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English >> Exhibition
 PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS：
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS：
2010 王志东 油画作品展
2010 WANG ZHIDONG OIL PAINTING EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Aug. 15, 2010, Sun. 3:00PM-6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: Aug. 16, 2010 to Sept. 17, 2010
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center
Contact: Catherine 010 8459 9299/13701104223
Website: www.xyzartgallery.com
WANG ZHIDONG
Born in 1962, Sichuan Province of China
Graduated from Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts
Now resides in Sichuan as a professional painter
2010 Zhang Runshi Scenery Oil Painting Exhibition
Opening reception: 2010-07-17, Sat. 3:00PM-6:00PM
Exhibition dates: 2010-07-18 to 2010-08-14, from Mon. till Sun.
Venue: XYZ Gallery, 798 middle second street of 798 art center
Contact: Catherine 010 8459 9299/13701104223
Introductory article:
One characteristic of Zhang Runshi’s painting is that there is nothing gimmicky about it; if we look at his earlier woodblock prints and pictorials, their structure and composition are both realistic; the subjects are cumbersome just as they would be in real life, the background has not been touched-up yet appears to be illusory, as though being seen by weary eyes. From an artistic perspective, there is no truth perse, even the most realistic narrative is based on personal experience. In the weighing of reality and experience, the result often decides the degree of alternating reality, or the ratio of subjectivity to objectivity.
Zhang Runshi’s paintings stand out from the crowd. He would find it difficult if you asked him to produce something rational or in accord with certain principles. This characteristic is reflected in his prints: print-making, a technical and process-oriented art, becomes rather sentimental in his hands. Even though he may have intended to follow certain principles, Zhang Runshi’s prints can be summed up with the word “Clumsy”. It is not a clumsiness that comes from techniques, instead, it is a characteristic of his composition. “Clumsiness” and “Wildness” are, actually, rare attributes in contemporary art. Van Gogh, Rousseau, and Chagall all painted in this way. Van Gogh’s earlier works contained few colors, but their clumsiness was powerful. Zhang Runshi’s clumsiness is somewhat limited by principles, he is naturally rather than intentionally clumsy. His compositions are almost excessively backward; they are show intentional design, but naïve perspective and original representation.
The excellence of a landscape painting depends on various factors: completeness in composition, poetry in scenery, harmony in color, the formation of figures, etc. a poor landscape painting lacks these features. Similarly, a unique landscape painting should break through these factors. Zhang Runshi’s paintings reveal this unique quality, but they are also rather close to the edge of being “bad paintings”. “Dawn at the Back of the East Village” is this kind of work. The composition is unclear, yet one can somehow identify a scene, trees, houses, a small path, a pond, even horses and people—all of which are not what he wanted to represent. Rough brushwork sweeps over the image with mixed colors, the co-existence of red and green seems extremely unharmonious, and a heavy black is also mixed in. what is Zhang Runshi trying to present? It is not the beauty of the countryside, nor is it the tranquility of dawn or eye pleasing scenery. Everything in this image is a medium for sentiment and color, is it a reflection of the self through such medium?
It is obvious that Zhang Runshi’s colors have not been inspired by mass culture even in his prints we can see that the focus is on his direct experience, because they do not follow the formulaic principles of composition. Figures in his oil paintings are the same, simple and concise, naïve and natural; he is not interested in expressing a particular scene or event, but in expressing the painting itself. Actually, Zhang Runshi’s works bring us back to early contemporary styles, like the works of Van Gogh and Gauguin. They seem to be rebelling against the oppression of tradition. Zhang Runshi’s paintings are thus mixed with post-modernism, a combination of linguistic expression from mass culture with original sentimental personal experience. Perhaps this is a coincidence and he has no intention to prove anything to us; perhaps this is his direct response to mass culture. However, he has blended this response with personal experience, and moreover, he represents a self that is original, naïve, and genuine. Every piece of art can point to something, no matter how we enjoy the aesthetic in our shared experience of contemporary culture. He distinguishes himself by not choosing a style that has been duplicated or packaged. Rather, he shows his personal existence. Even though these simple yet illusory colors are his own creation, they are colors we share; even though they are his creations, they are also experiences we have collectively forgotten and submerged. Indeed some cannot be recovered. But, looking at Zhang Runshi’s painting, he has preserved many.
BIO OF ZHANG RUNSHI
1964 born in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province
1992 graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts with Bachelor Degree
1993 Set-up Zhang Runshi Copper-plate Etching Studio
2002 Set-up Zhang Runshi Illustration Studio
Exhibitions:
2010 Zhang Runshi Scenery Oil Painting Exhibition, XYZ Gallery, Beijing
2006 NIRVANA Zhang Runshi Solo Exhibition, Beijing Art Now Gallery
2005 Zhang Runshi Scenery Oil Painting Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
2004 won the excellent award at the 6th National Binding and Layout Art Exhibition
National Art Museum, Beijing
1997 Watercolor Exhibition of Chinese Young Artists, Beijing
1995 Chinese Scenery Oil Painting Exhibition, National Art Museum, Beijing
1993 The 5th Engraving Exhibition, Nanjing
Chinese Oil Painting Biennial, Beijing
1991 Chinese Contemporary Engraving Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Won the silver award of Central Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, Beijing
1990 The 4th Engraving Exhibition, Hong Kong
Illustration:
2007 <Xu Zhimo’s Poem>
2006 <Star. Spring>
2005 <Abduct>
2004 <Do Not Watch My Face>
2003 <Mother’s Scar>
<Bird>
2002 <You Are Bastard>
<To Be or To Be Not>
1991 <Hero After Disaster>
Writings
2010 <Zhang Runshi Scenery Oil Painting>
2005 <Zhang Runshi’s Illustration in Literature>
<Zhang Runshi’s Sketch>
KIDS: WANG MAO’S ARTISTIC JOURNEY 2010
Oil Painting by Wang Mao
at XYZ Gallery, Beijing
May 16 to June 12, 2010
Vernissage: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 3-6pm
XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100016
BEIJING – based artist Wang Mao’s third solo exhibition at XYZ Gallery will feature a series of oil paintings that reflect universal sympathy for the plight of children victimized by both natural disasters and human catastrophes. The visual effects of WANG MAO’S ARTISTIC JOURNEY 2010 dramatize humanistic concerns for children worldwide. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 3:00pm – 6:00pm at D05 of 798 Art Center in Beijing.
Wang’s artistic influences range from the Chinese traditional ink wash artist Ba Da to the disturbing modernist painter Francis Bacon. In style and technique, one can see traces of European romantic painters in Wang’s work. He also borrows from impressionists such as Cezanne and Sisley, and the Pre-Raphaelites, notably Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Yet there is also something completely unique and stirring about Wang’s paintings – something that is his alone.
Wang’s exotic paintings are a breath of fresh air in the contemporary art world – blending an invigorating aroma of the past, the intoxicating perfume of the romantic and the fresh scent that follows a spring thunderstorm. You should experience the enchantment for yourself.
Wang, at 30 years of age, is a quiet and unassuming person – humble and serious in a way that few artists are today. His family background was fertile soil for the cultivation of creativity. As a young boy, Wang’s parents belonged to an opera troupe. Their son grew up surrounded by drama: elaborate sets and costumes, stirring music, and thrilling stories. When he decided to undertake further studies in the arts, he was accepted as a student at the prestigious Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. There, he chose to focus his varied talents on painting.
Wang Mao graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Since 2007, his oil paintings have been exhibited at the XYZ Gallery, 798 Art Center in Beijing. Last year, he was invited to display his work at the 2009 Davos World Economic Forum in Dalian, China. Also in 2009, Art and Investment, China’s top art magazine, selected Wang Mao as one of the nation’s top 10 most promising artists. Many of his works have been collected by international banks and art foundations in the UK, as well as by private collectors at home and abroad. Currently, the artist resides in Beijing.
2010《THE AITING PARK》AITING WANG OIL PAINTING EXHIBITION
Opening reception: Saturday 1430hrs to 1800hrs of March 13th, 2010
Exhibition dates: March 14th to April 10th, 2010
Venue: XYZ Gallery Beijing, D05 of 798 Art Center
Curator: Xueyi Fan, Catherine Cheng
Contact Info: 010 8459 9299、13701104223 www.xyzartgallery.com
ABOUT AITING AND HER PAINTING
Being an painter has been my dream since I was a little girl. I started painting when I was four years old, and I used to paint by sitting in a small wood bench. I love to paint something that I could feel beautiful from bottom of my heart. Now the wood bench in my childhood is almost disappeared, and I remember that I saw it once in a hutong when an senior man pushed his three-wheel wagon, which loaded several benches. I was touched as it aroused my memory. However, those benches looked so roughly-made that could not compare with the one stayed in my mind. Luckily, I continue painting that I would never feel tired of, and pursuing it in a deeper comprehension. Sometimes I still enjoy sitting in the bench and painting.
My daughter was four years old in 2009. One day, she suddenly approached me and told me seriously: “Mum, I have a dream. My dream is blue, and I wanted to be a big painter.” Is it a life circulation?
I have been contemplating that only love and passion are not enough to an artist. Should one walk further or longer when he or she could tolerate the suffering, and be able to live a simple and solitude life.
