New Horizons : China Today
Abu Dhabi
Li Qing, Li Shurui, Liu Wei, Lu Chao, Qiu Zhijie, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Xu Qu, Xu Zhen, Zhao Zhao
Exhibition curated by Jérôme Sans, as part of Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019 (18-23 november)
Mapping the new landscape of contemporary Chinese art, ‘New Horizons: China Today’ is a comprehensive survey of two recent groups of artists, born in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. This exhibition highlights their dynamism, depth and vision. The 10 featured artists do not form a homogeneous group or represent a particular movement but embody the dynamics of greater diversity in approach and concepts, means of expression and styles present in China today.
They reflect the growth of individualism in Chinese society and its paradoxes. Among the generation of artists born in the 1970s, Liu Wei, Qiu Zhijie, Xu Zhen and Sun Yuan and Peng Yu are key figures who paved the way for renewed artistic production in China, following reform and the country opening up to the world during this period. Meanwhile, younger artists — Li Qing, Li Shurui, Lu Xhao, Xu Qu and Zhao Zhao represent a new progressive generation which has benefited from the growth of technology and greater access to information. These artists are writing a new cultural chapter characterized by contradiction, in which traditions melt into explosive contemporaneity. As a ‘trailer’ to this new era in Chinese art, the works in this exhibition express these artists’ perspectives on the world today. They also confront global culture, the world of consumption and its frenzied rhythms. The artists have a minimal approach, one which is non-figurative, dematerialized, conceptual and globalized, while the subjects are more universal, of a human dimension and of the planet. Above all, these artists raise questions which are symptomatic of this period of history, in particular on the future of China – a country undergoing rapid. Change and development in its cities, landscapes, populace and manufacturing economy.
How far can China go in this mutation? Overseas, it continues to attract the attention and fascination of the world. ‘New Horizons: China Today’ offers a new journey within this exciting and vibrant place.
Zhao Zhao, Gold Constellation Series, 2019. Embroidery on silk, 177 x 134,5 each, Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art, New York / Beijing, Installation View: New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Exhibition View: New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Xu Qu, The Boundary Series, 2016. Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech, Paris / Brussels / London / New York / Shanghai,Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Lu Chao, Black Light No. 4, 2019, oil on canvas, 190 x 250 cm (x 4), Courtesy of the artist and HdM Gallery, Beijing / Hangzhou / Bangkok. Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Xu Zhen, Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Li Qing, Images of Mutual Undoing and Unity Series (2017 ; 2019). Courtesy of the artist and Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing / Hong Kong / Bangkok. Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Xu Qu, The Boundary Series, 2016. Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech, Paris / Brussels / London / New York / Shanghai,Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Li Shurui, Pixels of the Images that Represent Eras, 2019. Courtesy of White Space Beijing. Installation View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Lu Chao, Black Light No. 4, 2019, oil on canvas, 190 x 250 cm (x 4), Courtesy of the artist and HdM Gallery, Beijing / Hangzhou / Bangkok. Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019
Qiu Zhijie, Map of Pop Culture, 2015-2019, Ink on paper, 14 panels, 146 x 176 cm each, Courtesy of the artist and Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong. Exhibition View : New Horizons : China Today, curated by Jérôme Sans, Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2019