Jointly hosted by the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Frankfurt, Frankfurter Neue Presse and CAFA, “Youth Pictorial Expression – Image Exhibition from CAFA” opened in the building of Frankfurter Neue Presse on December 8, 2015. Nearly 50 honored guests including the Consul General Liang Jianquan, Director of Hesse Government Office Herr Wintermeyer, Mayor of Frankfurt Feldman and Chief Editor of Frankfurter Neue Presse Herr Rainer M. Gefeller and the media from China and Germany attended the opening ceremony. All the media from Frankfurt reported on the exhibition and highly praised it.

Address by the Honored Guests

President of CAFA, Fan Di’an addressed the people present and spoke of the development of digital technology and internet technology, the image had become a widespread language crossing cultures and locations. More and more artists participated in the writing of contemporary culture through the use of the digital image. Youth Pictorial Expression – Image Exhibition from CAFA focused on the presentation of graphical expressive way by the young artists who were born in the 1980s and 1990s, featuring more than 10 works from CAFA, the forms included the moving image, animation, photography, etc. These works embodied Chinese contemporary young artists that dealt with the relationship between personal experiences and social reality through the image from different aspects, and the style of image production that was extremely rich in personality which also mapped out the development and practice in the language of these young artists.

The Consul General Liang Jianquan said in his speech that “Youth Pictorial Expression” was the first time for Chinese artworks to enter the building of the German mainstream media, and he thanked Frankfurter Neue Presse for offering a platform for the exhibition. Through the exhibition, he hoped to show how Chinese young artists met a new trend and used new technology, so that German friends had the opportunity to understand the thoughts of China’s younger generation in the digital times and globalized times.

Director of Hesse Government Office Herr Wintermeyer addressed the guests and stressed that the Chinese culture was extensive and profound, it enriched western civilization throughout history. China both had a splendid traditional culture and excellent contemporary art. Mayor of Frankfurt, Mr. Feldman spoke highly of the exhibition, and he said the exhibition helped people understand Chinese contemporary art.

Media reports

In the past 30 years, there is no country in the world except for China which has undergone such a rapid development and change. The development and change affects the life and thought of more than one billion people. Europeans are familiar with digital images which are used in the “Youth Pictorial Expression” exhibition by the students from CAFA to describe their lives and feelings. The children, sitting in the little cubicles of the ferris wheel, overlook the White House and the World Trade Center on a cloud, the giant raptors located in between crowded residential buildings; and the dreams in the bedroom, walking on air in an elegant sitting room and bathroom with the cold city background… Behind the complex and diverse expressions, the audience can feel the tension, dreams, irony and thinking of the young people.

– European Times

In the building of Frankfurter Neue Presse next to Franken Street, the surprising aspect of Chinese art is on show. “It is not a traditional ink painting, also very modern and exciting art”, Chief Editor of Frankfurter Neue Presse Herr Rainer M. Gefeller stressed that, “It helps us to see the China that we haven’t seen before”. He also said that, “It’s a small artistic attack from Frankfurt, and the art is the best communication bridge.” It is difficult to choose the works for the two-week exhibition. Consul General Liang Jianquan asked, “What kind of artists and works are the most representative? We ask ourselves this question”, because China has a history of five thousand years. After 14 Chinese artists participated in the B3 Biennale of the year, the question was clearly answered “We decided to choose China Central Academy of Fine Arts”.

– Regional version of Frankfurter Neue Presse

Where do human beings go? Or perhaps we ask that, along with the development of human beings, where does the world move towards? It is a big problem with human development, about the past and the future. Young Chinese artists put forward this problem, once the audience visits the “Youth Pictorial Expression” held at the Frankfurter Neue Presse, they will soon be able to get the answer: human beings need courage, curiosity and being fearless.

It reveals that China hopes to keep up with the western standards in both the fields of technology and art. The quality of the exhibited works by the students is very high, no matter whether it is a film, video, animation or image collage, it seems that they understand it and can manage it with ease, which is like they use and own thousands-of-years of artistic technology of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese painting.

– Cultural version of Frankfurter Neue Presse

About the exhibition

Director: Fan Di’an

Academic supports: Song Xiewei, Jin Jun

Curators: Fei Jun, Yao Lu

Project coordinators: Ursula Ruwell, Li Wen

Assistant curator: Qiu Yu

Artists: Liu Di, Qiu Yu, Jin Dian, Liu Gaoxiang, Xie Chenglin, Yan Baoshen, Yu Xiao, Zhao Xiaowei, Gong Zhe, Li Aixia, Li Sen, Li Fei, CAFA Media Lab

Courtesy of the artists and CAFA, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO