[press release]
The 1st Anren Biennale will take place from October 28, 2017 until February 28, 2018 in the well preserved town of Anren, Chengdu. Under the general title Today’s Yesterday, with the artistic direction by Lu Peng, the Anren Biennale brings together four different exhibition projects by Chinese and international curators with more than 120 artists.
The Szechwan Tale: Theatre and History curated by Marco Scotini
The Szechwan Tale: Theatre and History focuses on the relationship between theater (as the space of masks) and history (as a plot in the making). There are two topics underlying the choice of section. The first is the location Sichuan, as the fictional background to The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht (1940). The other is the Rent Collection Courtyard (1964) sculptural piece hosted in the city of Anren. They concern the ongoing dialogue, between the East and the West, between the past and the present, finding in theatrical play a series of references, contaminations, exchanges and fictional or real projections.
Artists: Cornelius Cardew, Céline Condorelli, Chto Delat/What is to be done?, Stano Filko, Peter Friedl, Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi, Piero Gilardi, Dan Graham, Joris Ivens, Joan Jonas, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, William Kentridge, Julius Koller, Mao Tongqiang, Rithy Panh, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Lisl Ponger, Qiu Zhijie, Pedro Reyes, Santiago Sierra, Sun Xun, Wael Shawky, Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, Marko Tadić, Ulla Von Brandenburg, Clemens Von Wedemeyer & Maya Schweizer, Wei Minglun, Yang Yuanyuan, Mei Lanfang and the Russian Proletarian Theatre (research curator Andris Brinkmanis)
Crossroads curated by Liu Ding, Carol Lu Yinghua
Crossroads intends to reiterate an irresolvable dilemma. It is not impossible to gain emotional comfort by returning to the past, or to predict the future by detecting signs of historical circles. Neither is moving forward a horizon to count on. Crossroads is skepticism towards escapes, solutions and the long-termed objectives. This exhibition aims to recognize and provide a gaze at a situation of confusion and of being in the center yet having no way out.
Artists: Daniel García Andújar, Adam Avikainen, Paul Chan, Yorkson (Yimin Chen), Paul Drissen, Karsten Födinger, Marina Gioi, Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Lukáš Jasanský and Martin Polák, Jia Chun, Stanya Kahn, Inmi Lee, Simon Leung, Lin Gang, Lin Yilin, Lu Zhiqiang, Tomáš Rafa, Grace Schwindt, Yuan Yunsheng, The Phantom Modern (curated by Yongwoo Lee; participated by artists including Jae Oon Rho, SoYoung Kim/Kim Jeong, Jane Jin Kaisen, Kyung-man Kim)
A Future That Never Returns curated by Liu Jie, Lu Jing
The section designs s a virtual perspective of future, and takes a gesture of memory-hunting, clinging to and writing down the maze of contemporary history. Based on the humanity history and the site-specificity of Anren, following the time-and-space nodes which are closely connected with the modernization in China—such as rise of Western Learning Spreading to the East, this exhibition unfolds the contemporary art’s discussion on “time.”
Artists: Chen Qiulin, Chen Zhe, Feng Li, Li Lang, Li Qing, Liang Shaoji, Liao Fei, Liu Chuanhong, Na Yingyu, Ma Haijiao, Mr.d.mouse (Zhou Hang), Qiu Anxiong, Qiu Hongfeng, Wang Chuan, Wu Ding, Xu Bacheng, Zhang Tianjun
The Rthetoric of Family Tree curated by Lan Qingwei, Du Xiyun
The focus of the exhibition is to demonstrate the cultural family tree based on the perception of different individuals and the unique methodology and aestheticisms of the artists,discussing the historical cause of the current situation and foresee the possible problems in the future by an artistic method and perspective.
Artists: Art Education Group (Zhang Bin,Ye Hongtu), Chen Xi, Fang Lijun, Fengfeng, Gao Brothers (Gao Zhen, Gao Qiang), Guo Wei, He Dan, He Duoling, He Gong, Huang Rui, Hong Lei, Li Bo, Li Luming, Li Yongzheng, Li Zhanyang, Ma Jun, Meng Baishen, Meng Huang, Mu Huan, Jiang Jie, Jing Kewen, Shen Xiaotong, Shu Qun, Sui Jianguo, Wang Guangyi, Wang Jianwei, Wang Yigang, Xie Xiaoze, Xu Bing, Yang Mian, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun, Zhan Wang, Zhang Dali, Zhang Xiaotao, Zhang Wenrong, Zhang Wanxin, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Zhaoying, Zhou Chunya, Zhu Jia, Zhu Xi