-written by Aiting at home in Hepingli, Beijing in Dec.2009
“Aiting establishes her painting lauguage without anxiety or obstacle. Painting is the unique way of her expression, which is comfortably extended, truthful, relaxing and harmonious. Despite the color, shape or its own emotion, the painting gradually delivers her true feeling to the viewer, though they are still under exploration.”
-excerpt from Lu Hong’s < Aiting: Painting is Life——It is an ability to keep passion of creativity>
BIO OF AITING WANG
1971 born in Beijing
1991 graduate from Secondary School of Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)
1995 graduate from Fresco Dept. of Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)
1999 studied at the First Studio of Song Dynasty Painting in Yanhuang Art Museum Beijing
Main Oil Painting Solo Exhibition
2006 Hantang Gallery, “Sunny Afternoon Tea”
2005 China Contemporary Art Gallery, One Woman Show, LA, USA
2003 Hammer Gallery Beijing, “E Visual Illusion”
Participated numerous group exhibitions both at home and abroad, including National Art Museum Beijing, CAFA Museum, Tokyo of Japan, and Spring Art Salon in London, U.K., as well as the China Contemporary Art Group Exhibtion in L.A of USA.etc.
2009《HOME》JIA JIA WANG PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION BEIJING
Opening Reception: Nov. 28th, 2009, Sat. 2:30PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: Nov. 29th to Dec. 15th, 2009, 11:00AM-18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center(798 middle second street)
Contact Info: 010 84599299 / 13701104223, website: www.xyzartgallery.com
Curator: Xueyi Fan & Catherine Cheng
Jia Jia Wang, HOME
Jia Jia Wang manages to express a sense of quizzical foreboding about what urban society is supposed to be, in big canvases full of loose, confident patchwork clouds of colour, which resolve themselves as sort-of landscapes populated by cute, mute faces.
You might be interested by Jia Jia Wang's Chinese roots, and that might tell you something about these paintings' vague echoes of the Chinese landscape tradition, but their sentiment is properly rooted in the present; the little faces survey a world of borderline colour chaos, and as patches of colour with no arms and legs, there's little they can do except look on. Like us. There's a kind of honest infantilism in these starey little monads looking cartoon-perplexed at a land made up of cascades of consumer objects – pizzas and frying pans in some paintings, a battleship in another, walls, houses, ladders.
The work draws a lot from traditional Chinese landscape painting whilst countering it with imagery from more modern sources such as comic books, computer games and films. The starting points of the paintings are traditional western fairy tales and ancient Chinese stories. Extracts are cut and pasted together resembling a collage of painterly references: Chinese style epic mountain-scapes mixed with playful references to early platform games and give a false sense of naivety and childishness.By balancing out the relationship between objects, shapes, mountains and drips, the artist creates a cross genre painting as abstract painting,landscape and and still life are mixed and forced together.
This exhibition will be his first solo show in Beijing after his premier in London 2008, and all 20 more works are created in his Beijing studio. Now Jiajia continues his study of M.A. at Wood Carving and Print Dept. of Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
Bio of Jia Jia Wang
1986 Born in Beijing, China
2009 BA from Central Saint Martins, UK
MA from Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
2008 Solo Exhibition： Home, home again, Alexandre Pollazzon ltd , London
2009 Solo Exhibition： Home, XYZ Gallery, Beijing
From 2008 to 2009, participated numerous selected exhibitions in London, Hong Kong, Helsinki, Miami, and Bacelona etc. Now resides in both Beijing and London, as an independent painter
2009《METAMORPHOSIS》YUZHONG PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Nov. 28th, 2009, Sat. 2:30PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: Nov. 29th to Dec. 15th, 2009, 11:00AM-18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center(798 middle second street)
Contact Info: 010 84599299 / 13701104223, website: www.xyzartgallery.com
Curator: Xueyi Fan & Catherine Cheng
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am still obsessed a river in my childhood.
Water is clear and fish is happy,
There is frog calls, and cicada singing in the willow tree-
I always walk along the river bank by myself,
Enjoying the fragrance of earth
To seek the Seven Blossoms
In my memory.
That is a river full of Joy-
Painting is something to me
A way to express my feeling-
The random scribble, the irregular form,
I try to find a kind of feeling in my childhood
——the Cat and Mouse game at night,
Who was caught the first?
I have been painting these works for many years
I paint whever I have a feeling,
Or I will stop when the inspiration ends-
I enjoy my painting,
Not caring if other likes it or not-
Thanks to XYZ Gallery
Who appreciates my work
And encourages me to have this show
I treasure it
With a grateful heart
Ignoring the gain or loss
I enjoy life in my own way
Dream is not far
--by Yu Zhong
Yu Zhong was born in 1974, in a little village of Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province. He fell in love with painting when he was a little boy, and he continues studying in art school in Shaoyuan in 1990. Now he is an independent painter and photographer.
2009<DECODING PAINTINGS> JIANG CHANGHONG PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: 2009-10-17, Sat. 3:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: Oct. 18th to Nov.10, 2009, 11:00AM-18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, 798 middle second street of 798 Art Center
Curator: Xueyi FAN & Catherine Cheng
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299 / 13701104223
Artist Statement
Painting is something I have experienced day and night, every month from year to year, from confusion to clarity, from darkness into light, gradually finding my own shadow, until at last I discern the movement of the soul. This power existed from the time we were born, but was abandoned long ago amidst the clouds. For too long we have lost touch with truth and beauty, and so we are not free, nor brave, nor do we live authentically. We fear authority because we ignore beauty and truth.
In my work, I tirelessly observe the object, seeking to peel off its surface, so I can see into its essence. This is my process, and the process itself has meaning. Moreover, this kind interaction gives rise to countless adversaries, you could say. These adversaries raise questions and challenge me—their aggressiveness strengthens my confidence, wisdom, and experience. If one day humanity reached a kind of Eden, I would reckon that day a terrible day, because art is struggle, and life is struggle: struggle is the process of art, the reality of life. The most strange and wonderful thing of all is when life breaks through and comes pouring out.
In the end I understand: “An artist’s mindset and spirit is forever fighting. There is not rest at a high point.” To master oneself or the spirit of a artwork is a long and arduous task.
Commentary by Professor Sun Jianping, Tianjing Academy of Fine Arts:
Jiang Changhong lives a temperate life. He works to store up strong chi (energy) in his soul, because he fundamentally believes that if the soul is muddied, the artwork will be as well. And so he lives an ascetic life, striving for holiness and purity, a pure heart.
He likes Minimalist Art with strong energy. He often stands before the canvas for hours at a time painting a still life such as The Empty Chair or The Naked Woman, or sometimes just part of the Naked Woman. Through these works, he does not want to deliver an idea or concept, which he regards as unimportant. Like Cezanne with his apples or Morandi with his bottles, Jiang is creating his own spaces through meditation on the object itself.
BIO OF JIANG CHANGHONG：
1988 B.A. from Tianjing Academy of Fine Arts
2004 Associate Professor of Art Institute of Tianjing Financial University
2009 < Decoding Paintings> Jiang Changhong Solo Exhibition in Tianjing Library
<Decoding Paintings> Jiang Changhong Solo Exhibition in XYZ Gallery Beijing
Numerous articles published in domestic magazines, and receipt of numerous awards in nationwide art exhibitions around China.
He now resides in Tianjing, as an artist and Associate Professor of Art.
2009《DREAM OF COLOR》CAROLINE HANDS OIL PAINTING
SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Sept. 19, 2009, Sat. 4:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: Sept. 20th to Oct.19th, 2009, 11:00AM-18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center(798 middle second street)
Contact Info: 010 84599299 / 13701104223, website: www.xyzartgallery.com
ARTIST STATEMENT
From a young age I drew and made things out of raw materials available, natural or synthetic. This practice I have continued all of my life is my profession and prayer. For me it feels like a responsibility, which must be taken seriously, to put another image out into the world.
Myself a vessel that needs to be fed with beauty, intelligence, poetry, music, dance, the glory of nature and the breath of living dark and light. Then with sensitivity it is transformed into a magic which transcends and invigorates on canvas (or whatever medium is being used). Integrity. Yes. To invigorate. Yes. To dance with the mark, also with warm and openly love, that's what I hope the work gives out. Not a sentimentality, but something rooted in a deep joy of seeing.
There is so much destruction and pain around the world, and the last thing I want is to add more. But of course the work goes on its own journey and long may it do so. During my childhood, China was the place where all the beautiful pictures and artefacts came from that I saw when my father regularly took me to the British Museum in London. Later I read different Chinese stories and personal histories.
When at last I came to China everything just opened and flowered and I felt I was in the place I was meant to be. I met many wonderful people and never felt lonely even though I couldn't speak the language. I was given places to work in a Lotus village near Chengdu and in an office block in Beijing and felt at home. The culture, the enthusiasm, energy, kindness and laughter have fed me over the last few years. I've seen the wonderful work of many Chinese artists, be it painting (old and new), installations, sculpture, calligraphy or a spectacular performance with great swathes of colour, sound and motion.
China is a country that I sincerely hope will be a prominent part of the rest of my life.It has enriched my life and my own journey. I feel very humbled and grateful for all the people I have been fortunate to meet (and the many more I hope to meet). Also the outstanding beauty of the country with all its many different characteristics. To meet and understand each other better from across the seas and mountains under a large open sky is surely a way to help us treat our world and each other more caringly.
