Tag: china

Liu Xiaodong at Lisson Gallery

As a student, Beijing-based painter Liu Xiaodong traveled in the historically important region of Shaanbei, China; three decades later, his new body of work at Lisson Gallery considers changes not only in the area but in Chinese culture.  Several large canvases feature youth in their free time, playing in the river, drinking beer or making as if to fight while their friends look on in amusement.  Wearing counterfeit designs and clutching their phones, the youth are more connected to the bustling city behind them than nature or the monuments dotting the surrounding hills.   Prominently pictured behind the youth, the ancient Yan’an Pagoda (associated with the Communist Party for its time headquartered in the area) has been supplanted in prominence by the city’s new towers. (On view in Chelsea through June 10th).

Liu Xiaodong, Brawl, oil on canvas, 98 3/8 x 118 1/8 x 2 inches, 2018.

Ai Wei Wei’s ‘Heaven and Earth’ at lissongallery.com

Arrested and held by the police for 81 days in Beijing in 2011, politically outspoken artist Ai Wei Wei was eventually accused of tax evasion, charges which he fought in court.  Lisson Gallery is currently showcasing one of the several artistic responses Ai Wei Wei has made since, a nearly 7-hour long Henan Opera that recreates the court proceedings in language, “…couched in complex, obfuscating legalese and riven with dead ends.” (Lisson Gallery).  Pictured here is an image from New York Art Tours’ archive of Ai Wei Wei’s first artwork in response to his detention, an installation recreating scenes from his prison life that was on view at the Brooklyn Museum in 2014. (‘Heaven and Earth’ is on view at lissongallery.com through June 15th).

S.A.C.R.E.D., six dioramas in oxidized metal, wood, fiberglass, polystyrene and sticky tape, 2013.

Fu Xiaotong at Chambers Fine Art

Without putting pencil or brush to paper, Beijing-based artist Fu Xiaotong created this enigmatic cityscape, seen as if in a fog or snowstorm.  Created entirely by piercing a thick piece of paper with a needle, the scene’s suggestion of nature (even in the built environment) is appropriate, given Fu’s signature subject matter of mountains, water and other organic elements.  (On view at Chambers Fine Art in Chelsea through August 17th).

Fu Xiaotong, detail of 473,000 Pinpricks 473,000, handmade paper, 64 ¾ x 78 ¾ inches, 2017.

Yun-Fei Ji at James Cohan Gallery

Amid lush landscapes, bundles of household goods and furniture await removal in Yun-Fei Ji’s watercolor paintings of rural China.  As the government relocates huge numbers of country-dwellers to urban areas, the artist zeros in on individuals and their belongings in the process of being uprooted.  (On view at James Cohan Gallery’s Lower East Side location through June 16th).

Yun-Fei Ji, detail of The Family Belongings, watercolor and ink on Yuan paper mounted on silk, 15 ½ x 26 ¼ (unframed), 2011.

Zhang Enli at Hauser & Wirth

Though they conjure Monet’s quiet gardens at Giverny, Zhang Enli’s new abstract canvases were inspired by Shanghai’s greenery.  Known for representational paintings of everyday objects that twist and turn – cord, branches, wire – and immersive painted installations, Zhang’s new work continues to suggest movement.  (On view at Hauser & Wirth through April 7th). 

Zhang Enli, The Monochrome. Night (2), oil on canvas, 98 ¼ x 117 ½ inches, 2017.