The upcoming exhibition is Zhan Wang's most significant presentation of new sculptural creations since his solo show in 2012 at Long March Space, Beijing. The new series of sculptures is seen to follow the same vein as the artist's early realistic sculptures, "Mao Suits" (1993), "Artificial Rock" (1995-ongoing) and "Flowers in the Mirror" (2004-2005).
Conceptually, Zhan regards his celebrated series "Artificial Rock" as an attempt to "mimic" nature, while his new series has made breakthrough progresses both conceptually and sculpturally from "Artificial Rock". The world reflected from the polished stainless steel surface of "Artificial Rock" has fascinated Zhan Wang. Ever since "Flowers in the Mirror", a series of photographs based on the reflection from the surface of "Artificial Rock", the artist has been contemplating on the relationship between the twisted imagery of the reflection and his sculptural practices.
The fruits of this contemplation are the new series of sculptures. The artist brings the other worldly reflection to life into physical sculptural form with a sculptor's imagination and instinct, filling it with volume, details and tactility.
About the artist
Zhan Wang (b. 1962 Beijing, China) is widely recognized as one of China's leading contemporary artists today. Working in installation, photography and video, his sculpturally informed practice challenges ideas of landscape and environment, addressing the urban, rural, artificial and industrial. Zhan Wang's art is a particular perspective fundamentally anchored in his relationship to his own cultural heritage.
Zhan Wang's most celebrated work to date is his series of "artificial rocks" – stainless steel replicas of the much-revered "scholar's rocks" traditionally found in Chinese gardens. The mirrored surfaces of these often monumental objects absorb the viewer and its surrounding environment, enticing them to become part of the work, an abstraction and distortion of reality, thus creating a visual interplay between positions of tradition and modernity. He further explores his fascination with material and reflection in a series of works titled "Urban Landscape" in which he recreates models of major cities, such as London, Beijing and Chicago – using kitchenware and cutlery. The process of miniaturizing an urban sprawl through the use of domestic and ordinary objects calls forth the basic necessities of life, despite the rapid modernization of contemporary society.
Zhan Wang has exhibited extensively in major museums and galleries across the world including the National Museum of China, Beijing, China; Williams College Museum of Art, Massachusetts, USA; Kunst Museum, Bern, Switzerland; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; International Center of Photography, New York, USA; and the Asia Society Museum, New York, USA. He has also executed a number of art projects at significant landmarks such as Mount Everest and the Great Wall of China. His work was also included in the landmark exhibitions ‘Cities on the Move: Asian Contemporary Art’, Austria, France, USA, Finland, UK, Denmark (touring exhibition 1997-99) and ‘Synthi-Scapes: Chinese Pavilion’, 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy in 2003.
About the exhibition
Duration: Nov 20 2014 - Feb 2 2015 11:00-19:00
Venue: Long March Space
Tel: 010-59789768
Add: 798 Art Zone, 4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Courtesy of the artist and Long March Space.
