State of the Arts: An Ink-Stained Retrospective, Photography on Linen, and Interactive Collages
State of the Arts is our regular arts column whereby we take a look at the newest moves in Beijing's creative scene and highlight art news as well as exhibitions, artists, and openings that you should seek out.
Fall season is dangerously close and as the seasons change, Beijing is certainly not lacking in shows to keep us mulling over the multiversity of art: whether it’s emblematic names that have been carved in art history books through traditional but nonetheless versatile mediums, such as ink; or contemporary roller derby iconoclasts utilizing glitz and internet visual references to convey their “messages”; as well as the relatable yet alluring international art show making it to Beijing and leaving its indelible mark.
Where is all this happening? In Caochangdi, that grubby and throbbing art community just out past its big bro 798. Below, we’ve listed for your consideration three shows that just opened this past weekend that are worth your attention as you stroll around our favorite art hub within a village.
First stop: Pékin Fine Arts, who opened a collection of German artist and globetrotter Dieter Nuhr’s travel photography, "Images From Other Worlds," running Sep 9-Nov 7. In his first solo show in China, the German artist, who we also discovered to be an unassuming but ubiquitous face on German TV, shares his vision of decaying yet alluring urban landscapes of the numerous locales he visited between 2015 and 2017. Each image is printed directly onto linen, a decision that makes the pieces shimmer with a 3D quality and adds an additional layer of depth. Give yourself some time to read translations of the artist’s accompanying verses (the originals are displayed by the artworks themselves), which shed extra light on his parallel emotional journey.
Next on the list is Liu Yushan’s solo show, “Chasing Demons” at Ying Space (Sep 8-Oct 10). The artist’s collages – some of them specially created for the gallery show – bring together a multitude of visual references on different but nonetheless cohesive material, ranging from internet aesthetics to overtly sexual yet naïve icons and reflecting surfaces that allow the observer to become part of the composition.
Last on our tour, but definitely not the least, don’t pass up the chance to see INK Studio’s Dai Guangyu retrospective entitled “Making traces: The Arts of participation and refusal,” running Sep 10-Oct 20. Dai Guangyu, a renowned artist from the 85’s new wave movement in southwestern China, is célèbre for the way he incorporates the quintessentially Chinese tradition of ink painting and calligraphy into his avant-garde performances. Through a video review and other mediums (photography, installations and paintings), the exhibition attempts to show performance as an event in time and also as a source of records and material traces that construct a sort of archeological recount of the event itself, echoing the emotions and questions it stirred at the time when it first took place. Meander through the video recordings of Dai’s performances throughout various rooms before appreciating the results of the massive participatory project that opened the show in the main hall.
Photos: Tom Arnstein
