Reflections：10 Chinese Artists and Their 20s

Curator: Linghu Lei
Opening: 5pm, Jan 20, 2010
Exhibition time: Jan 20 to Feb 5, 2010
Opening hours: 11:00am to 6:00pm everyday
Address: Beijing Angle Modern Art, 4/F, Tower 1, Zhongguo Hongjie (China View), Jia 2 Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
 
CROSSTALK Beijing #7 Life: Inspiration and Passion

Host: Linghu Lei
Guests: Hu Jiujiu, Pi Li, Rongrong, Philip Tinari,
Time: 14:00, Jan 20, 2010
Address: Beijing Angle Modern Art, 4/F, Tower 1, Zhongguo Hongjie (China View), Jia 2 Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing

On Jan 20, 2010, the exhibition “Reflections：10 Chinese Artists and Their 20s” will open at Beijing Angle Modern Art. 10 contemporary artists from different realms will use their early works to trigger the discussion of that particular age they belonged to.
Stepping into the last year of the first decade of 21st century, it’s time to review what has come along with us. Today’s important artists had their first shine 20 years ago, with boundless passion and inspirations, paralleling changes and contemplations taking place in this very nation. Their stories simultaneously reflect the enlightenment of the nation’s art field.

This exhibition will touch upon fields including: engraving, painting, device, concept, action and photography etc. Exhibits are mostly unknown works, sketches, unfinished works, even “failed works” which the artists found themselves embarrassed of, together with thoughts and dreams about the work.

The exhibition is inclined to re-open the memory of that age, how these avant-gardes began to fulfill their dreams. This private and mystic period is valued and delivered to audience as a group exhibition. The unique era they lived through still seems nice and warm today.

Traces: Liu Xiaodong

Co-curators: Wu Hung | Ou Ning
Opening Reception: 9pm, September 18, 2009
Exhibition Time: September 18 – November 15, 2009
(Closed during the National Day holiday.)
Opening Hours: 2pm–8pm, Monday–Friday
10am–6pm, Saturday–Sunday
Address: Beijing Angle Modern Art, 4/F, Tower 1, Zhongguo Hongjie (China View), Jia 2 Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing

CROSSTALK Beijing #6: Archiving and Case Study in Contemporary Art

Guests: Liu Xiaodong, Wu Hung, Ou Ning
Time: 3pm, September 19, 2009
Address: Beijing Angle Modern Art, 4/F, Tower 1, Zhongguo Hongjie (China View), Jia 2 Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing

As one of the most successful artists in China, Liu Xiaodong’s works are classics in contemporary Chinese art history and an art market phenomenon. In an exhibition of his finished works, an audience or critic can only make a ‘format analysis’ and ‘image/pattern recognition’ during the show. No more information is available. But here, sketches, notes, snapshots, documentary films, conversations and publications are all available, presenting the traces of Liu’s inspirations. In this exhibition, you will see the primary form of his works, revealing and unraveling a process to give an insight and depth beyond the paintings. This wealth of context provides many points of penetration and investigation for case studies: they could be sociological, political or even from a perspective we never expected.

This exhibition is not about work, but process. A finished work signifies the solidification of artistic creation; it is the sprint result on the timer, recorded, and unchangeable. On the other hand, the process signifies time and thought, which is the endless and unquantifiable running itself. A work is destined to be a possession of other people, rarely of the artist himself. Its value is only realized through translocation and collection or appraised and determined by museums, exhibitions, art market, audience, critics and history. But the process will belong exclusively to the artist himself. It is scattered in sketches, notebooks, study rooms and the studio, just as thoughts and memories.

It is the public exhibitions of finished works that made art history; while the trace collection and accumulation of the process that made archive. A work with no traces can’t be art, while a painter with no process can’t be an artist.

Biography:

Liu Xiaodong was born in 1963 in Liaoning, China. He graduated from Central Institute of Fine Arts, Beijing and then studied in Academy of Fine Arts at University of Complutense in Madrid, Spain in 1999. Liu’s first solo exhibition in 1990 lifted the curtain on the New Era in China’s art field. He was titled the representative artist of New Era, and during the same period participated in the making of several independent films, which made him one of the first participants of Chinese independent movies. His major field painting projects since 2004 ranged over several different countries and areas. These projects faced straight up to reality and showed his position, attitude, and power of action as an artist. They extended the connotation of paintings. Liu’s most important works; Pastoral Song, Burning Mouse, Eighteen Soldiers, Three Gorges Series, Qing Zang Railroad, Horse Market, secured his place in both contemporary art history as well as the art market.

