Foreword:          

In 2026, the Year of the Horse, WAS Art Center presents its first exhibition of the lunar new year: the dual exhibition of artists Deng Yu and Zeng Yong —Unbridled Imagination. This exhibition focuses on the creative practices and personal development of these two artists. Coincidentally, both have adopted the "horse" as their core motif, placing this traditional symbol within a contemporary visual context. Through different artistic approaches, they jointly interpret an "unbridled imagination" of spirit, creativity, and freedom.

Beyond the frequent appearance of horse imagery or elements, the exhibition also reveals their sincere expressions and spiritual breakthroughs. This new exhibition marks WAS Art Center's second collaboration with artist Zeng Yong during the lunar new year premiere, following a one-year interval. Compared to his previous works, Zeng Yong now presents his latest series, Art Horse, in which he entirely parodies, deconstructs, and subverts classics through the horse. In this series, Zeng Yong boldly overturns classical artistic paradigms, replacing the central figures in iconic paintings with horses, making the horse the absolute protagonist of the picture. Paired with witty, lively expressions and a playful, childlike charm, he dissolves the solemnity and grandeur traditionally associated with horse-themed paintings. Shedding the constraints of grand narratives, he adopts a light, gentle, and healing approach that strikes directly at the heart. In this series, Zeng Yong continues to use traditional Chinese Xuan paper, a material he knows intimately, as the foundation of his mixed-media creations. Together with unpretentious brushwork and soft color washes, he restores art's most authentic healing power.

Meanwhile, the solo exhibition of Deng Yu (画语者), an artist also from Northeast China, will be presented for the first time in Ningbo. The exhibition features over thirty of the artist's works from different periods and across various media. Deng Yu's artistic practice takes the horse as a central thread, constructing a complete spiritual trajectory from the figurative to the imagistic and then to the abstract, ultimately aiming to capture the "spirit" rather than the "form." From his early, in-depth study of the horse's skeletal structure and external anatomy, to later expressive brushwork that unleashes movement and vitality, and finally to abstraction achieved through calligraphic gestures, his work consistently breaks free from formal constraints, transforming the horse from a concrete animal image into a spiritual presence.

What is most compelling about Deng Yu's artistic practice is the immediacy and sincerity of his creative process. This quality elevates his work beyond static imagery, turning it into a fluid, embodied spiritual ritual. Deng Yu often uses a "bamboo pen" of his own making as a performative tool — a tense, dynamic dance between body and paint. The brushstrokes, executed in one breath, are explosive in their energy, while the splattering and flowing of paint are filled with unpredictable chance. This mode of creation carries a raw, untamed power, allowing viewers to intuitively feel the surging will of life in the very process, even before seeing the final outcome.

Unbridled Imagination is an impulse to fly beyond the world of experience. Deng Yu's horses are both symbols of life force and concrete manifestations of an exploratory spirit. Through extensive practice and persistent material exploration, he achieves the purest distillation of the horse's spirit. Zeng Yong's Art Horse series, created specifically for the Year of the Horse, uses a healing mode of expression and a theatrical approach to deconstructing classics, conveying inner purity, joy, and delight through traditional brushwork.

邓宇，又名“画语者”，1976 年生于沈阳。毕业于鲁迅美术学院，2000 年进修于清华大学美术学院。辽宁省美术家协会会员，沈阳市青年书法家协会理事，“爱之光”慈善基金会爱心大使。

个展

2026「天马行空——曾勇、邓宇双个展」，WAS艺术中心，宁波

2025「逐光者——邓宇跨年艺术展」，东方美集北京空间

2024「“万事兴龙”新春特展」，太原街，沈阳

2024 「放下，去野游」个人艺术项目，红梅文创园发酵艺术中心，沈阳

2019 「入戏——邓宇绘画作品展」，鲁迅美术学院，沈阳

2016 「臻象——邓宇意象绘画作品展」，丹青北国行云艺术空间，沈阳

2015 「契机与释放——邓宇绘画20年作品展」，沈河美术馆，沈阳

群展

2026「瑞马迎春 门神纳福 艺术展」，红梅文创园，沈阳

2026「龙马精神——丙午新春马主题美术作品展」，沈阳美术馆

2025「ART 南京当代艺术博览会」，南视觉国际艺术会展中心，南京

2024「登陆月光岛」国潮艺术展，隆福寺，北京

2022 《看我七十二变》入选巴黎大皇宫 ART CAPITAL 国际沙龙艺术展，法国

2018 《大国重器》入选“庆祝建军 90 周年全国美展”，中国美术馆，北京

2015 《怒放》参加“全国九城艺术联展”，辽宁美术馆，沈阳

2013 《净魂 NO.1》参加中韩美术交流展，韩国

艺术项目：

2023–至今 红梅文创园艺术驻留

2023 入选国家京剧院“中国京剧 IP”潮计划

2014 赴加拿大多伦多参加国务院侨办文化交流项目

其它经历：

机构收藏：

2025《翦熵》，北京大学材料科学与工程学院收藏

2024《在深夜绽放》，发酵艺术中心收藏

2017《大国重器》，辽宁省美术馆收藏

2012《房山春晖》《江山览胜》，北京房山区政府收藏

主要奖项：

2024 年获得河大卫人气艺术家

2003 作品《太极》获辽宁省首届教师美展银奖

2000 作品《义》获辽宁省青年美展佳作奖

曾勇，1969年生于沈阳，当代画家、独立导演、独立音乐人。

个展：

2026 WAS艺术中心 曾勇、邓宇双个展《天马行空》

2025河美术馆 曾勇个展《心相》

2025 WAS艺术中心 曾勇个展《波西米亚狂想曲》 

2025深业世纪山谷书房个展《浮梦录》

2024上海艺仓翡翠画廊个展《谢特》

2024上海西岸w+美术馆个展《墨影二重奏》

2024上海白玉兰潮流生活馆个展《童话里的骑士》

2023上海集艺术空间个展《纸上旋律》

2023沈阳红梅发酵艺术中心个展《乌圆异想》

2023上海青赤美术馆个展《夏日童话》

2020年沈阳别处美术馆个展《三重倒影》

2020沈阳艺术节视觉艺术开幕展《心相》致敬木心 曾勇个展

2020沈阳万朵拉艺术馆个展《云上的日子》

2016年 北京艺典中国个展《无界》

2007年—2010年 

北京红子蓝画廊个展《曾勇彩墨》

北京红画廊个展《色墨》

台湾丹德利画廊个展《纸上旋律》 

1997年 印度尼西亚雅加达《曾勇油画作品展》

其他经历/艺术项目：

2020年 出版个人音乐专辑《倒影时光》

2016年-2019年 导演独立电影《谢特》《酒中的月亮》《失败书店》《十月的雨》分别入选法国克莱蒙费朗电影节,芬兰坦佩雷电影节，中法电影节，北京独立影展，金帧国际电影节,西班牙圣巴斯蒂安当代美术馆展映，莫斯科展映。

1997-2007年游学于英国、法国等多个欧洲及亚洲国家，期间举办多场画展。曾为三位国家元首绘制肖像。

1996-1998年 自组乐队并参与多场演出

∨

<当前展览>

天马行空——邓宇、曾勇双个展

<展期>

2026/4/11- 2026/5/11

<门票>

WAS小程序

<地址>

滨江水韵公园6期-WAS艺术中心