Having originated in the West during the 70s, Conceptual Art was popularized in China in the 90s. Even now, installation, performance, video, and multimedia art continue to gain momentum, becoming the most vital and influential forms of art media. Yet, the practice of conceptual art, which emphasizes the thoughts behind an artwork instead of the physical work itself, has led to the demise of formalism in painting. In the pursuit of eliminating “style,” “essence,” and “man-made qualities,” the instrumentalism and stylistic expressions of paintings have seemingly become the constraints on concepts and ideologies. Even as traditional aesthetics fade from the focus of artistic expression, the genre of painting did not vanish as previously predicted.
Based on such a premise, this exhibition uses a cold perspective - tones of cool colors and viewpoints through a layer of cold glass - to re-examine the subjectivity of painting and the strength within its artistic language. This resurrected form of painting sheds the reliance on a conventional medium or framework since its combination of nontraditional media with sculpture and installation art enables it to occupy two- and three-dimensional spaces simultaneously. This gives rise to a new kind of visual experience.
For this exhibition, eight young artists will use “cold” as a theme to explore cool colors and media, extend painting concepts through a cold perspective, and create dynamic works of various dimensions. The artists use different creative approaches to construct art regarding a “cold” world. Within this world, the artists, audience, artworks, and indistinct “concepts” all meet in a cold encounter.
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About the exhibition
Date: November 24, 2012--February 3
Venue: Soka Art Center,798 Art District, No.4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing P.O. Box 8502 100015
Opening hours: 10:00-18:30(Monday Closed)
T: 86-10-5978-4808
F:86-10-5978-4811
E: info@soka-art.com
Courtesy of the artists and Soka Art Center.
