In the Eye of the Beholder
‘In the Eye of the Beholder’ is a group show curated by Four You Gallery presenting the latest works of four female artists chronicling their truths and how the perceive their outer and inner worlds – as within, so without. As the saying goes, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, but the beauty of life lies in the fact that every person’s truth is unique; every person’s perception of life is subjective and subsequently so is the way they express their truths. And so, while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is truth. This group show serves to highlight the truths of Dannielle Hodson, Jingyi Wang, Aysha Nagieva, and Xu Yang, with each of their backgrounds and truths reflected in their respective subjects and styles of painting. The artworks set up the stage for exploring not just the artists’ truth but creating the space for the viewers to go within and explore their own truths as well.
Dannielle Hodson is a British artist living and working in London. Drawing inspiration from everything she takes in through her senses on a day-to-day basis, everything she reads, sees, listens to, etc. becomes a part of her truth. Through her works, Dannielle enjoys exploring the fine line between reality and non-reality and pushing the boundaries of abstract and concrete, as she expresses her truth in a way that’s indicative of how she perceives her world – both inner and outer versions.
Jingyi Wang is a Chinese artist currently living and working in New York City. In her works, she explores the relationship between nature and culture, most recently adopting the use of cacti as her subject to represent nature and elements of her own life and experiences to represent culture. In her works, Jingyi enjoys finding a harmonious balance between opposites, the serious with the humorous, the anxious with the playful, and uses the hybrid cacti-human characters as a reflection of her own attitude towards life.
Aysha Nagieva is a Russian artist currently living and working in London. Inspired by nostalgia and exploring her childhood memories, her work employs Russian dolls as she expresses her past through distorted self-portraits, referring to her Russian heritage as a tool through which she expresses her truth. It’s through exploring her past that she’s been able to understand her present; to understand the truth behind why and how she is who she is and sees the world the way she does.
Xu Yang is a Chinese artist based in London. Her works focuses on the themes of performance and theatrics as a means through which to express her personal interests and life experiences. She draws inspiration from a multitude of sources including the ‘old masters’, particularly Van Dyke, Velazquez, Goya, Sargent, as well as the works of Berthe Morisot, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Angelica Kauffman, and Rachel Ruysch. Xu also finds inspiration through the work of contemporary fashion designers as well as through visiting historical landmarks in European cities – both to draw inspiration from and to satisfy her childhood curiosity around Western antiquities.
