ZHAO Dajun | YU Youhan | SHEN Fan | ZHANG Jianjun | CHEN Qiang | PAN Wei | XUE Song | HUANG Yuanqing | LIN Dong | LI Lei | QU Fengguo | DONG Dawei | LI Wenguang | WANG Yi
Duration: 24th July – 15th September 2021
Vernissage: Friday, 23rd July 2021 from 4pm
SGA Shanghai @ Three on the Bund, no.3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road, Shanghai 200002, China
Academic Moderator LI Xu
Curator Star ZHANG Jixing
Shanghai Space & Gallery Association (SGA) is honored to present a group exhibition- “It’s Not A Wave”, opening on 23rd July, 2021, at Three on the Bund, Shanghai. The exhibition features abstract artworks by 14 artists: Zhao Dajun, Yu Youhan, Shen Fan, Zhang Jianjun, Chen Qiang, Pan Wei, Huang Yuanqing, Xue Song, Li Lei, Lin Dong, Qu Fengguo, Dong Dawei, Li Wenguang and Wang Yi.
If “wave” represents collective behaviour or common will, then “not a wave” implies the existence of individual characteristics and diversity. The antithesis poignantly reflects the core values of openness and tolerance in contemporary art, whether in its regards to cognition toward human nature and the world; or the exploration in the ontology of art. For our latest exhibition, SGA has invited artists from different generations (1930-1990) who live across China (Shanghai and the northern regions) to participate in this curated theme. The establishment of time and geographical clues should not be mistaken as a mode to define these creators as representatives of a certain dimension but to show the differentiated expressions of abstract art by individuals who have experienced different eras and social contexts.
At the same time, these works juxtaposed in the exhibition hall also embody other kinds of inherent relationships among themselves, such as the actions expressed during the creating process, the rational order presented in the creative concepts and forms of the work, the painterly style, and traces to the origin of Chinese classical aesthetics, etc. The works reflect some of the universal characteristics in abstract art thus far and form a collective manifestation of each prominent voice according to his temporal and regional context. Altogether, making each piece remarkably distinct and invaluable. The primary intention for this exhibition is not simply to showcase a group of Chinese abstract artists. On the contrary, it is to reveal the individual presence through the form of a collective.
The exhibition will run through 15th September, 2021.
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Preface
Are we accustomed to defining individual things with common will or solving individual problems with collective behavior? It is like an ever-growing “wave” that races into the real and virtual worlds. When we view abstract art, what do we see? The abandonment of realistic vision, the stripping of concrete images, gestural actions, lyrical expression, rational purity, painterliness, color field, hard edges, or art for its sake…Undoubtedly such characteristics, all found in great abstract masterpieces, are still valuable references for viewing abstract artworks today. However, the creative outlook of artists participating in the exhibition should never only be summarized in this way, because creation closely intertwines personal context. Even creators of the same time and geographical dimensions, their contexts are differentiated, and their creations are manifested through experience and intuition. The abstract artworks presented here contain hidden clues that reveal the background of fourteen artists from different generations (the 1930s-1990s) and living in Shanghai and the North of China. The purpose of juxtaposing their works in the gallery is not to re-enlist them as representatives in some certain dimension. On the contrary, we seek to engage the audience with a deeper understanding about the works through their relevancy in the development of Abstract Art, as well as the social and regional perspectives. Above all, to pay more attention to each individual's characteristics, in which case the value of contemporary art lies — a tolerance for diversity. Therefore, the exhibition is called: "It's not a wave."
Waves are everywhere, maybe "non-wave" is another kind of wave. At least, we have to be wary of it...
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Click here to download our exhibition catalogue pdf.