China Story

The Gabarron Foundation, is pleased to present “CHINA STORY”, an exhibition of Chinese artist, YAN ZHEN. The Opening Reception will be held on Tuesday, September 30th, from 6 to 8 pm. RSVP to rsvp@gabarron.org prior to the opening date is required. The artist’s paintings are his poems. Yan’s paintings are another type of poetry, are a form of poetry that does not use language but which expresses itself with color, and which does not require translation. All of these paintings originate from a feeling, a dream-like feeling, a sort of fantasy feeling, a sort of feeling in the soul, a sort of feeling of awakening. This is a sort of sixth, seventh, eighth sense that is produced by some inspiration originated from some dark substances which is hard to explain. It is also a sort of a music of the soul vibrating in the flow of colors. Yan Zhen is a Chinese poet, writer, painter and calligrapher. He was born in a village in northern China in 1930. At 24 he published his first volume of poetry. Much of his work is characterized by a distinctive blend of patriotism, aestheticism, and romanticism, and has become widely known in China and he was regarded as one of the five “Great Young Poets”. In may 1985, as China opened up to the world, Yan Zhen was included in the first delegation of Chinese writers to go abroad after the end of the Cultural Revolution, and visited a number of American cities. From then on it was through painting that he was to express his personal feelings. Yan Zhen has had a number of successful exhibitions; his works have been exhibited both nationally at the China National Art Gallery in Beijing and internationally, at locations including New York and Washington, DC. On September 2014 Yan Zhen was invited to mount a exhibition of his paintings named The China Story in the United Nations. The event was hosted by the Global Sustainable Development Foundation (GSDF). The Global Sustainable Development Foundation (GSDF) has been developed in order to support the mission of the United Nations in the last efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to implement the newly updated post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda. In order to be able to tackle the most important thematic areas, GSDF established a global network of funders and partners that support six areas of focus in the economic and social sectors: Women & Children, Scientific Innovation, Finance & Resources, Culture, Creative Engagement & Branding, and Partnerships.. The Gabarron Foundation was established in Spain in 1992, inspired by the ideals of its founder, the Spanish artist Cristóbal Gabarrón: to educate and teach while at the same time, defend, support, and disseminate Culture in its most varied forms. The Foundation’s growth over the past 22 years has been guided by its mission to “raise awareness through the arts.” The Gabarron Foundation organizes and presents annual programs through its centers and museums in Spain and the United States. The Carriage House Center for the Arts is The Gabarron Foundation’s New York headquarters. Since 2002 the Carriage House has advanced as a platform for the cross-fertilization of Hispanic and Latin American cultures in the United States.