Tag: beijing

Erwin Wurm at Tang Contemporary Art

Beijing gallery Tang Contemporary Art recently reopened (after closing in January to prevent the spread of COVID-19) with a showcase of work by artists represented by Konig Galerie in Berlin.  The exhibition includes Austrian artist Erwin Wurm’s deliberately absurd ‘abstract sculpture’ (formed from variously sized cast bronze frankfurters) which brings to mind recent work at New York’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery which involved food treated as an object rather than something to eat.  Made entirely of concrete, this sculpture is a permanent version of Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures, in which participants interact with everyday objects. (Photo from New York Art Tours’ archive, Jan ’20).

Erwin Wurm, One Minute forever (hands/fruits), concrete, 15.35 x 7.87 x 5.91 inches, 2019.

Guanyu Xu at Yancey Richardson Gallery

Born and raised in Beijing, Chicago-based artist Guanyu Xu was unable as a youth to openly express his queer identity.  Returning from the US to Beijing to visit, he transformed his parent’s apartment with photo installations that tell the story of his identity in some of its complexity.  Captured in photos, the arrangements appear to be digitally collaged but are in fact staged in real time and space, temporarily occupying an environment in a fleeting moment of openness that took place while his parents were away from their home. (Originally planned to be on view to the public in Chelsea at Yancey Richardson Gallery through April 4th, Xu’s work can be see on the gallery’s website and his own website.)

Guanyu Xu, My Desktop, archival pigment print, 26 ½ x 32 1/2, 2019.

Jia Aili at Gagosian Gallery

Worlds collide in Beijing-based artist Jia Aili’s huge, apocalyptic paintings at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea.  An ominous, oval-shaped portal appears to generate flashes of lightning and cause a disruption in space and time while to the left, a puffy, cloud-like figure shoots up toward a mysterious black orb.  Whether this is an alien-invasion or some kind of terrestrial catastrophe, the drama is deeply absorbing.  (On view at Gagosian Gallery’s 21st Street location in Chelsea through April 13th).

Jia Aili, Frozen Light, oil on canvas, 125 3/16 x 100 13/16 inches, 2017.

Li Wei at Galerie Richard

Li Wei flies through the air and walks on water in photos at Galerie Richard that appear to document gravity defying feats and even common sense.  Using mirrors (here, this technique is obvious), cranes and wires, the Beijing-based artist gives himself superpowers that other artists can only dream of.  (On view on the Lower East Side through March 11th).

Li Wei, Mirror, Hong Kong, c-print mounted on plexiglass, 176 x 176 cm, 2006.

Li Bo in ‘Up-Youth’ at Klein Sun Gallery

‘Up-Youth,’ a group exhibition at Chelsea’s Klein Sun Gallery presented with the Times Art Museum in Beijing, features this piece by Li Bo, whose fragmented bike on flat sections of concrete suggests a jittery ride for disappearing national symbol. (Through August 8th).

Li Bo, White in Dark Grey No. 3, mixed media, 2010-12.