Yun Gee

Yun Gee (1906–1963) was a Chinese American modernist artist. He lived and painted in San Francisco, Paris, and New York City, and was considered one of the most daring avant-garde painters during his time.[1][2]

Yun Gee
Born1906
Died1963
NationalityChinese-American
EducationSan Francisco Art Institute
OccupationArtist

Biography

Gee was born in 1906 to Gee Quong On and Wong See in Kaiping. His father was a merchant who lived in San Francisco and, when Gee turned 15 in 1921, Gee crossed the seas to join his father while his mother remained in China. Because the United States' Asian Exclusion Act prohibited legal immigration by Chinese women, once Gee was in San Francisco he never saw his mother again.[3]

Gee was able to obtain US citizenship and later enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts (present day San Francisco Art Institute). He studied painting and drawing with Otis Oldfield, who became his life-long friend. While in San Francisco, Gee lived in Chinatown and became friends with several avant-garde artists like Kenneth Rexroth, Jehanne Bietry-Salinger, John Ferren, Dorr Bothwell, and Ruth Cravath. With this group of artists, Gee and Oldfield established the Modern Gallery on Montgomery Street in 1926. In 1926, Gee also founded the Chinese Revolutionary Artists' Club, where he taught classes in advanced painting techniques and theory.[2] Its initial members were all young Chinese immigrant men, and it had a small studio in Chinatown (at 150 Wetmore Place), which provided much of their subjects.[4] As summarized by Oldfield, the club focused on "doing [modernist oil] work that is essentially Chinese."[4] Art historian Anthony W. Lee, examining Gee's position in the political spectrum at the time between the Chinese Communist Party and the nationalist Kuomintang, wrote that Gee, despite being close to the Kuomintang, probably saw "the club a potential ally of the CP and thought optimistically of a nationalist regime that would incorporate theories and organizational skills from the Soviet Union," although he "was not a doctrinaire Marxist and never joined the CP".[4] The club dissolved sometime in the 1930s.[4]

Paris

In 1927, Gee moved to Paris under the patronage of Prince and Princess Achille Murat. He quickly befriended prominent artists of the Parisian avant-garde and exhibited his work alongside them at the Salon des Indépendants. While in Paris he also met Princess Paule de Reuss, whom he married in 1930. However, the marriage was challenging for the Princess, as she was disowned by her family and friends. In the same year of their marriage, Gee left Paris for New York and the couple eventually divorced in 1932.[2]

New York

Gee's artwork was celebrated in New York but despite being included in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, Gee struggled during the Depression and experienced strong racial discrimination. Though he was heavily involved with the Chinese community, Gee found New York unbearable and returned Paris in 1936. During this period, his work received critical acclaim. He was exhibited widely, most notably at the Galerie Lion d’Or in Lausanne and Galerie à la Reine Margot.[2]

During World War II, Gee returned to New York in 1939. Three years later, he married Helen Wimmer, who had left New Jersey when she was sixteen to live with him.[5] They had one daughter, Li-Lan, in 1943.[6] According to Wimmer's memoirs, during this period Gee was employed at a defense-industry company, worked six days per week, and returned home to paint at night.[3]

The couple divorced in 1947 and Wimmer eventually went on to be a gallery owner, photography curator, lecturer and writer.[7] Gee succumbed to alcoholism. In 1950, he met Velma Aydelott, who was his companion until he died from stomach cancer in 1963.[2]

Art Work

While studying in San Francisco, Oldfield's Cézanne-inspired paintings influenced Gee's artistic style, as did Gottardo Piazzoni. As a result, from the onset of his artistic career Gee's work explored the tension and contrast between warm and cool colors. Additionally, Gee was also influenced by Eastern and Western poetry, and frequently wrote original compositions to accompany his paintings.[8] Critics note how his poems combine Chinese style word-play and Taoist themes with the western avant-garde poetic themes of his time, such as the work of Gertrude Stein.[2] Additionally, Gee's separation from his mother was also a reoccurring theme in his artwork.[3]

Critics believe that Gee's subsequent interest in "Diamondism" occurred when he found the Chinese Revolutionary Artists' Club in 1926. Diamondism is a set of art principles that bring together the spiritual, intellectual, and practical aspects of painting. Developed by Gee, Diamondism reflects his interest in perception and the (im)possibility of absolute truth.[2]

