On the afternoon of January 10, 2014, “Choosing: Six Cases from CAFA – CAFA Annual Fine Arts Nomination Exhibition 2013” was unveiled at the CAFA Art Museum. The exhibition is hosted by CAFA, organized by the School of Fine Arts, CAFA and CAFA Art Museum, showcasing about 30 works by artists Kang Jianfei, Lu Liang, Tang Hui, Wang Yuyang, Yuan Yuan, Zhang Wei, with Wang Chunchen serving as the curator.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was presided over by Su Xinping, Dean of the School of Fine Arts, and CAFA Party Secretary Gao Hong, CAFA Deputy Party Secretary Sun Hongpei, Tan Ping and Xu Bing, Vice Presidents of CAFA, Wang Huangsheng, Director of CAFA Art Museum, Gao Tianxiong, Director of the Department of Fundamental Education for the Plastic Arts, Lv Shengzhong, Director of the Department of Experimental Art, as well as the six artists attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Gao Hong, Xu Bing, Wang Chunchen, Tang Hui, Su Xinping respectively gave a speech.

Party Secretary Gao Hong said, focusing on the growth of young teachers was the strategic and historic mission for the development of CAFA, the exhibition built a platform for young teachers to help them develop faster and better. Xu Bing briefly reviewed the history of the annual fine arts nomination exhibition: It was the 4th year of the nomination exhibition, following the exhibitions of Chen Wenji, Wang Yuping, Yu Fan, and showcases it in the form of a group exhibition which was a breakthrough to the previous solo exhibitions, presenting the artists from all departments, offering a glimpse of the diversified development of the young teachers of the Department of Fine Arts, CAFA. Wang Chunchen who talked about some thoughts behind the exhibition, such as how to combine the works by six artists from different professions and backgrounds in a space, after half a year of communication and several modifications, the project finally came out. The exhibition is in the name of “choosing”, which shows an attitude: engaging in art is a life-long choice; engaging in their favorite arts is a self-minded choice.

The School of Fine Arts launches a nomination exhibition for teachers with the intention of providing a platform for young and middle-age teachers who actively fight to the forefront of teaching, holding a unique insight into art, and have formed their own individual language and approaches in their artistic practices, to showcase their level and status quo. CAFA Fine Arts Nomination Exhibition has been held successfully for four sessions so far, and it has grown to be a very important academic exhibition brand of CAFA. President Pan Gongkai said at the press conference: the teachers of the School of Fine Arts mainly showcased their works through exhibition, which was different from the works by the teachers of the School of Design who transform their works into products on the market, while the plastic arts are at the base and core of CAFA, the construction of the teachers of the plastic arts was the crucial for the future development of the academy, thus it was especially important to discuss the works by the teachers of the School of Fine Arts through the exhibition.

The six artists come from the Department of Oil Painting, Department of Printmaking, Department of Mural Painting, Department of Sculpture, Department of Experimental Art, and Department of Fundamental Education for Plastic Arts, and the works covering easel painting, sculpture, installation, etc.

Zhang Wei, teacher from the Department of Sculpture showcases his works which themed “Draperies”, carries the mystery of religion; Yuan Yuan’s works of oil painting “They” broke through the form that performs on canvas, meanwhile his works also offer the audience a new visual experience which is produced by refining the internal order of the screens; Kang Jianfei’s installation “I Want to Invite You to Join Me to Create Together” is finished by the interaction with the audience; Lu Liang’s work “Angkor Swamp” fully reflects his dedication and exploration in realism oil painting; Tang Hui’s paper installation “Noble Machine” is located in the center of the hall, the huge specification of the work gave a visual impact on the audience, the wheels of the installation revolve in the space helping us to imagine another space, which is a trial for him shifting from the two-dimensional to three-dimensional. In addition to installations, Wang Yuyang features three oil paintings “2 in 1” series, which were finished by using oil painting, ultra-giclee art print, the artist made use of abstract and graphic language to question the subject of the art form. The exhibition showcases the multi-field art exploration of the teachers of CAFA, as well as the active academic atmosphere of the academy.

The exhibition will last until February 15, 2014.

Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO