Qiu Zhijie
ARNDT Singapore
November 16 – December 31, 2014
Opening
Saturday, November 15, 2014
4 – 6 pm Afternoon tea reception
The artist will be present
ARNDT Singapore is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of Qiu Zhijie, an internationally acclaimed artist based in Beijing, China. The show will be the artist’s first individual appearance at ARNDT Singapore for which he created a new exciting body of work (including a large scale installation).
Qiu Zhijie (b. 1969) lives and works between Beijing and Hangzhou, China. His art practice incorporates various media: sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, video as well as performance and installation. In his work he often intertwines the humanist practice embedded in the aesthetic legacy of the Chinese art tradition with political narratives and critical theories dominant in international modern and contemporary art. Contributing vastly to both discourses, he also works on bridging the two value systems. His work often touches upon political and social history as well as current affairs. Through juxtaposition of traditional techniques with conceptual forms, Qiu Zhijie’s work aims at rereading and reinterpreting existing socio-political narratives and creating a space for a potential debate.
For his new exhibition at ARNDT Singapore, Qiu Zhijie has created a series of works (10 pieces of ink on paper and 20 pieces of ink on paper on globes) and a spatial installation devoted to the current and prevalent issue of sovereignty disputes taking place around the world. The installation evokes different political frictions and antagonisms as they manifest themselves as places on maps. The installation comprises of wooden, steel and glass balls which represent respectively emotions, human relationships, natural disasters as well as ideologies and political actions. Visitors are encouraged to touch the balls and roll them around the gallery. These movements will create an ever changing landscape and create a notion of political situation in state of flux.
Qiu Zhijie’s recent individual exhibitions include: A Suicodology of The Nanjing Yangzi River Bridge 4 – On Leveling all things at Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts (2014), Unicorn & Dragon at Foundation Querini Stampalia, Venice (2013), Blueprints at Witte de With, Rotterdam (2012), A Suicodology of The Nanjing Yangzi River Bridge 3 – Breaking through the ice at Ullens Contemporary Arts Centre, Beijing (2009), Under the Heaven at Singapore Tyler Print Institute (2008).
He also participated in numerous group show such as Memory: Biennale China-Italia (2014), Singapore Expo (2014), Advance Through Retreat at Rockbound Art Museum in Shanghai, The origin of Dao: New Dimensions in Chinese Contemporary Art at Hong Kong Art Museum (2013). He exhibited at Museo Diocesano d’arte sacra during the Venice Biennale in 2013 and at the Shanghai Biennale in 2010.