Thank you China for all you have given me and also I would like to thank all my Chinese friends and especially Chen, John Xue — and Annie Xiaoli Wang who has metaphorically been with me on this journey from the beginning.
By Caroline Hands
July of 2009 in London, UK
2009《TATA’S WORLD》LIU JIE OIL PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Aug. 1st, 2009, Sat. 4:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: Aug. 2rd to 29th, 2009, 11:00AM-18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center(798 middle second street)
Contact Info: 010 64337416 / 13701104223, website: www.xyzartgallery.com
ARTIST STATEMENT
I love painting very much. I wanted to be a painter when I was young, and now I am very fortunate to continue my pursuit.
My painting is all about my inner heart, created by the subtly delicate emotion and passion of mine. Without any reference, every painting derives from serious brain work. Painting is not an easy thing, as it needs heart, brain and soul. I think that a good artist should bring the enjoyment of true feeling to viewer, no matter it is a joy, sorrow, hardship or shock, taking the viewers to your own small world by communicating with them by heart, delivering the affection by the particular picture. This is the marvellous thing.
Feeling is significant in my painting, without it I could not just painting for painting. I feel so delightful and accomplished that no words could describe my feeling, unless I complete one painting that satisfies me.
I am a simple person, so is my painting. Simple but pure, simple but not dull. To keep low profile without losing peronality is my pursuit. I wish that people could find a piece of innocence of their long-lost childhood in my work, where they could also find a place to take a break and relax in nowdays of a noisy world. From my painting, I hope you may find another beautiful world just by closing your eyes, having a deep breath even for just several minutes.
I am sensitive yet very selective to colors. I love beautiful color, because life is full of various colors. Nature brings so many fantastic things for us to enjoy, and I wanted to deliver a visual enjoyment by those wonderful colors delicately, comfortably and magically. I fusion the colors into my painting with my emotion and affection, which expresses how much I enjoy painting.
Welcome you to my small world and let us enjoy life together.
BIO OF LIU JIE(TATA·JI）
1984 born in Tangshan City of Hebei Province
2000 graduate from Hebei Provincial Art School
2003 study in Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts
2005 receive the outstanding student award of painting in school
2007 three person exhibition at Tianjing Academy of Fine Arts
2008 works at Black Bridge Art Village in Beijing
2009 joint exhibition at XYZ Gallery, 798 art center in Beijing
Tata’s World Liu Jie Oil Painting Solo Exhibition, XYZ Gallery
Painting works published in China Oil Painting Magazine & Northern Art Magazine
Now resides in Beijing Black Bridge Art District as an independent artist
2009 《The COLORFUL STAGE》MARK CHEUNG & ZHONGYUN FENG JOINT ART EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: June 27th, 2009, Sat. 3:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: June 28th to July 16th, 2009, 11:00AM-18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D06
Contact Info: 010 8459 9299 / 13701104223
Photographer: LI Ming Curator: Xueyi Fan & Catherine Cheng
PREFACE
The Colorful Stage——is not in front of the audience, but in the hearts of two artists
Their lives have honed their talents and emotions
To preserve the spark from the ancient fire of creativity
Not to bring suffering, but Hope
These two men are like messengers from an ancient past
Seeking not Nirvana, but a better Future
They love to feel the wind blowing, or the rain falling
With smiles on their faces.
Biographies of Mark Cheung and Zhongyun Feng
Mark Cheung
Cheung was born in 1963, in Zhongshan City, Guangdong. When he was just a child he began to study Nanquan(Southern Kungfu)、Chinese Painting with his uncle Guoxiong Cheung, a famous scholar and painter. He continued to study Chinese calligraphy and oil painting from a number of famous masters in China, including Mr. Shaoguang Ding. In the 1990’s, he became the first famous Chinese-born fashion designer in New York. His works have been exhibited in many major cities throughout China. Currently, he is the vice chairman of the National Fashion Designer Association, and an adjunct professor at the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts and the National Fine Arts Academy.
Zhongyun Feng
Feng was born in 1967,studying Kunfu and painting since he was a child. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1991. He was the first contemporary ink wash painter to exhibit in the 798 Art Center, and has collobrated with a number of world-famous artists who have exhibited in 798 since 2006, including the German Expressionist painter Ekkehard Stoevesand, French-figurative artist Henri Gueguen and American aritst Paul Rossi. He has also received numerous art awards both in China and internationally. His works are widely collected both at home and abroad, and collectors of his works include the Art Foundation of the United Kingdom, the Hilton and Raffles Hotels in Beijing, a number of Embassies in Beijing, and many private collectors around the world.
In 2007, Feng founded the Zhong Martial Arts Space in the Blackbridge Art Center in Beijing. Now he is an independent artist residing in Beijing.
2009 《JUST LET IT BE》WANG MAO PAINTING EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: May 30, 2009, Sat. 3:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: May 31th to June 26th, 2009,11：00AM-18：00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 of 798 Art Center
Contact Info: 010 8459 9299 / 13701104223
Curator: Dr. Caryn Voskuil(USA) & Catherine Cheng
PRESS RELEASE
A World of Insignificant Beauty:
Wang Mao’s Longyan Tree Series
By C. M. Voskuil, Ph.D.
Wang Mao, in his late 20’s, is a quiet and unassuming person – humble and serious in a way that few artists are today. His background has provided a fertile soil for the cultivation of creativity. As a young boy, Wang’s parents were part of an opera troupe, thus he grew up surrounded by drama: elaborate sets and costumes, stirring music, and thrilling stories. When he decided to undertake further studies in the arts, he was accepted as a student at the prestigious Central Academy of Theatre in Beijing. There, he chose to focus his varied talents on painting. Today, he lives in a spacious apartment with sparse furnishings and cement floors in the outskirts of Beijing – in one of those sprawling, massive apartment cities that defy individuality and fly in the face of nature. The most notable aspect of his flat is a large floor to ceiling window that admits an abundance of natural light. As a result, it is an ideal ‘garret’ for this serious artist. Here Wang can spread out, focus, and make use of the solitude and light he needs to paint. As for inspiration – well, that he seems to find in a place deep inside of himself. While many artists today are involved in creating a ‘cult of personality’ instead of producing art that is profound and accomplished, Mr. Wang is the antithesis of such ‘artists’. He said very little as he presented his works to me, letting the art speak for itself.
Wang Mao’s current Longyan Tree Series takes as its subject the unique trees found in his home town. Along the banks of the Yangtze River in the town where Want Mao was born lies a ten thousand square meter forest of Longyan trees – the tree that bears the fruit known as ‘Eye of the Dragon’. This forest dates back to the Ming dynasty, and the trees grow in naturally powerful, twisted, dramatic shapes. From his earliest days, Wang Mao grew up surrounded by these trees, and his contemplation of them as a metaphor for the natural world as a whole continues to this day.
Wang Mao finds the artistic inspiration for his current series in the paintings of four grand masters of the Yuan Dynasty; Nizan, Huang Gong Wang, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng. In an homage to them, Wang Mao has also taken to ‘signing’ his current works with a chop. Their sweeping landscapes are filled with trees, mountains, waterfalls, and cloud-filled skies which dwarf the human elements present. Nestled in the palm of nature, villages and their inhabitants go on with their myriad activities, incapable of disturbing the majesty of the natural world that surrounds them. Like these landscapes, Wang Mao’s Longyan trees exhibit a reverence for the natural world. Like the paintings of the ancient masters, Wang Mao’s Longyan tree Series depicts natural elements that are full of energy, but which simultaneously evoke a sense of calm and optimism because they seem to be controlled by a wiser and greater hand.
The series consists of a study of these trees, and the occasional rock, found in the ancient forest near Wang Mao’s birthplace. In the works focusing on branches and trunks, the viewer is presented with a bird’s eye view of a tree from an upper branch, or an extended branch from the point of view of someone looking from the trunk outward. In no single painting is an entire tree depicted, which at first leads one to believe that the paintings may be abstract studies. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear that what is being presented are up-close and detailed views of sections of the trees.
I asked Wang Mao why he chose to paint only sections of trees while the great masters painted entire landscapes. He told me that he feels driven to focus on the small, unimportant and seemingly insignificant parts that make up the whole. Perhaps this is because, without these small unnoticed elements, there would be no trees, no fruit, no landscapes.
Wang Mao’s work is intrinsically Chinese– he is a student of the ancient Chinese masters and a child of their teachings. But Wang Mao’s art is at the same time wholly contemporary, and wholly original. The ancient masters represented a China in which the whole was always assumed to be more important than the parts, but contemporary China is a land in transition. The energy of this transition is felt not only within society and individuals, but within nature as well. To value, honor and focus on the small and insignificant on which all else rests is a world view that has only recently been introduced to China and it has many possible applications artistically, socially, and philosophically. When Wang Mao paints a branch or a stone, he told me, he feels as if he is painting a living, breathing individual being.
Wang Mao’s new works are on the cutting edge of Chinese art. They are both intrinsically Chinese and wholly contemporary. Informed by the great artists of the past, as well as by contemporary philosophers such as Derrida and Foucault, Wang Mao’s Longyan Tree Series is an aesthetic and social narrative that encourages us to respect the seemingly small and insignificant aspects of our lives.
