Yun Gee

Yun Gee (; 1906–1963) was a Chinese American modernist artist of the School of Paris. He lived and painted in San Francisco, Paris, and New York City, and was considered one of the most daring avant-garde painters during his time.

Biography Gee was born in 1906 to Gee Quong On and Wong Ji Li (also Wong See) as the third of four children in Kaiping, being raised in Yanglu Town, Changsha Subdistrict. His father was a merchant who lived in San Francisco and, when Gee turned 15 in 1921, Gee crossed the seas aboard SS Taiyo Maru to join his father while his mother remained in China. Because the United States' Asian Exclusion Act prohibited legal immigration by Chinese women, once Gee was in San Francisco he never saw his mother again.

Gee was able to obtain US citizenship and later enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts (present day San Francisco Art Institute). He studied painting and drawing with Otis Oldfield, who became his life-long friend. While in San Francisco, Gee lived in Chinatown and became friends with several avant-garde artists like Kenneth Rexroth, Jehanne Bietry-Salinger, John Ferren, Dorr Bothwell, and Ruth Cravath. With this group of artists, Gee and Oldfield established the Modern Gallery on Montgomery Street in 1926. In 1926, Gee also founded the Chinese Revolutionary Artists' Club, where he taught classes in advanced painting techniques and theory. As summarized by Oldfield, the club focused on "doing [modernist oil] work that is essentially Chinese."

New York Gee's artwork was celebrated in New York but despite being included in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, Gee struggled during the Depression and experienced strong racial discrimination. Though he was heavily involved with the Chinese community, Gee found New York unbearable and returned to Paris in 1936. During this period, his work received critical acclaim. He was exhibited widely, most notably at the Galerie Lion d’Or in Lausanne and Galerie à la Reine Margot. They had one daughter, Li-Lan, in 1943. According to Wimmer's memoirs, during this period Gee was employed at a defense-industry company, worked six days per week, and returned home to paint at night. Gee succumbed to alcoholism. In 1950, he met Velma Aydelott, who was his companion until he died from stomach cancer in 1963. As a result, from the onset of his artistic career Gee's work explored the tension and contrast between warm and cool colors. Additionally, Gee was also influenced by Eastern and Western poetry, and frequently wrote original compositions to accompany his paintings. Critics note how his poems combine Chinese style word-play and Taoist themes with the western avant-garde poetic themes of his time, such as the work of Gertrude Stein.

Exhibitions The following list was compiled by the Tina Keng Gallery. 2013 Art Basel in Hong Kong 2013, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (HKCEC), Hong Kong 2011 Artistes chinois à Paris, musée Cernuschi, Paris, France 2009 The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860–1989, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA R/evolution, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 2008 Asian/American/Modern Art Shifting Currents, 1900–1970, de Young Museum, San Francisco, USA Madonna meets Mao: Selected Works from the Yageo Foundation Collection, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany 2007 Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan Art In America: 300 Years of Innovation, Guggenheim Museum, NY, USA; National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China; Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China; Inaugural Exhibition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Beijing, China Cubism In Asia, The Japan Foundation, Japanese cultural House in Paris (French: Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris), Paris, France 2006 The International Asian Art Fair, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA The Seventh Regiment Armory, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA China International Gallery Exposition, Marlborough Gallery, Beijing, China Art Basel 37, Marlborough Gallery, Miami Beach, Fla., USA 2005 China International Gallery Exposition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Beijing, China The Seventh Regiment Armory, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA Landscape – Cityscape, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA Art Singapore, The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Lin & Keng Gallery, Singapore Summer Dream, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan Works on Paper, Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA Chinese Masters II, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 2004 The Not-So Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, USA Art Singapore, The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Lin & Keng Gallery, Singapore China International Gallery Exposition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Beijing, China 2004-2003 The Not-So Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, USA 2003 Themes on Women, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 2003-2002 From Emperors to Hoi Polloi: Portraits of An Era, 1851–1945, The Wolfsonian Museum, Florida International University, Miami Beach, USA 2002 On-Ramps: Transitional Moments In California Art, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, USA 2001-2000 The Pacific Makes Us Neighbors, Residence: U.S. Ambassador to Beijing, Art in Embassies Program, Beijing, China On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience, Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, USA Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900–2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA 2000 Works on Paper 1929–1949, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 1998 Changing Perspectives on Modernism, University of Oregon Museum of Art, Eugene, OR, USA 1995 Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, USA With New Eyes: Toward an Asian American Art History in the West, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA 1994 Four Senior Painters in Early Spring, Lung Men Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 1977 Selections from the Lawrence H. Bloedel Bequest and Related Works from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA The Great East River Bridge, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, USA Empire City and the Age of Urbanism (1875-45), Grand Central Galleries, New York, USA 1975 Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC, USA 1974 Inaugural Exhibition, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, USA 1944 Portrait of America, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA Opening Exhibition “Inter-Racial Art”, International Print Society, New York, USA 1942 The 8th Annual Group Exhibition by American Artists, Montross Gallery, New York, USA 1941 Art for China, Ritz Tower, New York, USA Paintings by Fifty Oncoming Americans, Boston Institute of Modern Art, Boston, MA, USA Work by Twenty-Five Artists, Montross Gallery, New York, USA 1939 6e Salon “Salon d’Éte: Peintures, Sculptures, Dessins, Aquarelles, Gouaches, Céramique”, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France 1938 Salon d’Automne, Paris, France Fleurs et Paysages, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France L'Exposition du Prix Paul-Guillaume, Galerie Berheim-Jeune, Paris, France 4e Salon de la Piste à l’Ecran, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France La Xve Exposition du Salon des Tuileries, Paris, France Exposition: Aquarelles, Gouches, Dessins, Galerie Contemporaine, Paris, France Exposition: Rentrée de Vacances 38, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France 5e Salon “Etrennes 38: Peintures, Sculptures, Dessins, Aquarelles, Gouaches, Céramique”, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France 1937 Salon d’Automne, Paris, France Peinture Nouvelle, Galerie Le Niveau, Paris, France L’Enfant dans la Peinture Moderne, Galerie Le Niveau, Paris, France 4e Exposition “Octobre 37”, Galerie Carmine, Paris, France 1936 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA 1935 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA 1934 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA 1933 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA 1932 Murals by American Painters and Photographers, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA The Social Viewpoint in Art, John Reed Club, New York, USA Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA 1931 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, New York, NY, USA Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings by American and Foreign Artists, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, USA 1930 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France 1929 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France 1928 Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France