Ethnicity by Zhang Dali

Originally “guanxi” means inextricable connections between the individual and other individuals, the community and society. Guanxi produces a variety of semantics in different religious, cultural and social contexts. Varying degrees of derivation occurred in the inherent meaning of “guanxi” through vicissitudes in China’s history, from the concept of “Lun” in Confucian ideology to the life network of “big collectives” in the new era of the People’s Republic of China. “Guanxi” as related to a specific time and space represents a change in characteristics of a certain period and social formations.

Daoism and Door by Shao Yinong

Along with the rapid development of the Chinese society, the popularity of the networking, the increase in information, the status of “guanxi” has been constantly revised, redefined and endowed with more subtle meanings instead of the two common translations—“connections” and “relationships”—as neither of these terms sufficiently reflects the wide cultural implications that “guanxi” portrays. As curator of this exhibition, Jiang Jiehong has commented, “In China, this term also reflects a mutual restraint from an individual to another, an established obligation and desire for a mutual award in long-term social and political exchanges, and gradually accumulated cultural connotations in Chinese history.” Therefore, “guanxi” is gradually recognized and accepted, developing into a new word rooted in the Chinese society.

Kaleidoscope By Xiang Jing

In this exhibition, 12 artists are invited to display their new creations in a relatively independent space. They will give their multi-dimensional interpretations on “guanxi” with their visual interpretations. The artists’ personal experience of sight, sound, touch and knowledge of life , has been realized in the parallel practices between textual communication and visual exhibition with the use of installations, video, sculpture, painting and “dialogue” pieces. With the positive interactions between curators and artists in the opening frame, this exhibition explores the unique significance of “guanxi” to the individual or the group.

Floristic Republic by Shi Qing

Organizer: Guangdong Museum of Art

Academic Director: Luo Yiping

Exhibition Coordinator: Shao Shan

Curator: Jiang Jiehong

Curatorial Assistant: Lv Zihua

Date: 15th April—19th June 2011

Gallery: Halls 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and the second floor corridor

Opening: 3:00PM on15th April, 2011

Seminar: 9:00—12:00, 14:00—17:00 on 16th April, 2011

Artists (in alphabetical order):

Jiang Zhi, Qiu Zhijie, Shao Yinong, Shi Jinsong, Shi Qin, Xiang Jing, Xiao Yu, Yang Xinguang, Yang Zhenzhong, Zhang Enli, Zhang Dali, Zhuang Hui and Dan’er.