BIO of WANG Mao
1980 Born in Hubei Province of China
2000 Graduated from the Stage Art Department of the Central Academy of Theatre
2004 Masters Degree from the Stage Art Department of the Central Academy of Theatre
2007 B.C- Octopus Solo Exhibition
2008 A NIGHT WALK IN WINTER - WANG Mao Painting Solo Exhibition, XYZ Gallery Beijing
2009 JUST LET IT BE WANG Mao Painting Solo Exhibition at XYZ Gallery Beijing
Collection: Art Foundation in UK, the UBS in Asia, and the private collectors from both home and abroad
Now resides in Beijing as an indepdent artist
2009 《HERE》CHEN NONG PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Sat. May 9th 2009, 3:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: May 10th - 22nd 2009, 11:00AM -18:00PM
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D05 at the 798 Art Center
Contact Info: 010 8459 9299 / 13701104223
Curators: FAN Xueyi & Catherine Cheng
PRESS RELEASE about CHEN Nong’s New Photography Work: YELLOW RIVER SERIES
SUBJECT: The Hukou Grand Waterfall of theYellow River
The Yellow River is our mother river. It has been surging forward since Xuanyuan was Emperor, and cultivates the Chinese nation generation by generation, by connecting each new era to the past. The Hukou Grand Waterfall is one of the most representative parts of Yellow River due to its natural power.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
From the year 209 B.C. E. during the Qin Dynasty to the year 1840 of the Qing Dynasty, the most influential Peasant Rebellions in history have taken place here:
Picture #1: The Death of the Dragon——（Symbolic Year）
Picture #2: Sinking the Boat t—— Determination（the Year of 18）
Picture #3: Yellow Turbans—— The Slogan of Each Peasant Movement/Rebellion:
Equal in Prosperity and Average in Poverty（the Year of 184-192）
Picture #4,#5: Chen Sheng & Wu Guang Peasant Rebellion（B.C.E. 209）
Picture #6: Li Zicheng Uprising during the late Ming Dynasty（the Year of 1628）
Picture #7: Boxer Uprising & Opium War（the Year of 1898 to 1900）
Picture #8: Nirvana——（Symbolic Year）
Who's Who in the《YELLOW RIVER SERIES》: Peasant Uprising Army:
Thes pictures aim to show the peasants who, driven to despair, revolt by burning their boats without any regrets because they can see that there is no way back; each picture tries to express the complicated human dilemma of these peasants, evoking the themes of barbarism, desperation, conspiracy, greed, unity, hypercriticism, division, metamorphosis, confusion, illusion, sincerity, materialism, hell, heaven, confidence, and decision till nirvana at the end.
MEDIA: Gelatin Silver Print+Hand Made Paints/ EDITION/SIZE: 10/100X 120cm & 10/50X 60cm
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF CHEN NONG
1966: Born in Fujiang Province in China
1990—1997: Began sculpting
1998- Began photography career which continues to the current day
Participated in numerous photo exhibitions both at home and abroad
Major Works: 《Masks》、《The Three Gorges》、《Climbing to the Moon》《Water Lily》etc.
COLLECTIONS: Marborough Gallery, MOMA NYC, Schneider Gallery & Private Collectors around the world. Now resides in Beijing as an independent artist
2009 《FAREWELL MY FLOWER》XUEYI FAN POETRY EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: May 16, 2009, Sat. 3:00PM to 6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: May 17th to 30th, 2009,11：00AM-18：00PM
Venue: SunshineArt Space, A05-0-8 of 798 Art Center
Contact Info: 010 6433 7416 / 13701104223
Photographer：LI Yue Designer: DU Shugang
Curator: Dr. Caryn Voskuil(USA) & Catherine Cheng
PRESS RELEASE
“My poetry originates from my ancestor’s song”
Xueyi started to write poetry when she was five years old.
According to Xueyi, “Possessing the spirit of poetry makes you effortlessly free” which is why she is so grateful for everything that poetry gives to her. “Poetry extinguishes desolation” she says.
No matter what she encounters during life’s journey, whatever hardships or suffering, it is poetry that allows her to transcend and thus overcome the difficulties in life. She maintains that “Poetry will never favor wealth over poverty. Poetry always gives me freedom, richness and the vigor of youth. If you see any beauty or elegance in me, it is all because of poetry, which money can never buy.”
This poetry exhibition combines the poet’s various art works including ink wash painting and poetry, oil painting, installation, and performance art as a means of allowing the audience to experience the artistic life of a poet through different media and perspectives. We hope that you will be able to experience how a poet lives her life, and understand the source of the spirit and power of her poetry. by Curator
FAREWELL MY FLOWER
With the breath of a spring rain or autumn breeze
Will I forget my flower?
Though beauty fades in the end
I still love those years that have drifted away……
- by Xueyi
BIO of Xueyi FAN
> Born in Heilongjiang Province, China
> 1997 - Began to live and work in Beijing
> 2001 - Published book of poetry entitled Childhood River
> 2006 - Art director and lyric writer for the music album of Singing in the Wind
> 2006 - Wrote the songs for TV operas Dream,
Local Police, Family Affairs, etc.
> 2007 - lyricist for the theme song of the movie Banquet, directed by Feng Xiaogang
> 2007 - Published a poetry book entitled Letter from Secret Garden illustrated by Dr. Erqiao Wei
> 2007 - Began painting career
> 2008 - First Solo Painting Exhibition Who Took Away My Blue Sky at XYZ Gallery Beijing
> 2009 - Farewell My Flower Poetry Exhibition at SunshineArt Space, 798 Art Center
- Art Collected by Museum in Holland, Art Foundation in UK
and private collectors from both China and abroad
- Currently resides in Beijing as a poet, painter & art director of XYZ Gallery Beijing
2009 WHERE DOES FLOWER FALL?
WANG DEZHONG PAINTING WORKS SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: April 11th, 2009, Saturday afternoon 1430hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: April 12th, 2009 to April 30th ,2009, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Xueyi FAN, Catherine Cheng
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
BIO OF WANG DEZHONG
1981 born in Beijing
2004 bachelor degree from Art Academy of Capital Normal University
2009 WHERE DOES FLOWER FALL Wang Dezhong Painting Works Solo Exhibition at XYZ Gallery Beijing, 798 art center
Now resides in Beijing as an independent artist
“One person with one scene or one scene with one person, it seems to be easy. However, the little girl looks a bit pretty, but it is hard to make it meaningful. I always feel that my painting is not good enough, something not expressed clearly. Anyway, take it easy”.
By Dazhong
2009 WANG JIAZENG PAINTING WORKS SOLO EXHIBITION
Exhibition dates: March 7, 2009 to Mar. 20,2009, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Xueyi FAN, Catherine Cheng
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
INTRODUCTION
“Wang Jiazeng revealed a soul-stirring vision of human dissimilation. He makes no exception of which the figures are all uniformed: all in blue and cadre cap. They can be either workers or farmers; neither government official nor merchants whose status are not identified and is only an abstract sign or symbol. Nowadays, Chinese are dressed of all sorts, but, in Wang Jiazeng’s works, people still look like are in 30 years ago, what whom wear has no individual character while all in blue tuinic and trousers. No one would forget that was one of the important marks of China then, therefore, Chinese were called ‘blue ants’ by Occidental. He is totally in defiance of the changes of time and rummages those out through chests and cupboards, in which not indicate that he is introspective of that special years but to symbolize the fetter and imprison of human character and nature. This tricky symbol seems like both another life and actual life. Under such circumstance, we are as if turning into a condition of being died but still alive. The style in grayish and black make the universe looked as though casting by iron, thus the dense callousness raid us that we could not help thinking about life and death.
To review all his works, some of them in obvious are as if a doorway to the outside world from the veil of Wang Jiazeng’s creation, in which he coats with slight colour of raddle. The colour is, as same as the woman in his box, to transform a thread of warmth from its origin coldness, though the basic keynote is still as hard as nails. Only are those little factors making the theme of expression suddenly appear definite relativity, and decreasing absoluteness so go into full of life. But, it is only the briskness of Wang Jiazeng’s or to say, as same as black humour, it is a black liveliness.
