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 x 942.2 cm (14 9/16 x 370 15/16 in.); Painting only: 34.6 x 610.8 cm (13 5/8 x 240 1/2 in.)
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2012.99.2
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's handscroll was prompted by contemporary events and experiences, but he uses traditional Chinese painting motifs and imaginary and even grotesque imagery to explore the themes of migration and environmental change.
  • 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/2012.99.2