The title of the exhibition form of the formless is paradoxical. Taken from a phrase by the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu, it refers to the impossibility of capturing the meaning of nature in language. At the same time, the title can be understood as a reference to the artistic practice of abstraction, in which it is not the object itself but its features that are emphasized in order to make the essential visible.

Yafeng Duan, born in rural China in 1973, was taught traditional ink painting based on nature by her father, an art painter. Desiring to find a new, independent artistic expression, the artist went to study in Germany in 2005. In non-objective art Duan finds an artistic home in which she can overcome the boundaries of her origins without denying them. Yafeng's interest is no longer in landscape motifs such as plants, trees or flowers, but in the psychological impressions triggered in the viewer by atmospheric conditions such as sun, fog or snow. The format she chooses also plays a role: while a large image exerts a stronger effect - qi - on the viewer, smaller formats convey a calmer, peaceful feeling.

On the occasion of the exhibition, a catalog will be published (together with Snoeck publishing house) with a text in English and Chinese by Jurriaan Benschop.