By Dr. Guo Xiaochuan’s < Men in Metal Boxes – Wang Jiazeng’s works>
Biography of Wang Jiazeng
1963 Born in Shengyang, Liaoning Province.
1992 Graduated from Department of Print in Luxun Academy of Fine Arts
1993 Studied at Oil Painting Facaulty of China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing
Now is associate professor of Lunxun Academy of Fine Arts
Solo Exhibition
2002 Works of Wang Jiazeng Exhibition, Shan Gallery, Shanghai
2008 Men in Mental Boxes Wang Jiazeng’s Oil Paintings Exhibition, Gaodi Gallery,
Beijing
2009 Wang Jizeng Painting Solo Exhibition at XYZ Gallery Beijing, 798 art center
Group Exhibition
2003 Beijing International Print Biennale, Yan Huang Art Museum, Beijing
China Today Invitational Art Exhibition, Beijing
3rd Chinese Print Ridge Invitational Exhibition, Japan
Joint Exhibition of American and Chinese Prints, New York
2004 Enter the Present Age _Eight Youth Print Exhibition, Guanshanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen
the 12th Taiwan International Print and Line Drawing Biennale. National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
the 10th National Arts Show, The National Art Museum of China, Beijing
2006 Academic Invitational Print Show, Shenzhen
Shanghai Invitational Peninsula Prints Exhibition, Shanghai University, China
2007 Guanlan International Print Exhibition, Guanlan Art Museum, Shenzhen
<Boundary and Integration> Print of Six People, Peninsula Art Gallery, Shanghai
Shanghai Wujiaochang No.800 Space Opening Show –Oil Painting Exhibition, Shanghai
Prints Exhibition of China and Abroad Masters, 3+3 Art Space, Beijing
2008 <Centers and Boarders: From ABC to XYZ> Wang Jiazeng Print Works Exhibition at XYZ Gallery
Awards
1989 ‘NoonBreak‘won outstanding prize, International Undergraduates Art Exhibition
1998 ‘Unconsciousness State in Sequence’ won the bronze prize , the 14th National Print Exhibition
2001 one of ‘Life As Cards’ gained the silver prize, the 7th National Three Kind of Print Exhibition
2002 ‘life As Cards’ won the first prize, Northeast Three Provinces Print Exhibition
‘The Half of Existence’ gained the outstanding prize, the 16th National Print Show
2003 Commemoration--Wearing Away Memory’, the prize of the 8th National Three Kind of Print Exhibition
2004 The Half of Existence’ gained the academic prize, National College and University Print Annual Exhibition
2005 ‘Commemoration--Wearing Away Memory’ won the second prize in the 17th National print Exhibition
《 <SPRING ARRIVS>BAO PEI OIL PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Exhibition dates: Feb. 14, 2009 to Mar. 09,2009, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Xueyi FAN & Catherine Cheng
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
2009 LONELY AFTERNOON JIANG LIANMENG OIL PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Exhibition dates: Feb. 14, 2009 to Mar. 09,2009, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Xueyi FAN & Catherine Cheng
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
LONELY AFTERNOON
About Lianmeng’s Painting
Lianmeng is a female painter from Northeast China. From her cold-tone style painting, you may discover Northeast artist’s rational preference, although many of her paintings focus on penetrating the artificial transformation of cities in a moment of perspective and the object of stagnation.
As an artist with a unique-eye, Lianmeng employs a simple and concise composition to create a time-frame stop. It is hard to find a vision prone to the "virtual Coke" phenomenon from her painting, sometimes it is out of expectation that the artist constructs an air agitation of the urban landscape by her concret picture. Because of the reduced speed that the screen is created deliberately, it makes the viewer to re-watch the scenery that is passed by everyday. City is created for the people with movement. If you love contemplation or if you are a soul-out fans, it would be better to choose a place far away, as the city that pursues the speed will kill you.
Lianmeng uses the operative form of samples to complete her emotional experience, which is the fixed experience to the reality. She tries to put aside of what she is aiming to express, as I understand that it is the protecting shell the artist tries to set up. Probably we may like the little bridge underneath the floating water, but it seems that we could not live without the city symbolizing the civilization. Difficulties, has appeared in all directions, access road, and this is the bottom step on the throttle, but we still do not express our emotion.
Lianmeng fusions her well-educated painting technique with the sunlight full of the ordinary objects, sometimes they show unexpected tension. Thus these objects situated in the scenery are no more ordinary but of special siginificance. Furthermore, it forms an object with special purpose and value. When the picture depicts the ambiguity; the precise sense of time has reached a certain consensus; enviornment is tranquil; time is still, the painting may seem slight trembling in the air full of mysterious images of beauty.
Written by Xu Ruotao
Translated by Catherine Cheng
BIO OF JIANG LIANMENG
1974 born in Dandong of Liaoning Province
2006 graudate from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts with master degree
2009 LONELY AFTERNOON Jiang Lianmeng Solo Exhibition at XYZ Gallery, 798 art center
Now resides in Beijing as teacher in Beijing Printing Academy
《HOPE》WANG MAO WORKS EXHIBITION
Exhibition dates: Dec. 27, 2008 to Jan. 27, 2009 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Fan Xueyi
《SONG DYNASTY WIND》BO YUN OIL PAINTING EXHIBITION
Exhibition dates:Dec.13, 2008 to Jan.10, 2009，11：00AM-18：00PM
Exhibition Venue: XYZ Gallery
Phone; 010 8459 9299 / 13701104223
Curator: Catherine Cheng
《WHO TOOK MY BLUE SKY AWAY？》XUEYI PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
——Dedicated to My Mother
Exhibition dates: Nov. 15, 2008 to Dec. 10, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Dr. Caryn Voscuil & Catherine Cheng
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
<Who Took My Blue Sky Away?> Xueyi Painting Solo Exhibition
One morning in 2007, my two good friends Dr. Ichi Hsu and Mr. Gao Xinjiang came to our gallery to see a new exhibition. Mr. Gao looked at me with a serious face and said ”Xueyi, you should paint! Your poems are just paintings made with words, and I believe that you could paint well.” I made my first attempt at painting that very night, though it seemed unimportant that the light in my room was dark and dim. The colors and the brush guided my heart about the canvas. The image in my heart appeared in front of my eyes, and I felt passionately that I had found another method to express the secrets of my soul. I was delighted to find that some things I could not describe with words could be expressed through painting. Hence, I entitled my first painting Another Journey; and tears filled my eyes when I looked at it, aware now that I had thus far been complacent and had limited myself. Through painting, I found my other ‘Self’ hiding beyond the conventionality. Through painting I was able to see again my favorite flowers that have now disappeared in my hometown, the sunflowers above the flooding water, and I could contemplate the will of the wilderness. I could communicate with myself again and learn from my past experiences one more time, viewing them with new eyes.
Chinese ink painting is the visual artistic expression that most closely corresponds to the emotional expression of poetry, so I tried painting with ink wash. During the preparation of Zencat’s porcelain exhibition entitled Poetry Transcends Time and Space, my mother passed away unexpectedly, and I lost the most valuable thing in my life. I fell into a desperate sadness, as if I had lost the sky, the stars, the sun, and the moon; it seemed to me that even the flowers and the grass had disappeared. My heart was calling out for my mother whenever I went to sleep or woke up, and I spent most of my time painting at my desk with tears running down my face. I also had the feeling that my mother’s sense of truthfulness and beauty were visible in the ink wash, reminding me that it was she who brought me into the world. I now have a deep understanding of how Chinese artists express their emotions through this particular media; ink wash. To paint with ink wash calms down my heart so that I am able to transcend the sorrow caused by the loss of my mother. Desperation is transformed into peace.
Both poetry and painting make marks upon my destiny. Can anyone imagine that a girl who came from a poor remote mountain area is today able to operate her own gallery and have her own exhibition? With the grace of God, my mother will look down from heaven with delight on my exhibition. I would like to express my gratitude to two people in particular: Catherine Cheng, who has put forth great effort in realizing my dream; and Feng Zhongyun, who as a fine teacher has guided my learning in the art of ink painting, and continues to help me to reap the spiritual benefits of practicing this art.
Finally I wanted to say: “Who took my blue sky away? I wanted to get it back.”
Xueyi at Blackbridge Art Village, 2008
Translated by Catherine Cheng
Edited by Caryn Voscuil
"Her art is deeply inspiring. I am especially inspired by her subtle use of color and turning color into forms that convey an inner life of great beauty. I am also amazed at the broad range and breathtaking quantity of her work. It grabs attention and penetrates deep into the memory. I carry her images away from the page and keep seeing them throughout the hours into an enduring future."
by John McAlister, PHD 66', Yale University, USA
“Wallace Stevens once said that he wrote poetry to help people live their lives. It can also be said more generally of all art that it is directed towards the same purpose – that is, to help those who engage with it to touch the life of the artist and, in doing so, see their own lives in new or more profound ways. Certainly, this is the object of great art; yet today it seems that many artists are obsessed with commercialism and pecuniary ambition. Certainly the arts must be patronized in a civilized society, but when art is created solely for the purpose of pandering to the collector, then the resultant art is soulless and serves as mere decoration. Such art may put food on the table, but it does not inspire or enlighten – that is – it does not help people to live their lives.
What a breath of fresh air it is, then, to experience the works of Xueyi. In an industry hastening towards frivolity and cliché, the poet Xueyi’s engaging works open a world of innocence, pain, emancipation and hope to an audience otherwise surrounded by imitation and triviality……To move through this exhibition of Xueyi’s paintings is to dance emotionally through the conflicting sensations of human life, and to come out in the end with a more profound acceptance of its agony and of its beauty – realizing that without the former, one could not fully experience nor appreciate the latter.” By Dr. Caryn Voscuil’s <Poetry On Canvas>
《2008 EAST WEST SINO-GERMAN ARTISTS JOINT EXHIBITION》
EKKEHARD STOEVESAND & FENG ZHONGYUN PAINTING WORKS EXHIBITION
Exhibition dates: Oct. 25, 2008 to Nov. 15, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Curator: Xueyi & Catherine
Contact Information: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
PRESS RELEASE
Ekkehard Stoevesand, a German Expressionist Artist, has been to come to China for the fifth times since 2002; loving to wander around town riding his favorite bicycle. Everything he experience in China, like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the old street of Tianjing, as well as the traditional courtyards tucked away in the Hutongs, stimulates his nerve and inspires his creativity. Inspiration comes from such beautiful moments as the light reflecting off the old rooftop tiles, or the shadow from a temple door. Capturing such moments on canvas becomes the arduous task, as he might stand in front of the canvas for hour on end before painting, these long hours standing are a small price to pay for the privilege of seizing a rare emotion; for him, the process represents the utmost salute to life.