During his time in New York, however, Gee's work turned towards the political. He became an active fundraiser for causes in China, where one of his most notable efforts was the completion of a large mural on K Street as a contribution for the Chinese Flood Relief campaign. His artwork during this period synthesized his previous aesthetics with cubist and realist influences. After his divorce from Wimmer, Gee's artwork turned towards an abstract expressionist style that combined both Parisian and Asian influences.[2]

In addition to his artwork, Gee was also a musician and played several traditional Chinese instruments. He was also interested in theater and dance. He was heavily involved in the writing and stage design for "Kuan Chung's Generosity", a WPA Theatre project in 1930 and danced at the Institute of Chinese Studies.[2]

His work was shown in 2011 at the Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei in Taiwan. The exhibit was titled "Yun Gee: The Art of Place".[9][10]

Exhibitions

The following list was compiled by the Tina Keng Gallery.[3]

Solo Exhibitions
2011 Yun Gee: The Art of Place, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2005 Yun Gee: A Modernist Painter, Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2004-2003 The Art of Yun Gee, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, USA
2002 Chambers Fine Art, New York, USA
Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1998 Yun Gee, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1995 Yun Gee: San Francisco, Paris, New York, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1992 The Art of Yun Gee, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
1991 Jan Holloway Gallery, San Francisco, USA
1983 Vanderwoude Tananbaum Gallery, New York, USA
1980-1979 The Paintings of Yun Gee, The William Benton Museum of Art, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, The University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC; The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA; Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME
1968 Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York, USA
1963-1962 Gudenzi Galleria, New York, USA
1948 The Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ, USA
1947 China Institute in America, New York, USA
1946 Officers Club, Fort Hamilton, NY, USA
Lucien Labaudt Gallery, San Francisco, USA
1945 Lilienfeld Gallery, New York, USA
1943 Milch Galleries, New York, USA
1942 Milch Galleries, New York, USA
1940 Temple’s Exhibition Galleries, New York, USA
Mural “The Spirit of Chinese Resistance” shown at Young China Club, New York, USA
Montross Gallery, New York, USA
1937 Galerie à la Reine Margot, Paris, France
1936 Galerie à la Reine Margot, Paris, France
1934 Exhibition of Yun Gee paintings, conjoined with Yun Gee: First Dance Recital, at The National Musical Benefit Society, New York, USA
1933 The San Francisco Art Center, San Francisco, USA
Painting “Last Supper” shown at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Bronx, NY, USA
1932 Milch Galleries, New York, USA
Balzac Galleries, New York, USA
1931 In Tempo Gallery, New York, USA
1929 Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, France
1928 Galerie des Artiste et Artisan, Paris, France
1927 Galerie Carmime, Paris, France
1926 The Modern Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Selected Two Person Exhibitions
2008 Experiences of Passage: The Paintings of Yun Gee and Li-lan, Lin & Keng Galler, Beijing, China
Experiences of Passage: ThePaintings of Yun Gee and Li-lan, Jason McCoy, New York, NY, USA
2004 Sanyu & Yun Gee 1926-1960, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1993 The Art Works of Sanyu and Yun Gee, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1988 Yun Gee and Li-lan: Paintings by a Father and Daughter, Southampton Campus Fine Arts Gallery, Long Island University, Southampton, NY, USA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 Art Basel in Hong Kong 2013, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (HKCEC), Hong Kong
2011 Artistes chinois à Paris, musée Cernuschi, Paris, France
2009 The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA
R/evolution, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2008 Asian/American/Modern Art Shifting Currents, 1900-1970, de Young Museum, San Francisco, USA
Madonna meets Mao: Selected Works from the Yageo Foundation Collection, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany
2007 Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Art In America: 300 Years of Innovation, Guggenheim Museum, NY, USA; National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China; Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China; Inaugural Exhibition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Beijing, China
Cubism In Asia, The Japan Foundation, La Maison de la culture du Japon a Paris, Paris, France
2006 The International Asian Art Fair, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA
The Seventh Regiment Armory, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA
China International Gallery Exposition, Marlborough Gallery, Beijing, China
Art Basel 37, Marlborough Gallery, Miami Beach, Fla., USA
2005 China International Gallery Exposition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Beijing, China
The Seventh Regiment Armory, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA
Landscape – Cityscape, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA
Art Singapore, The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Lin & Keng Gallery, Singapore
Summer Dream, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Works on Paper, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA
Chinese Masters II, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2004 The Not-So Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, USA
Art Singapore, The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Lin & Keng Gallery, Singapore
China International Gallery Exposition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Beijing, China
2004-2003 The Not-So Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, USA
2003 Themes on Women, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2003-2002 From Emperors to Hoi Polloi: Portraits of An Era, 1851-1945, The Wolfsonian Museum, Florida International University, Miami Beach, USA
2002 On-Ramps: Transitional Moments In California Art, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, USA
2001-2000 The Pacific Makes Us Neighbors, Residence: U.S. Ambassador to Beijing, Art in Embassies Program, Beijing, China
On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience, Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, USA
Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
2000 Works on Paper 1929-1949, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1998 Changing Perspectives on Modernism, University of Oregon Museum of Art, Eugene, OR, USA
1995 Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, USA
With New Eyes: Toward an Asian American Art History in the West, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA
1994 Four Senior Painters in Early Spring, Lung Men Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1977 Selections from the Lawrence H. Bloedel Bequest and Related Works from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA
The Great East River Bridge, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, USA
Empire City and the Age of Urbanism (1875-45), Grand Central Galleries, New York, USA
1975 Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC, USA
1974 Inaugural Exhibition, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, USA
1944 Portrait of America, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Opening Exhibition “Inter-Racial Art”, International Print Society, New York, USA
1942 The 8th Annual Group Exhibition by American Artists, Montross Gallery, New York, USA
1941 Art for China, Ritz Tower, New York, USA
Paintings by Fifty Oncoming Americans, Boston Institute of Modern Art, Boston, MA, USA
Work by Twenty-Five Artists, Montross Gallery, New York, USA
1939 6e Salon “Salon d’Éte: Peintures, Sculptures, Dessins, Aquarelles, Gouaches, Céramique”, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France
1938 Salon d’Automne, Paris, France
Fleurs et Paysages, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France
L'Exposition du Prix Paul-Guillaume, Galerie Berheim-Jeune, Paris, France
4e Salon de la Piste à l’Ecran, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France
La Xve Exposition du Salon des Tuileries, Paris, France
Exposition: Aquarelles, Gouches, Dessins, Galerie Contemporaine, Paris, France
Exposition: Rentrée de Vacances 38, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France
5e Salon “Etrennes 38: Peintures, Sculptures, Dessins, Aquarelles, Gouaches, Céramique”, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France
Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France
1937 Salon d’Automne, Paris, France
Peinture Nouvelle, Galerie Le Niveau, Paris, France
L’Enfant dans la Peinture Moderne, Galerie Le Niveau, Paris, France
4e Exposition “Octobre 37”, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France
1936 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA
1935 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA
1934 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA
1933 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA
1932 Murals by American Painters and Photographers, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
The Social Viewpoint in Art, John Reed Club, New York, USA
Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA
1931 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA
Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings by American and Foreign Artists, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, USA
1930 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France
1929 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France
1928 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France

Further reading


  • Lee, Anthony W. (2001-10-02). Picturing Chinatown: Art and Orientalism in San Francisco. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520225923.(Online excerpt at yungee.com)
  • Yun Gee Papers, Fales Library and Special Collections at New York University.

References

  1. "University of Washington Press - Books - Yun Gee". www.washington.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  2. "Yun Gee Chronology". www.yungee.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  3. www.no1.com.tw, Design by 中壹資訊. "Tina Keng Gallery". www.tinakenggallery.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  4. Lee 2001, chapter 5: "Revolutionary Artists"
  5. Staff, From Times; Reports, Wire (2004-10-14). "Helen Gee, 85; Her Gallery Pioneered Sales of Photographs as Art". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  6. Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF).
  7. Loke, Margaret (2004-10-13). "Helen Gee, Pioneer in Sales of Photos as Art, Dies at 85". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  8. "Yun Gee Texts". www.yungee.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  9. "Yun Gee News". www.yungee.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  10. "Tina Keng Gallery". www.tinakenggallery.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
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