Exhibition guide

Traces: Liu Xiaodong
3:00pm—5:00pm, September 19, 2009

Co-curators: Wu Hung | Ou Ning
Opening Reception: 9pm, September 18, 2009
Exhibition Time: September 18 – October 29, 2009
(Closed during the National Day holiday.)
Opening Hours: 2pm–8pm, Monday–Friday
Address: Beijing Angle Modern Art, 4/F, Tower 1, Zhongguo Hongjie (China View), Jia 2 Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing

Art Archive and a Case Study of Liu Xiaodong

Ou Ning

In China, the collection and archiving of official files and documents has a long and distinguished history. Huge archive departments were built in every dynasty to document changes in history; they kept a great amount of fulfilled official writs, in order to classify and revise them for further historical compilations. The preservation of archives has consumed enormous human resources and materials and relies heavily on systems of administration. Read more

Tracing back over time, we find the oracle bone script in Shang Dynasty, the “Every-3-year Archive Evaluation and Cut” in Tang Dynasty, the Classification System of Song Dynasty, the Yellow Book (of census register and military service files) in Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Classified Catalogue in Qing Dynasty and now, the forests of central and local archives. Though it’s beyond the archivists’ reach to change the political-narrative nature of their service, they still have their professional role of “a transmitter and not a maker”, which guides them to “to hear much and put aside the points which stand in doubt”. The perseverance of these individuals provided many independent and effective documents and important resources for researchers today. However, such preservation work supported by an administrative system never benefited the realm of art. Though art galleries, spaces and museums are springing up in China today, very few devoted art collections, archiving and studying institutions are founded. This has much to do with the organization system of these art museums, galleries and collections, the instructive traditional view of art history, and excessive reliance on finished art works. To make matters worse, the commercial trend is pushing the currency value of art works to extremes. Every day, rapid changes in contemporary art generates a huge amount of original documents. With neither supportive administrative power nor capital power, it is desperately hard to collect, sort, archive and study all these files according to Fonds Principles, not to mention digitalizing all of them into databases for more people to share.

Founded in 2000 in Hong Kong, Asia Art Archive has made an important and valuable step forward in this field. Its collection of more than 20,000 projects has become the most comprehensive resource of contemporary Asian art (especially the collection of contemporary Chinese art). It has also made contributions to the preservation, study and promotion of contemporary Asian art by sharing its collection in library and online website with institutions and public all over the world. The achievement of Asia Art Archive is in communicating to the public that archiving is not only an awakening, but more importantly, a prompt action to take up the responsibility of history.

Contemporary historiography has long surpassed the old-fashioned linear narrative, heading in a multi and interdisciplinary direction. It is the same story in the research field of art history:”the most striking feature of the development in art history is that its subject of research, objective and perspectives are expanding rapidly, which led to the increasing influence of the discipline and active participation of common liberal arts and social sciences, as well as its own blurring features and acute identity crisis.” (Wu Hung, Ten Arguments on History of Fine Art, SDXJoint Publishing Company, 2008, p56) In this case, one of the most significant causes of the self disintegration of traditional art history must have been the accumulation and opening of massive, comprehensive documents and files. Once we lay aside our attachments for the independence of art history, various possibilities of artistic creation will be presented to us.

This is the exact reason that we planned the documenta, Traces: Liu Xiaodong. As one of the most successful artists in China, Liu’s works are classics in contemporary Chinese art history, and a miracle in the art market. In an exhibition of his finished works, as an audience or critic, people can only make “format analysis” and “image/pattern recognition”. No more information is available. But in this documenta, sketches, notes, snapshots, documentary films, conversations and publications are all available, presenting the traces of Liu’s inspirations. Here you will see the primary form of his works, transmitted through other media and a process and vast reality beyond his paintings. It provides more points of penetration and investigation for case studies: they can be sociological, political, or even from the perspective we never expected (that would be decided on its encounter with different knowledge structures). As curators of this exhibition, we are only hoping to work in the way documentalists do–”a transmitter and not a maker” and “to hear much and put aside the points which stand in doubt”.Chinese art). It has also made contributions to the preservation, study and promotion of contemporary Asian art by sharing its collection in library and online website with institutions and public all over the world. The achievement of Asia Art Archive is in communicating to the public that archiving is not only an awakening, but more importantly, a prompt action to take up the responsibility of history.

Contemporary historiography has long surpassed the old-fashioned linear narrative, heading in a multi and interdisciplinary direction. It is the same story in the research field of art history:”the most striking feature of the development in art history is that its subject of research, objective and perspectives are expanding rapidly, which led to the increasing influence of the discipline and active participation of common liberal arts and social sciences, as well as its own blurring features and acute identity crisis.” (Wu Hung, Ten Arguments on History of Fine Art, SDXJoint Publishing Company, 2008, p56) In this case, one of the most significant causes of the self disintegration of traditional art history must have been the accumulation and opening of massive, comprehensive documents and files. Once we lay aside our attachments for the independence of art history, various possibilities of artistic creation will be presented to us.

Exhibition guide

Download images of the exhibition opening

Presented by Shao Foundation
Co-presented by Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art
Festival:
August 15 – 16 (UCCA)
August 22 – 23 (BAMA)
August 29 – 30 (BAMA)

CROSSTALK: 5:00pm, August 30, 2009 (BAMA)
Inquiry: (86) (10) 6561 0361, info [at] shaofoundation.org.cn

Born in 1977, Ying Liang is a young director in China who has been living in a small town called Zigong in Sichuan province, where most of his films are produced by a crew consisting of his friends and relatives. Taking advantage of the global distribution system in the ‘Long Tail’ era, Ying has managed to secure a place in the international festival circus with his ultra-low budget productions. He is, however, not to be mistaken as one of the many faceless auteurs. He’s dedicated, resourceful, flexible and prolific, with a distinctive personal style. With all three of his feature films and several shorts screened for three rounds in three weekends, Sichuan Chronicles is the most comprehensive presentation of Ying’s works to this date.

(Some of these films are in Sichuan dialect, with Chinese and English subtitles.)