Guo Fengyi

1942 to 2010, China

Guo Fengyi was born in Xi´an, Central China. She graduated from high school in 1962. Afterwards she worked as a technician in a rubber factory. Severe arthritis forced her to give up her job at the age of 39.

Looking for ways to ease the pain, she became interested in alternative medicine and began to practice Qigong, which quickly became her gateway to spiritual practices. She was active as an artist for the first time in 1989. Entranced by her sudden visions, she created several drawings. At first she used the backs of calendars or calligraphy paper rolls, and later she worked with rice paper, using ink and a brush. She used several delicate brushstrokes to draw energy pathways or liquefied forms that appear similar to avatars, spectres or godlike creatures. Guo Fengyi found her own particular form of artistic expression that went beyond traditional Chinese art. An entire room was dedicated to her works of art exhibited in the context of “Il Palazzo Enciclopedico”, curated by Massimiliano Gioni, at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. Her works can be seen, for example, in The Museum of Everything, in the collection of Gerhard and Karin Dammann, Switzerland, and in the TregerSaint Silvestre collection, Portugal.

Selected works