Jointly hosted by Chinese Woodblock Foundation and Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, “Being Here - 2013 Chinese Printmaking Studios Union Exhibition” opens at Hall 1 of the new gallery of Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, on June 1 through to June 9, 2013. The exhibition has been planned by Dr. Chen Qi, professor of the Department of Printmaking of CAFA, participating artists include Su Xinping, Zhou Jirong, Chen Qi, He Kun, Zhang Guanghui, Lu Zhiping, Xu Baozhong, Kong Guoqiao, Tang Chenghua, Song Guangzhi, and guest artist James Hill, Director of Cambridge San Barabas Art Centre for Printmaking in UK.

The ten Chinese artists are from the “Chinese Printmaking Studios Union”,? which is an art group founded in May 2006, composed of independent printmaking studios from different regions, and very active in the academy of printmaking and social activities. The exhibition features the respective works of the artists over recent years, which stand for the latest artistic appearance of the artists and the printmaking world in China.

“Being Here” is a state of acting freely, not disturbed by fashion, curator Chen Qi wants to highlight the valuable phenomenon in contemporary printmaking circles– “focus on version and cultural consciousness”, as he said in the preface to the exhibition, “In the current self-media time, the plural feature of printmaking is no longer important, instead, “version”, which is the unique indirect print of print, and is born with a spiritual characteristic, different from other genres.”

In the context of cultural consumption, original prints are rarely paid attention to, while replica prints are popular due to the noted artists. What do printmakers think about what they adhere to and the future of printmaking art? “Being Here” is the answer and true spiritual appearance of the group. They vow the cultural identities as printmakers and say no to replica prints. Meanwhile, it strongly conveys the cultural awareness of the artists of the group, and confidence in the future development of contemporary printmaking.

About the artists

Su Xinping constantly explores the human alienation of the social upheaval in China on all levels, with the use of a superb lithographic technique.

As the representative of contemporary Chinese artists that create watermark prints, Zhou Jirong has combined the concept of sketching the light and shadow of Western painting, with extending the traditional water block print which is bound by the aesthetic Chinese ink and modernism, thus greatly enhancing the performance of contemporary water block woodcuts.

He Kun is worthy of respect from the group as he was the earliest to engage in chromatic print, of colorful prints, imaginative cutting, with typical Yunnan regional characteristics and a distinctive language for woodcuts.

Zhang Guanghui's works have a special feeling to incorporate Chu culture, reflecting his experience and understanding of life, distant to reality, with his profound knowledge and literati feelings.

Lu Zhiping’s serigraphs have destructed and reorganized the traditional cultural symbolic elements such as pottery, porcelain, etc., transforming into a new fashion and modern visual symbol, embodying the aesthetics of contemporary white-collar workers and modernist aesthetic philosophy.

Xu Baozhong’s printmaking has always focused on self-inquiry and the self-reflection-formulation between the “fiction” of the screen and the “real” of reality.

Kong Guoqiao’s unique speculative spirit and philosophical thinking infiltrates into his prints, which break away from the general sense of the painting and become a personal special written style in “text”.

Tang Chenghua skillfully and freely uses painting, installation and consolidated print, which is decided by his rich artistic educational background and spiritual journey.

By experiencing a modern contextual conversion and personal stylized vocabulary, Song Guangzhi’s lithographs indicate the anxiety in the relationships between the individual and the society, among human beings.

About the exhibition

Exhibition Title: I am - 2013 Chinese Printmaking Studios Union Exhibition

Duration: June 1 – June 9, 2013

Organizers: Chinese Woodblock Foundation, Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum

Venue: Hall 1 of the New Gallery of Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum

?Translated by Sophia and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO