As part of Hobart’s 2016 Lunar New Festival, Salamanca Arts Centre is proud to present Zao Hua – Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition. The exhibition, curated by Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Art, Professor Zhao Li, and Chen Lin, showcases fifteen of China’s best young artists.

In the Chinese language, “zao hua” is a word that carries broad meaning, primarily divided into two main categories. The first of which refers to luck or fortune, while the second refers to the natural world, naturally occurring phenomena, as well as related ideas. Zao Hua, an exhibition of Chinese contemporary art, draws its title from this second meaning.

In today’s artistic environment “zao hua” no longer only refers to nature and the natural world, but has come to include buildings, parks and other man – made objects and scenes as well whose objective existence falls within the realm of “zao hua”. Aside from scenes that exist in reality, we find in landscapes a repertoire of classic images that are employed over and over, like a story being constantly retold. These images have become, for later artists, objective scenes to be painted using their individual styles and techniques. Thus, though they may have never existed in the physical world, such images ought to be included in the realm of “zao hua”. The complete explanation of the “Zao hua Theory” is “The inspiration for art comes from zao hua (nature), but nature’s beauty can only be revealed when an artist depicts it as guided by his emotions and thoughts,” as art is not a simple study and the production of the visual appearance of the physical world, but rather is more importantly an exploration and re-interpretation of the inner nature of the objects it depicts.

Zao Hua – Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, hopes to through displaying the work of 15 Chinese artists, show the viewers the changes in interpretation of “zao hua” in as it is employed in contemporary art that have occurred as Chinese art has developed, as well as provide a survey of Chinese culture and thought today.

About the exhibition

Exhibition Dates: Thursday 18 – Wednesday 24 February 2016, 11:00am – 5:00pm daily

Official Opening: Wednesday 17 February 2016 @ 5:30pm

Exhibition to be opened by The Lord Mayor, Alderman Sue Hickey

Curator Talk: Thursday 18 February 2016 @ 12:30pm

Courtesy of the artists and Salamanca Arts Centre, for further information please visit www.salarts.org.au.