Yun-Fei Ji is a Chinese painter. He has lived in New York since 1990. When he was ten years old, Yun-Fei Ji's mother sent him to study with an officer who drew illustrations for the People's Liberation Army. In 1982, he received a B.F.A. from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China. During that time, the instructors at the Central Academy of Fine Arts still painted in a Socialist-realist propaganda style. In 1989, he received a M.F.A. from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. He is represented by James Cohan Gallery.
Yun-Fei Ji took a trip to the ancient Silk Road area of northwest China. On this trip, he viewed Buddhist frescoes in the Mogao caves in Dunhuang, China. The narrative of the frescoes greatly influenced him and inspired him to create multiple works based on that expedition. Ji also visited Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and made drawings of this experience.
Yun-Fei paints traditionally, using media ink and watercolor on rice paper and mulberry paper. In his painting process, he starts with multiple pencil drawings. When he wants to see something in color, he will paint it with ink or watercolor. His paintings generally include eerie looking characters. Ji grew up with ghost stories, and he uses these as inspiration.