The structure of his painting is abundant, with in-depth conception, full of profundity and liveliness; the emotion uncovered from his painting is complicated but change is orderly; the contrast of color employed in his works, such as black and red, is both uplifting and depressing, it’s about the uncertainty. Furthermore, the mystery is filled with metaphor, expanding till expression is almost unbearable, then sloping under an elegantly soft melody……
Most of this exhibition’s paintings are about China-motif, additionally the artist want his paintings to be more affordable to Chinese collectors; by doing so, the artist would like to express his affection to the Chinese, expressing his gratitude to the people who inspire him.
Feng Zhongyun, a Chinese Contemporary Ink Wash Painting Artist, graduated from the Chinese Painting Faculty of Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in early 1990’s, and has won numerous international art awards. Through his artistic experiments, he has been walking between the realistic and the abstract, delivering a unique talent in pushing the form. Although he has a profound understanding of both traditional and contemporary artistic expression, his pursuit of a vision places his style in its own world.
The deep comprehension of brush ink, as well as the proficient grasp of the media, is the most important factor for Feng to form his artistic language. This character differs from most of other Chinese Contemporary artists, who generally imitate Modern Western Art.
《FLOWER, OR WHAT ?》GENG XIAOGANG, JI XIAOPING, WANG JINGDONG OIL PAINTING WORKS EXIBITION
Opening reception: September 27, 2008, 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: September 28, to October 17, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery, D 05 of 798 Middle Second Street of 798 art center
Phone: 010 8459 9299
Curator: Xueyi & Catherine
《ANCIENT TIMES》
AFRICAN MASK, CHINESE XUN, CLASSCAL CALLIGRAPHY EXIBITION
BY SHI FEI, FEN ZHONGYUN, ZHANG XUN
Opening reception: September 20, 2008, 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: September 21, to October 19, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: Yu Qian Space A05-0-8, 798 art center of Beijing
Phone: 010 6433 7416
Curator: Yilin
Human's art initiates from rituals
Whether they use African Mask
Or Oracle Bone Inscription
Or the 7000-year-old Musical Instrument XUN
All of them represent the Human Civilization
While Human obtain the power from Nature
They change their own destiny accordingly
Informative material:
ABOUT XUN & ZHANG XUN STUDIO:
1. The character of XUN：
Made by “clay”，played by “mouth”
2. XUN is the most ancient musical instrument in China. It was excavated in Wanhemudu of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, as well as Banpo Ancient Historical site in Xi’an, Shanxi Province. XUN has 7000 years old history.
3. XUN was developed from one hole to two holes to have three tones in early stage, and finally extended to six holes so that it can be played in both five tones and seven tones. The whole process of development takes about 3000 years.
4. Zhang Xun has been studying and playing Xun for many years, during his experiments, he invents the U shape XUN. With the U shape invention, the voice of XUN becomes more sound and broad, upgrading the sensitiveness, further making the performance simple and natural.
ABOUT SANSHI PAN：
Late Period of West Zhou Dynasty（Ca.9th－8th centuries B.C.）
The dimension of Sanshi Pan: height 20.6cm Plate depth: 9.8cm, diameter: 54.6cm, 41.4cm
Weight：21312 g Carved Inscription：19 paragraphs with total 357 characters
Early in middle Shang Dynasty, the inscription appeared in the copper bronze, earlier than oracle bones inscription. However, after West Zhou Dynasty, the inscription carved on the copper bronze started to be prevalent. It is often used for rituals, war or awards etc., or even for title deed, and recorded on the copper bronze.
Sanshi Pan was excavated in the time of Kangxi, Qing Dynasty, and was delivered to Peking (Beijing) in Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty, in order to celebrate the birthday of emperor of Jiaqing, since then it was collected by royal family. The inscription on the plate consists of 357 characters, recording the title deed in late of West Zhou Dynasty. In the country of San, the plate (Sanshi Pan) was discovered at Fengxiang of Baoji City, Shanxi Province. At that time, the land was invaded by the country in northwest, and later the two countries reached an agreement of peace by dividing the land and borderline. The whole negotiating process and the agreement made were carved on the Sanshi Pan, the copper bronze plate, for the witness and approval.
The shape of Sanshi Pan inherited the similar style of Wenshi, which is Simplicity. The line of each character is gentle, elegant, and inspirationally moving, and it is the most important material to do the research of Jinwen in Xizhou Dynasty.
2008< POETRY TRANSCENDS TIME AND SPACE> BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN EXHIBITION
BY ZENCAT DONGZI
Opening reception: Aug. 16, 2008, 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: Aug. 17, to Aug. 30, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery， D05, 798 art center of Beijing
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
Curator: Xueyi Fan， General Coordinator: Catherine Cheng
INTRODUCTORY ARTICLE
Poetry is the experiences and emotions of life, processed through an artistic soul. Without living, without suffering, without joy, there would be no poetry. Wallace Stevens claimed that he wrote poetry to help people live their lives, and the poet Xueyi writes for the same reason. Her words are both inspirational and motivational. To understand the poet is to understand her poetry, and to understand her poetry helps one to better understand their own life experience.
The poems of Xueyi are illuminated through the artistic hand of Zencat. A renowned ceramic artist, Zencat read the poems of Xueyi and heard the story of her life, and was inspired to create ceramic works that served as tangible images of Xueyi’s writings and experiences. Zencat’s career as a ceramic artist began in 1988, when she began working with the medium. In 1994, she was the first artist in China to receive an independent scholarship awarded by the French National art Foundation to work in France with a local artist. She has exhibited in France and Italy, and won an award at a show in Florence, Italy. However, Zencat did not devote herself consistently to ceramics because she felt that she was still a ‘student’ of life and was therefore not ready to devote herself fully to the medium. When she met and heard Xueyi’s story, she felt she had ‘graduated’ and was ready to devote herself completely to working in ceramics. Zencat, who is also an author, believes that art must not be merely commercial, but must be used for a higher purpose – to speak truth, and to tell stories that need to be told. Xueyi’s story inspires her as something worthy of the devotion of art because it speaks of sorrow giving way to hope.
It is both Xueyi’s story, and the story of China. Indeed, it is the story of humanity. The exhibit is dedicated to Mothers, and to Mother China.
The poems Zencat illustrates with her ceramic works were written in Xueyi’s youth. Born in a remote area of Northeast China to a life of privation, the young Xueyi lived with her family, and found happiness largely in the nature around her and within her fertile imagination. At the age of 7, Xueyi began to create poetry. Her poems then were sung she did not attend school until the age of 11. In Xueyi’s young life, one finds the symbols and themes in Zencat’s current blue and white porcelain works based upon Xueyi’s poetry: a tent, leaves, birds, stars, flowers, a mirror, books, slippers, a spatula, pillow, thermos and red fruit balls (tanghulu).
Flowers and leaves are important images from Xueyi’s young life. Xueyi’s mother suffered from the sporadic appearance of inner demons, and at these times, would withdraw from the world. Xueyi’s mother would disappear into the forest to live in a tent for extended periods of time, wrestling in solitude with her despair. Xueyi would then abandon school to look for her mother, searching in the forest surrounded by wild flowers and grass for the tent where her mother hid, waiting for her young daughter to lead her back home. Due to her mother’s disappearances, Xueyi’s school experience was inconsistent. She did, however, love book as a child. Some of her fondest memories stem from the making of books of poetry in her childhood, where her own first poetry book entitled Childhood River published in 2000, and Zencat thus portrays books in her porcelain works to portray their importance in Xueyi’s young life.
But Xueyi’s life was also one of privation, represented by the newspapers and mirrors in Zencat’s works. As a child, Xueyi had no mirror in which to see herself, and she had no newspapers to read. These two things – newspapers and mirrors – symbolize the longing and desire for knowledge of both herself and the world around her that Xueyi felt as a child. Her desire to know more, to see more of the world, burned within her young heart until she was moved to do something about it.
To illustrate Xueyi’s desire to see and experience more of the world, Zencat uses the image of slippers in her work. The story behind this is both charming and poignant. In 1997, Xueyi went to Beijing and stayed in the student dormitory of a school. She picked up a pair of slippers that her classmate abandoned, as she had no money to buy shoes. Therefore, she could go to see the fountain in front of a hotel. However, she was rejected by the hotel when she was invited by a friend to have dinner in the hotel, because the hotel stating that one could not come in without proper dress.
The spatula is another powerful image from Xueyi’s life. Because of her mother’s incapacitation, Xueyi had to begin cooking for the family at the age of 8. Bird and stars are symbols of creativity, joy and hope. The image of a bird on a star represents the motivation in your heart to seek joy and to create beauty in life.
Another interesting image in Zencat’s works is the travel bag with a zipper. These bags were commonly used by people of Xueyi’s parents’ generation when they left their hometown. Inside they would place all of the family possessions – not gold and silver, but glasses, toothbrushes, a sweater, umbrella, some eggs and a cup. In the porcelain travel bag, Zencat has placed a story about Xueyi’s train trip to Beijing. Leaving the mountainous region of her family, Xueyi travelled for a long time beyond the mountains, past the place where the Great Wall stretches in to the sea, to reach the outskirts of Beijing. When she arrived, she saw flowers blooming and thought ‘I will stop here’. On the sides of the bags are the names of the places she stopped – up to and including 798. It is interesting to note that one of the travel bags has a broken handle. It represents those parts of our home, of our past, that we can’t take with us when we leave, but that we can’t really leave behind or forget. The travel bags also represent New China – everyone is on a journey, and they can’t take the China of the past with them, though they can hold it in their memories.
