‘The Best of Everything’
Galerie Huit, Hong Kong
Galerie Huit is delighted to announce its move to Kwun Tong with the inaugural exhibition ‘The Best of Everything’ by award winning artist, Zhu Tian.
Zhu’s multi-faceted oeuvre is wide and varied, encompassing drawing, photography, animation, sculpture, site-specific installation and performance. Her work responds to the conventions deployed in financial, political and social structures in society, where she feels compelled to interrupt the status quo.
‘The Best of Everything’ comprises a selection of signature works including the iconic mixed media installation ‘Dirty’ never before exhibited in Asia, a lifelong performance piece ‘Money’, ‘Dear Boss’ a neon light wall text as well as new sculptures made especially for the exhibition.
The previous winner of the Catlin Art Prize, UK, ‘Dirty’ comprises three bold pink, yellow and blue fibreglass hybrid forms, each suspended in a metal grid cage, perched upon a ladder and post, and conjoined by thick black rubber tubes. Zhu’s ovoid sculptures resemble inflated sheep torsos. The scale of each hybrid is deliberately human and invites a closer inspection. Inspired by George Bataille’s erotic novel ‘The Story of the Eye’, the dynamic ensemble imbues a mischievous and psychological dimension.
At the opposite end of the gallery, ‘Money’ a continuous time-based work will publish Zhu’s balance at the beginning of every month for the entirety of her life. The artist’s current bank balance is viewed on the wall in black print, and shares her financial status in the public domain; Zhu is responding to, and disrupting the usual polite discourse around the subject of money, whilst mimicking the movement of the emerging markets on the stock exchange. Furthermore, the piece touches on the notion of the current worth of an individual, and in Zhu’s case, an artist. This laconic and potent gesture is accompanied by a sound recording of the artist’s parents, partner and the artist herself recounting her personal savings.
Humorously juxtaposed between ‘Dirty’ and ‘Money’, a red neon light, emits the words ‘Dear Boss’ from the wall. Alluding to an authoritative figure, the artist’s handwritten greeting seemingly promotes respect for the hierarchy whilst subtly undermining the addressee.
Observations of the social mechanisms that exist in a global society inspire Zhu’s artistic discourse. ’The Best of Everything’ refers to a bittersweet short story by Richard Yates about a couple on the eve of their marriage, where despite the bride’s doubts about their future, they proceed. Zhu chooses to acknowledge the optimistic spirit of the individual. Her multi-dimensional and textured pieces touch on all facets of human nature, and it is through these works that she provokes and propositions an escape from the perpetual monotony that society dictates.
Artist Talk | 28 September, 6 – 7 pm
Preview | 28 September, 7 – 9 pm
Dear Boss, 2014, Neon light, 100 x 240 cm
Zhu Tian (b.1982), China. Lives and works in London.
Current and recent exhibitions include: She Wished He Would Haul Her Up To The Bedroom and FuckHer, MOCUBE, BEIJING 2017, I Do (Not) Want to Be Part of Your Celebration, Qiao Space, Shanghai 2017, Towards The Interior, Galerie Huit, Hong Kong 2016, Throat, Lychee One, London 2016, Do Disturb, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2016, Hair!, Central Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2016, 00:04:19, AKP Space, Xiamen, China 2015. Nord Art, Kunstwerk Carlshutte, Budelsdorf, Germany 2015, Winner,The Catlin Art Prize, London 2015.
