Frieze
The art of mountains and water
A phantom mountainscape floats into view, flanked by monochrome peaks, grey skies and a strangely quiet waterfall. There is no one else, only sweeping black and white vistas and my own disembodied presence. But, when I lift off the virtual-reality headset, I am back in the studio of artist Yang Yongliang, nestled in the packed high-rises and dissonant traffic of Shanghai’s Huangpu district. Eternal Landscape (2017–ongoing) is the latest attempt in Yang’s long mission to bridge the gap between the 21st century and the landscapes of classical Chinese painting, using digital manipulation to refract a tradition that dates back more than a millennium.