In each of Zencat’s and Xueyi’s collaborative works, one is touched by the intersection of the poet’s past with the artist’s present and our own emotional experience. Indeed, these artists remind us what art is really here to do – to help us go beyond materialism and re-connect with our spirituality, thereby helping us to better live our lives. More than simple amusement, art is essential to life. To remind us of this, Zencat uses the ancient symbol meaning ‘For the Emperor’ in her work, a symbol which denotes sophistication and high quality and stands for freedom, tolerance, integrity, hope, bravery, and wisdom. But these works are for us – for the emperor in our hearts. We need it to remind us that life in this modern world should be more than mere accumulation – it should be an exercise in discovering the profound, the poignant, and the beautiful.
By Caryn Voscuil, PHD
Edited by Catherine Cheng
Centers and Borders: From ABC to XYZ
2008 Sino-American Artists Joint Exhibition Beijing
Opening reception: July 26, 2008, Saturday 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: July 27, to Aug 13, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery (www.xyzartgallery.com)
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
Curator: Dr. George Rivera & Catherine Cheng Art Director: Xueyi Fan
Participated Artists: Lourdes Archundia, Richard Armendariz, Dan Boord, Sam Coronado, Dennis Dalton, Mary Rachel Fanning, Joe Farbrook, Suzanne Faris, Carlos Fresquez, Quintin Gonzalez, Beth Krensky, Federico Londono, Roddy MacInnes, Cara Mancini, V. Kim Martinez, Lennon Michalski, Arturo Miranda Videgaray, Sylvia Montero, Fatima Naseer, Tony Ortega, Estanislao Ortiz Escamilla, Caroline Peters, Sandra del Pilar, Dr. George Rivera, Garrison Roots, Enriqueta Rosete, Martha Russo, Kevin Salzman, Antonio Salazar B., Eugene Stewart-Huidobro, Luis Valdovino, Luz del Carmen Vilchis, Andrea Wallace, Lori Warren, Sherry Wiggins, E.J. Yoshioka 吉冈, Wang Jiazeng 王家增, Feng Zhongyun 冯钟云, Shi Jianguo 石建国, Dang Zhongguo 党中国,Zencat Dongzi 禅猫东子
Centers and Borders: From ABC to XYZ
In the artworld, “center and borders” references “centers and margins.” Such ethnocentric thinking validates colonialism and purports that “the West” is the prevailing model. However, such thinking is highly outdated.
In the New Millennium, we have finally come to realize that we live in a world that is highly diverse, and this diversity has permeated consciousness in all spheres. As the world becomes smaller through trade and technology, we begin to realize that there are many “centers.”
Thus, “centers and borders” should be viewed from a perspective that does not position one’s nations art over another. Hopefully, we can interact as equals in an encounter of “centers.” The same applies to the artworld. There is not “one artworld” but “many artworlds.”
The artists from the Americas in this exhibition are all part of an art collective known as the “Artnauts” from Boulder, Colorado (ABC) that was formed by a group of artists from the University of Colorado in 1997 to exhibit art throughout the world. Thus far, the Artnauts have had exhibitions in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Palestine, Peru, Russia, and Spain, as well as in the United States.
It is in the spirit of the occasion of the Beijing Olympics that a group of artists from the Americas –including the United States and Mexico-- join a group of Chinese artists to visually address “centers and borders” in an exhibition at the XYZ Gallery in the 798 Dashanzi Art District in Beijing.
George Rivera, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Colorado
Department of Art & Art History, Boulder, Colorado, USA
2008 HENRI GUEGUEN PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION BEIJING
A TRIBUTE TO WOMAN
Opening reception: June 28, 2008, 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: June 29, to July 17, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery (D06-6-1, 798 art center of Beijing)
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
Curator: Catherine Cheng & Xueyi Fan
"I am drawn to Asian culture, which reflects through its simplicity, the strength of an image in a symbolic context. My pursuit of the aesthetic reunites me with my roots: the sea, a generating force of shapes and transparencies. My brush converses with the canvas in my workshop, and I enjoy the presence of paintings which are in the process of drying. I look at the rust <trophies> and the palettes of pigment, which take me to far-off places: Russian Blue, China Red, Bengali Pink, Neapolitan Yellow, Veronese Green….This is effervescence of my creativity."
by Henri Gueguen
“The man is engaging, and he paints for others and the pleasure of the exchange
The craftsman himself is not without substance;
He himself creates his own material and colors;
He works non-stop.
The artist is superb, and one can only be seduced by the movement, the composition, and the harmony of his paintings.
If indeed <woman is the future of man>, then Henri Gueguen is a man with a future.”
by Bernard Daurenson
Managing Director of Credit Mutuel Ocean
“In Henri’s current work, he would like to express his homage to female celebrity of the world, including the British Icon, as well as in the fields of cinema, haute couture and music. His art combines his particularity of elongated women with the image of prestigious personality. According to Henri, it is because Woman is the future of Man. Henri Guéguen creates his own paint with natural pigments, which give a living and vivid aspect to his paintings. In appreciation of Asian Culture, Henri offers us a wide range of stylish women with his art.”
by Curator
BIO OF HENRI GUEGUEN
1964 Born on 18 June in in Lorient – France
1985 Graduated from Modern Art Faculty of Paris Fine Arts Academy
Receipient of the International Art Masters Award in NYC, USA
Receipient of the prestigious award of Art, Science, Lettres in Paris
Now resides in France as independent artist
French Studio : 1, rue de la Promenade 85170 Belleville sur vie - France
《I CHOOSE MYWORK》YU QIAN PAINTING AND CERAMIC ART SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: May 24th, 2008, Sat. 3:00PM-6:00PM
Exhibition Dates: May 25 to June 20, 2008, 1100-1800 except for Monday
Venue: Yu Qian Space, A05-0-8 of 798 Art District
Gallery Phone: 010 6433 7416
Curator: Yilin Liu
I CHOOSE MY WORK
I indulged myself in painting when I was a kid,
Finally I find my own secret garden
I wanted to blossom and reap fruit at here
Clay dances with wash ink
Acrylic creates a space
Every work comes from my heart
That experiences the rapidly changed world
To discover the surprise in life and the joy after surprise
To enjoy the creation and my study
I wish my works bring all of my friends
A piece of joy, and a feeling as well
By Yu Qian
BIO OF YU QIAN
1988 Born in Beijing
1997 Won the Gold Medal of National Children & Teenager Painting &
Calligraphy Grand Competition, organized by CCTV
1998 Won the Silver Medal and Outstanding Award of TV Artistic
Works Collection Activity, organized by CCTV
2002 Work of Still Life Selected by the First China National Children & Teenager Wash Ink Exhibition
2005 Establish her internet blog of http://yuqwork.sohu.com
2006 I AM EIGHTEEN THIS YEAR Yu Qian Painting Works Solo Show, at XYZ Gallery, Dashazi 798 Art Center, Beijing
2008 I CHOOSE MY WORK Yu Qian Painting & Ceramic Art Solo Exhibition at Yu Qian Space of 798 Art Center, Beijing
2008《WHEN MEMORY EXISTS STILL》
BAO PEI PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: May 24, 2008, 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition Dates: May 25 to June 20, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery (D06-6-1, 798 Art Center of Beijing)
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223 (www.xyzartgallery.com)
Curator: Xueyi Fan & Catherine Cheng
<WHEN MEMORY EXISTS STILL >
Bao Pei’s paintings remind me that everything changes completely as time flies.
As hours and minutes rush by, all joy and sadness in life melts into silence;
and fate is gone with wind.
One day, we may discover that the effect of the outside world upon on us has faded.
And what our hearts have longed for is still within sight ——
<Childhood Sky>、<Hometown Colors>、<Spring Flower in the Rain>、<Windy Forest>，
Forgotten memories linger like an endless song, always singing in solitude.
They bring us the warmth of a mother’s smile;
They bring us images of ourselves from the past;
They teach us When Memory Exists Still.
Our experiences are that to which we must always bid farewell;
The more steps we take along life’s path, the closer we come to our soul;
Eventually, we will find the road back home.
Memories, combined with fresh insight, are transformed into pear flowers
by the colors in Bao Pei’s paintings.
Her art tells us that,
Passing through a pear garden, turning toward the spring waters,
Home is close to us whenever we see bamboo;
So is Memory.
BIO OF BAO PEI
1960: Born in Beijing, original from Huizhou of Anhui Province, China
1984: Graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts
1986 Work as an editor for China Art Daily, Chinese Painting Research Institute
1987-2002: Live and work in NYC, USA
2002 to Present: Independent Artist residing in Beijing
2008《A NIGHT WALK IN WINTER》WANG MAO PAINTING EXHIBITION
Opening reception: April 19, 2008, 1500hrs to 1800hrs
Exhibition dates: April 20 to May 9, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery (D06-6-1, 798 art center of Beijing)
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223 (www.xyzartgallery.com)
Curator: Xueyi Fan & Catherine Cheng
《2008 ROMANTIC BRUSH INK》GROUP EXHIBITION
BY FENG ZHONGYUN, SHI JIANGUO & WANG MAO
Opening reception: March 01, 2008, 1700hrs to 1900hrs
Exhibition dates: March 02 to March 31, 2008, 1100hrs to 1800hrs
Venue: XYZ Gallery (D06-6-1, 798 art center of Beijing)
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
Curator: Xueyi Fan & Catherine Cheng
 
2008 ZENCAT DONGZI ART SOLO SHOW SHANGHAI
Oil Painting, Installation Art, Ceramics, etc.
