The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Last Days of Village Wen

2011

Yun-Fei Ji

(Chinese, b. 1963)
China
Handscroll, ink and color on Xuan paper
Overall: 37.8 x 953.2 cm (14 7/8 x 375 1/4 in.); Painting only: 34.6 x 657.8 cm (13 5/8 x 259 in.)
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2012.99.1
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Last Days of Village Wen is the story of a fictional place that in some ways appears like the setting of a retreat borrowed from classical Chinese painting.

Description

Ji Yun-Fei explores the themes of human migration and environmental change in this 14-meter long handscroll. “We risk losing ourselves even more, metaphysically, as we become more and more disconnected with nature and memory,” Ji says, alluding to the human cost of rapid development. The artist created a narrative inspired by China’s rich cultural tradition, drawing from memories of folktales and ghost stories. His imagery, both fanciful and realistic, provides metaphors for reflection on human conditions.
  • 2011–2012
    Collection of the Artist, New York, NY
    2012
    (James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2012–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cai, Bingqiao [蔡秉橋 = Paula Tsai], editor. Ji Yunfei: shui li gong cheng [季雲飛: 水利工程 = Yun-fei Ji: water work]. Hong Kong; Beijing: UCCA Books, 2012. pp. 134–154
    Mann, C. Griffith. “Acquisitions 2012.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 53, no. 2 (March/April 2013): 10–25. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 10–11,16 archive.org
    Chung, Anita. "Re-emergence: New Chinese Galleries and Art Acquisitions of The Cleveland Museum of Art." Orientations vol 44 no. 8 (November/December 2013): 64–75. Reproduced: pp. 74–75, fig. 10
    Chung, Anita. "Last Days of Village Wen: Tensions and contradictions abound in the work of contemporary artist Ji Yun-Fei.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 56, no. 1 (January/February 2016): 9–11. Reproduced: p. 9, 10–11; Mentioned: p. 9, 10 archive.org
    "Exhibitions.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 56, no. 4 (July/August 2016): 4. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 4 archive.org
  • Ji Yun-Fei: Last Days of Village Wen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-July 31, 2016).
    Yun-fei Ji: Water Work. Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China (June 2-July 15, 2012).
    A Terrible Beauty is Born. The 11th Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, France (September 15-December 31, 2011).
  • {{cite web|title=Last Days of Village Wen|url=false|author=Yun-Fei Ji|year=2011|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2012.99.1