She now lives and works in Vienna, where she continues to pursue her interdisciplinary, site-specific projects. Despite her diverse approaches, stone remains her central medium - Yàn's precise and poetic handling of this material is exemplary.
The Format Gallery in Oslo was founded in 1991 and is today one of the leading exhibition venues for contemporary arts and crafts and design in Norway. With a clear focus on material-based arts, the gallery sees itself as a platform for innovative positions - between tradition and new departures. International collaboration and the promotion of both young and established artists are at the centre of the curatorial work, as is the aim of questioning existing notions of craftsmanship and the artistic use of materials.
The exhibition can be seen at the Format Gallery in Oslo until 18 May.
Further information about the exhibition can be found here.
You can find more information about Ou Jiun-You here.
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