YveYANG Gallery is delighted to present Ground Speed, a solo exhibition showcasing the work of Swiss artist Raphael Egil (b. 1975), who draws from both the history of painting and scenes of life to create a subtle reality between the abstract and the figurative, the mythic and the everyday. The exhibition will be on view from May 4 to June 22, 2024, with an opening reception on May 4 from 6–8 PM.

The exhibition features a group of works ranging from the earlier phase of Egil’s career to the most recent. As the title of the show suggests, the works on view emerge from a concept of relativity, where, despite the painter’s physical stillness, his creative world has evolved into a dynamic space of continuous, rapid changes. Sometimes they are depicted through his multi-layered, theatrical self-portraits or contemplative variations on still life; other times as re-examinations of classic motifs from art history, such as a series of studies after Paul Cézanne’s Five Bathers (1885–1887), which render an authentic, refreshing, almost musically rhythmed translation of the master’s brush language. Each painting has been carefully examined, affirmed, and overturned by the painter’s gaze and brush over a long period of time, achieving an ultimate balance between the orderliness of time and the resulting disorder within each frame.

Working like an observant writer, Egil captures the vast and trivial pictorial reality, and translates them into a poetic and humorous language. Combining a dual approach of ideographic and plastic artistry, he condenses concrete figures and objects into symbols through distinctive calligraphic lines, while articulating undefinable moods and circumstances by means of metaphorical stagings.

The title Ground Speed is inspired by an aviation term that resonates with Egil–Ground speed refers to the horizontal velocity of an aircraft in relation to the Earth’s surface. The ground speed of an aircraft climbing or diving rapidly remains zero; theoretically, if an aircraft could fly in the same direction and at the same speed as the Earth rotates, it would also have a ground speed of zero, but it would actually have traveled millions of miles through the air.

This concept of relativity parallels the Eastern philosophy of “无为而治” (achieving without doing), a principle that speaks to Egil’s methodical approach to art practice. Working from his atelier near Mount Pilatus, Egil maintains a meticulously organized work routine. The everyday motifs such as pedestrians, streets, skies, flowers and trees play the roles of both objects and backgrounds of his work in an almost predictable manner. This seemingly repetitive and even static daily routine serves as both a canvas and a catalyst for his explorations into the chaotic undercurrents of ordinary life.

Special thanks to Siran Chen for making this show possible.