On September 13, 2014, hosted by the China Artists Association, jointly organized by the Print Art Committee of China Artists Association, Tianjin Ivy Culture Communication Co., Ltd, and Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum, “Ivy Art 2014. The First Recommendation Exhibition of Chinese Young Artists officially opened at Inside-Out Art Museum.

The exhibition presents more than 100 works by 88 participating artists who graduated from well-known art colleges across the country, collectively showcasing the open thinking and new artistic styles of the contemporary Chinese young artists group. It's worth mentioning that this recommendation exhibition applied the selecting mode of 11 well-known critics, curators and artists, including Fu Xiaodong, Hao Qingsong, Hu Bin, Ji Shaofeng, Kang Jianfei, Lan Qingwei, Ning Jia, Song Zhen, Tong Yujie, Wang Chunchen, Zhou Aimin, who were invited to be the referees to recommend works and then create an exhibition expert group of selected works.

The exhibition officially opened at 4:30 pm, Chen Zhe, Director of the Cultural Industrial Institute of International Cooperation Center, National Development and Reform Commission, Su Xinping, Dean of the School of Plastic Arts, CAFA, Li Baoquan, Vice President of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Huang Qiming, Deputy Party Secretary of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Zhang Jie, Vice President of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, He Dan, Vice President of Xi 'an Academy of Fine Arts, Xu Fen, Vice President of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Guo Zhenshan, Vice President of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Zhang Gan, Deputy Dean of Academy of Art & Design, Tsinghua University, Liu Jing, Deputy Secretary-General of Beijing Cultural Development Foundation, Liu Hong, Minister of Publicity Department of the Tianjin district committee of CPC, Xiao Zhanpeng, General Manager of Tianjin Publishing Media Group, Qu Hongzhi, Deputy President of China Construction Bank Tianjin Branch, Kong Guoqiao, Deputy Director of the Department of Printmaking, China Academy of Art, Yang Feng, Director of the Department of Printmaking, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, Zhang Guanghui, Director of the Department of Printmaking, Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Zhou Aimin, Director of the Department of Painting, in the Academy of Art & Design, Tsinghua University, Kang Jianfei, one of the curators, an associate professor of the Department of Printmaking, CAFA, Zhou Yi, Art Director of Inside-Out Art Museum, curator Jiang Dafang, Sheng Wei, Academic Director of the exhibition, Deputy Editor-In-Chief of “Art” magazine, etc., attended the opening ceremony.

Zhou Yi, Chen Zhe, Jiang Dafang respectively addressed the opening ceremony. The exhibition was successfully held, which is the first location of “Ivy Art”, and officially announces the start of the “Ivy Art” project across the nation.

Young artists have always been the backbone in the process of the evolution of Chinese contemporary art history, and are the most innovative, passionate and vigorous art group. Therefore, it has an important realistic significance to focus on the growth and development of young artists. “Ivy Art” program discovers and promotes outstanding young artists, meanwhile it focuses on the cultivation and pays attention to their healthy growth, independent creation, mental schema and art quality, positively conveying an earnest and rigorous academic attitude and the pioneering and fashion mainstream values to the public, and through some new marketing model such as public entertainment experiment in art and the digital expression to build an open dialogue platform connecting art and the public, in cooperation with the market. It can be said that, the recommendation exhibition of Chinese young artists focuses on the art ecologies of different regions of contemporary China as well as the diverse creations of the young artists, so the audience can more comprehensively see the reality of art.

Coming from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Xu Cong is also an exhibiting young artist, she said the recommendation exhibition was a very good opportunity for young artists to communicate with the professional teachers and curators, in addition, this group exhibition provide a platform for artists to understand the creation of artists of the same age. When she was asked about whether the art market would affect the young artists, she believed that artists should focus on the work itself.

The exhibition continues to October 3.

Text and photo by Lin Jiabin, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO.