Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts to host China China China !!!

Friday, 21 November 2008 23:37

Norwich, UK - China China China !!!  is a major exhibition which features 15 contemporary Chinese artists whose work has not been constrained by the rapid expansion in demand for Chinese art in recent years. The exhibition opens at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, on Tuesday 10 February and runs until Sunday 3 May, 2009.

“We are delighted to be bringing China China China!!! to the UK this spring. After a period when China has been the constant focus of international attention, we are keen to reflect on the impact of this interest, and to offer a thought provoking show which does not simply feature artists whose work is in high demand in the West at present” – Amanda Geitner, Head of Exhibitions, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.

China China China!!! has been organised by the Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence and comprises three distinct projects created by cutting-edge China-based curators – Li Zhenhua founder of the Art Lab, Beijing, Zhang Wei, Director Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou (on the Pearl River Delta, north west of Hong Kong) and Davide Quadrio, founder of BizArt in Shanghai, the first and only self-supporting and non-profit cultural organisation in China.

The artists have produced work that is radical, critical and often playful, which is rooted in his or her local context, but also participates in the international art arena. The result is a collection of fascinating and uncompromising works that give new depth to our understanding of what it means to live in a society going through immense change.

Davide Quadrio’s 40 + 4 Art is not enough, not enough!  is a documentary mapping the complex reality of Shanghai’s artistic scene and reflects on the social relevance of contemporary art in the China of today. Quadrio interviewed 40 of the city’s major artists, asking a series of questions that were grouped by theme on a deck of cards. Themes discussed include the importance of the artist in modern Chinese society, the artist’s relationship with the public, and the influence of the international art market on artistic production.

Li Zhenhua Multi Archaeology, 1162 - 2162 Another Thousand Years. The theme of Li Zhenhua’s curatorial work is the search for common cultural roots between different populations, both between China and its neighbours and East and West. In Multi-Archaeology, Li Zhenhua and artists Ren Qinga, Wu Ershan, Shen Shaomin and Zhao Liang examine cultural identity, demonstrating how individuals are moulded by constant change. The figure of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, is used as the symbol for communication between civilisations.

Zhang Wei Throwing Dice. Zhang Wei has selected works that provide an individual response to China’s rapidly changing social and cultural world. Duan Jianyu’s Art Chickens sit in front of watercolours of Chinese landscapes; Cao Fei (aka China Tracey) explores the lonely on-line world of Second Life in her film I-Mirror and Chu Yun’s photographic work Career documents government officials in their private time.

The Sainsbury Centre is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. China China China!!! will run from Tuesday 10 February to Sunday 3 May 2009. The exhibition will be open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Monday), 10am to 5pm and until 8pm on Wednesdays. Tel 01603 593199 -  Visit :  www.scva.ac.uk .