EXOTIC STRANGER CURATED BY BAO DONG
Cai Lei | Chen Xiaoyun | Chen Yujun & Chen Yufan | Gong Jian | He Xiangyu | Jiang Zhi | Li Jinghu | Liu Qingyuan | Shi Qing | Song Kun | Weng Yunpeng | Xin Yunpeng | Xu Zhen | Yang Maoyuan
Group Show from March 12th to April 30th 2016 Opening on Saturday March 12th from 5 p.m to 9:00 p.m
Press Preview on Friday March 11th from 3pm to 5pm with the artists and the curator
Galerie Paris-Beijing is proud to announce Exotic Stranger, a group show curated by acclaimed inde- pendent curator Bao Dong. The exhibition brings together fourteen artists (mostly born in the 70’s under the one-child policy) who are all active in the renewal of Chinese Contemporary Art Scene.
From the eyes of a curator coming from the same generation of the exhibited artists, Exotic Stranger gathers a bold and eclectic selection of works, ranging from video art to painting, photography and installa- tion and attesting to the formal variety that characterizes the art scene in China today.
ON THE EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN
In Stranger Shores, a collection of critical essays, Nobel prize winner J.M. Coetzee, expresses his duality dilemma: being both South African born and son of Western descendants at once. Being aware of the wes- tern literature legacy without ignoring its literal local anchorage. How to carry on the inherent transcen- dence of literature without considering its political function? The author faces this dilemma with disillusion and detachment.
The title underlines the duality of the author: the multiple connotations of the word “Stranger” qualifying both what is “out of the ordinary”, “unfamiliar” and what is “foreign”, “unknown”, reflects the author’s double reference to both his studies and his own local interpretation.
J.M. Coetzee’s identity dilemma can equally exists at all levels for Chinese contemporary artists. Even if Chinese contemporary art has been strongly influenced by overseas trends, its one-sided and outdated cultural images cannot overcome a reading based on Eastern symbols and with a political interpretation. This is why it has always been considered as different.
On the other hand, because of the influence that Western culture has had on Chinese contemporary art from the very beginning, it has always been reflected-on and broadcast inside a closed circle, without developing any sense of belonging within a larger part of Chinese Society.
Chinese Contemporary art was treated as a « stranger » by the West but also as « something coming from the outside » by the native’s point of view.
In this context, many Chinese artists strive to link their work to the local experience while avoiding territo- riality that would reduce their works to a kind of multiculturalism sample. Therefore, they avoid traditional eastern symbols and also reject the rigid political characteristics. Regarding the approach of the western public, the work of Chinese artists is perceived as something apart beyond the frame of reference of Multi- culturalism. This is precisely where the power of Chinese culture and contemporary art lies.
Bao Dong, January 2016
BAO DONG
Art critic and independent curator Bao Bong (Anhui, China, 1979) successfully contributes to the recognition of a new generation of artists. He conceived one of the most significant exhibitions of the last decade in China : ON I OFF : China’s Young Artists in Concept and Practice, at UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (2013). He is a contributing editor of LEAP magazine, and guest writer for cn.NYTtimes.com as well as cn.Artforum.com. He was awarded an Asian Cultural Council (CCA) fellowship grant in 2014, and selected to participate at the Independent Vision Curatorial Award of the prestigious Independent Curator International (ICI).
FEATURED ARTISTS
CAI LEI, born in 1983, Jilin, lives and works in Beijing, China
CHEN XIAOYUN, born in 1971, Hubei, lives and works in Beijing, China CHEN YUJUN, born in 1976, Fujian, lives and works in Shanghai, Chine CHEN YUFAN, born in 1973, Fujian, lives and works in Hangzhou, Chine GONG JIAN, born in 1978, Hubei, lives and works in Hubei, Chine
HE XIANGYU, born in 1986, Liaoning, lives and works in Beijing, China JIANG ZHI, born in 1971, Hunan, lives and works in Beijing, China
LI JINGHU, born in 1972, Guangdong, lives and works in Dongguan, Chine LIU QINGYUAN, born in 1972, Sichuan, lives and works in Guangzhou, Chine SHI QING, born in 1969, Inner-Mongolie, lives and works in Shanghai, Chine SONG KUN, born in 1977, Inner-Mongolia, lives and works in Beijing, China WENG YUNPENG, born in 1964, Jiangxi, lives and works in Shanghai, Chine XIN YUNPENG, born in 1982, à Beijing, lives and works in Beijing, China
XU ZHEN, born in 1977, à Shanghai, lives and works in Shanghai, Chine YANG MAOYUAN, born in 1966, Liaoning, lives and works in Beijing, China