Zencat Invites You
To enjoy her collections from a Secret Garden
In the winter of Shanghai
Dongzi lives her life like a migratory bird; her heart leads her South when the wild goose flies overhead. She originally planned to go to Dali, but fate brought her to an old, Spanish-style house located at 110 Fenyang Road in Shanghai. With her 18-month old daughter in tow, she started her most recent creative project in the winter of 2007. During the last three-months, she completely immersed herself in her surroundings. In her collection, you will discover blue and white ceramic blossoms on canvas, a cello with a new face standing in the garden, poetry written on cloth and hanging on the wall, ceramic fish chatting in a bathtub, and more …
“Art can brighten our ordinary lives;
Creation enables us to return home to our freedom”
《2008 ZEN CAT DONGZI ARTWORKS SOLO SHOW SHANGHAI》
Opening Reception: Feb. 22, 2008, 1700 hrs to 1900 hrs
Exhibition Dates: Feb. 23 to Feb. 28, 2008, 1100 hrs to 1700 hrs
Venue: No. 110 Fenyang Road, Shanghai (near Taiyuan Road)
Curated by Leo & Sunlight General Coordinator: Catherine Cheng
Phone: 010 8459 9299/13701104223
XYZ Gallery Beijing in collaboration with Leo Gallery Shanghai
BIO: ZEN CAT DONGZI：
Original Name: WANG Dong, born in Beijing
Dongzi graduated from Beijing Art & Design Academy in 1988. After graduation, she ran a ceramic studio for five years. In 1993, she established the 1st Ceramic Art Center in Beijing. From 1993 onward, she conducted study tours of traditional Chinese ceramic art in many Chinese provinces including Shanxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Xizang & Hebei. She also conducted international study tours of world folk ceramic art in many countries including Spain, France, Egypt and Nepal. In 1994, she was awarded a scholarship from the French National Art Academy to study and work with French ceramic artists.
In 2000, her blue and white ceramic work Play Chinese Character for Poetry was selected for exhibition at the Faenza International Competition in Italy. From 2001 to 2007, she published numerous books of essays, including Art Garden – the French Woman Who Makes Ceramic，Cigarette Box，Kissing Underneath the Starry Sky of Dali and Love Letters to God. These books record her steps along the way as she studied folk art and made ceramics. The designs on her blue and white ceramic works are strongly influenced by Chinese folk traditions.
Always meditating on the birthplace of her soul, Dongzi continues unceasingly to create her art and to live her life joyfully. Everything in this world seems to her as the trappings of her fairy tales. The majority of her work is dedicated to the memory of Universe, meant for God to see, so she is not worried about what her works look like, where they end up, or to whom they belong.
2007 《Yesterday's Paper》 Dirk Jan Van Den Berg Photography Exhibition
Dec. 15 to Dec. 16, 2007
Venue: XYZ Gallery
Phone： 010 8459 9299
Initiator : Frederike Mijnlieff
Curator： Fan Xueyi Catherine Cheng
Dirk Jan van den Berg took up photography in 2003. “The introduction of the digital SLR’s created the opportunity to control the entire workflow from taking the picture to printing the picture. It ended my everlasting frustration with unsatisfactory development and print work of photo laboratories during the analog days.” Living in New York for 5 years and now living in Beijing has provided him with ample inspiration; thousands of photo’s are the fruits of long walks in both cities.
“My camera is the extension of the visual senses. It stills moments of people, objects and structures that otherwise would last seconds or even less. A good picture is not a mere image; it reflects emotion, it tells a story in a split second. I like my photographs to fit a template of diagonals and straights, probably reflecting strive for rationality and order. I am pleasantly surprised to find out that people like my work, it means that my hard drive is no longer its terminal station. It is a great pleasure that some of my work is put on display for other people to enjoy”.
Dirk Jan van den Berg was born in 1953 in Hilversum in the Netherlands. After his studies in econometrics at the State University in Groningen in the Netherlands, he embarked upon a career in the Dutch civil service. He had several positions in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; he served his country as the ambassador to the United Nations in New York. Currently he is the ambassador to the PR of China. In January 2008 Dirk Jan van den Berg will leave the Dutch foreign service and will assume the position of President of Delft University of Technology.
Beijing, 15th of December 2007.
2007 <SILENT SYMPHONY>
BO YUN PAINTING SOLO EXHIBITION
Preview/Opening reception: DEC.01, 2007, 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Dec. 02 to Dec.20, 2007 from Monday through Sunday 1100AM till 1800PM
Curator: Fan Xueyi & Catherine Cheng
Venue: XYZ GALLERY, D06-6-1 of 798 Dashanzi Art Center PH: 010 8459 9299
SILENT SYMPHONY
Bo Yun’s art is fascinating. I love to sit peacefully in front of his painting whenever I try to forget about all the troubles in life. His painting reminds me of humankind’s solitude in the vast universe, the unpredictable fortunes and misfortunes in life, as well as the inevitable feeling of loneliness when people explore deep into their hearts.
On the first sight, Bo Yun gives the impression of being optimistic and humorous; deep down, however, he is a mystic. He has a profound and unique understanding of every tangible being, as well as those on a spiritual level; and he believes there are some extraordinary and inconceivable rules governing our world from the background. You might be able to read his thoughts from his paintings by appreciating them carefully, gently, and slowly. His paintings are abstract; but it can be seen as a landscape – landscapes in the eyes of a mystic look exactly like that.
Bo Yun was one of the key founders of the well-known Avant-garde group of artists who initiated the “Stars Exhibition”, which is now widely recognized as the origin of Chinese Contemporary Art. Bo Yun, together with his fellow artists, bravely expressed their true feelings and interpretations of the world, in order to rebel against the then rigid orthodoxy of mainstream art, which merely served the purpose of political propaganda. And they were not only rebelling against the rigid form of art, but also the repression imposed on the people.
Thanks to the breakthrough made by the “Star Exhibition”, Chinese Contemporary Art started to flourish. However, I am beginning to doubt the authenticity and sincerity of some so-called Chinese Contemporary Art. They seem artificial and “planned”, so as to obtain the “rebellion” label through much exaggeration. Sometimes I tend to think that they are simply attempting to please the Western eyes - you may find such examples in 798.
Today, after 28 years, the “Star Group” will have another mission to rebel against another form of “mainstream art” - the so-called Chinese Contemporary Art.
Dear friends, please have a second thought before you decide to believe the motive-driven mass media and some of the critics.
But whom to believe you might ask - your very own eyes and conscience.
Arthur Lee
Freelance writer
 
2007 <CRASH WITH TODAY> WASH INK EXPERIMENT BY REN ZHITIAN
LANDSCAPE REFLECTION BY ZHONG ZHAO EXHIBITION
Oct. 21 to Nov. 10, 2007
Preview/Opening reception: Oct. 20, 2007, 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Curator: Fan Xueyi & Catherine Cheng
WASH INK EXPERIMENT BY REN ZHITIAN
“Painting is merely like lecture to me, while wash ink is like Chinese language. Art creation, as to me, is an experimental activity of mind. In my view, any experiment has nothing to do with contemporary art. As to “Experimenting Water Ink”, this outdated concept might be possibly misleading; hence, I would like to entitle my water ink as Wash Ink Experiment.
I am not extreme patriot, but love to appreciate the deep root of our culture. Water ink is like language, as well as a position. It is supposed to express and response to contemporary, rather than merely to satisfy a game”.
By Ren Zhitian
Bio: REN Zhitian
1991 Started the water ink painting in Wuhan city, Hubei Province
1993 Moved in Yuanmingyuan Artist Village ( the first free artist village in BJ)
1998 Ren Zhitian Painting Solo Exhibition Beijing Artist Club
2007 Song Zhuang Resident Artists Joint Exhibition Beijing Songzhuang Art useum
Now resides in 798 Art Center of Beijing as an independent artist
LANDSCAPE REFLECTION BY ZHONG ZHAO
“In this age dominated by violence, can art grant affliction a sheaf of sunlight? When mountain stones are moved to the greedily outstretched cities and become desolation and low water, when wastelands hide behind prosperity, who has created the huge painting of mountain and water in front of us?
Being silent is the best attestation of not willing to be in collusion. Let the art associate with time and be concomitant with life and seek in the chaos. In this world that anything could be speeded up, I believe in the sublimity and beauty， which Skill is Ability”.
By Zhong Zhao
Bio: ZHONG ZHAO
1972 Born in Yueyang City , Hunan Province
1998 Graduated from the Fine Art Department, Central China Normal University
2007 <Fusion of East and West > Zhong Zhao Solo Painting Exhibition
Now resides in Shangyuan Artist Village of Beijing as an independent artist
XYZ GALLERY & YALE CLUB BEIJING
IN COLLABORATION OF PROMOTING
BOOK PROGRAM FOR THE DESERVED STUDENTS IN THE POOREST COUNTRYSIDE IN CHINA
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