IRL is pleased to present Yirui Jia's first solo exhibition in the US from January 29th - February 20th. The exhibition will feature new works consisting of 12 paintings and 2 sculptures. Her raw & expressive style combined with thrilling narratives like dancing ballerina sharks, a cigarette man, a one-eyed bride on the run riding a rocket surrounded by burning palm trees, result in delightful tropical dream-like sceneries.

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Through very explosive aesthetics, Jia's work examines the fantastic lives of ordinary objects: a NYC taxi, a power strip, a roadblock, a palm tree, a cigarette, Jeff Koons's balloon dog, etc. They become the main actors of her ever-moving scenes, in which she explores these characters' behaviors and the way they interact with their surroundings and others. These recurring figures, sometimes hard to contain in one frame, suggest and challenge the power of pop culture icons by questioning their own ability to convey a nonverbal universal meaning. At times, they escape their 2D world to become exuberant furry sculptures, like manifestations of their own luring power over the viewer.

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Jia's work depicts with humor the internal conflict of her modern anti-heroes, revealing their appetite for a spectacle, their love for the superficial, their tender loneliness, their ever going need to be seen.

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Yirui Jia (born 1997), is a current MFA Fine Arts candidate at the School of Visual Arts in New York where she currently lives and works. She draws her inspiration from popular culture, fables, cartoon characters on billboards and films. She has exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai, Berlin, New York and has upcoming shows in Seoul and LA.

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