Ma Yanhong Shaanxi, China, b. 1977
She no. 1, 2003
Oil on canvas
180 x 60 cm
70 7/8 x 23 5/8 in
70 7/8 x 23 5/8 in
© 2003 Ma Yanhong / Courtesy Fundación AMMA
Photo: Alejandro Paez
Further images
A vertical, full-length portrait of a young woman sitting on a stool. She is wearing only pink stockings. Her posture, attire, and even the setting suggest a break during a dance class—a respite from the exertion.
Ma Yanhong is known for her portraits of young women, scantily clad, who look directly at the viewer, so that both the model and the audience share a space of vulnerability. She usually chooses, if not herself, then people close to her as models. In this way, she achieves a level of mutual trust that she conveys in her paintings, which strike a balance between intimacy and distance. Her work maintains a balance between voyeurism, exhibitionism, and shame—both on the part of the models on display and on the part of the viewer.
Ma Yanhong is known for her portraits of young women, scantily clad, who look directly at the viewer, so that both the model and the audience share a space of vulnerability. She usually chooses, if not herself, then people close to her as models. In this way, she achieves a level of mutual trust that she conveys in her paintings, which strike a balance between intimacy and distance. Her work maintains a balance between voyeurism, exhibitionism, and shame—both on the part of the models on display and on the part of the viewer.