Exhibition Period
26th February 2024 – 20th March 2024
Venue
SGA Three on the Bund, 3F, No.3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road, Shanghai
Artists
Li Fan, Zhang Ping, Bai Hongwei, Gu Zhenhua, Ji Wenyu, Zhu Weibing, Zhao Peisheng, Zhang Haijun
Curator
Wang Yu, Li Mu
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This February, Space and Gallery Association Shanghai is pleased to present Forms From Formlessness –– a group exhibition that brings together eight Chinese contemporary artists: Li Fan, Zhang Ping, Bai Hongwei, Gu Zhenhua, Ji Wenyu, Zhu Weibing, Zhao Peisheng, Zhang Haijun. The curator of this exhibition are Wang Yu and Li Mu. The exhibition is on view from 26th February, until 20th March 2024.
Chinese people's understanding of the relationship between the natural environment and themselves is a comprehensive integration of internal and external factors, The inner emotions are inseparable from the visible changes in the external environment. Time and space are not absolutely binary eithe. The changes in time manifest with the changes in things in space. So, time, space, and people are combined into a related whole.
"FORMS FROM FORMLESSNESS" originates from the Buddhist verse. It refers to a sociological imagination about the impermanence and illusory nature of all things in the cognitive universe. Compared to the infinite universe, our understanding of the objective world may be insignificant. But it is only between the external form presented by the phenomenon and the internal essence emphasized in the truth that the existence of the self is constructed. Contemporary artists have created their own passionate aesthetic images in shaping and interpreting "self".
Creation is all related to one's own experience. Those emotions that are passionate, depressed, passionate, and lonely permeate the artwork. When they condense the consciousness flowing out of their hearts into unique works of art in the world, as if undergoing a spiritual baptism, they have completed a meaningful exploration of themself. When facing their own works, they may also feel confused. The "FORMLESSNESS" that gathers time symbols can fold time and space, connecting the current life experience. Becoming a kind of self reflection, constantly illuminating and inspiring the evolution of their creations. For viewers, facing these "FORMLESSNESS" instantly opens up a hidden journey of time. By observing the artist's “FORMS”, one can appreciate the rich connotations in artistic expression, Viewers also create an ideal temporal perspective for themselves, in which the past still exists in the present. Therefore, it awakens the viewer's memory, recombining the "FORMS" that follows self-awareness in their respective experiences.
"FORMS FROM FORMLESSNESS". if one can tremble different hearts and reach their respective spiritual shores, it may also be the most meaningful moment where "self" is located.
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About the Artists
Li Fan（1966, Beijing, China)
Born in Beijing in March 1966, Li Fan studied at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1992 and stayed there to teach. In 1995, he graduated from the postgraduate course of the CAFA, and was elected as the deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Printmakers' Association and a member of the board of directors. In 2005, he was appointed as the director of the basic department of the Printmaking Department of the CAFA. From 2007 to 2014, he was appointed as the deputy director of the Printmaking Department of the CAFA, and member of the modelling student group of the CAFA, and is now an associate professor and master's tutor of the CAFA.
Zhang Ping (1971, Xinjiang, China)
Zhang Ping graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Fine Arts Institute of Xinjiang Normal University in 1994 and the Graphic Design Department of the Central Academy of Arts and Design in 1995. She later received her Master's Degree from the Fine Arts Department of the East China Normal University in 2006 and her PhD in Fine Arts in 2016. She now lives and works in Shanghai.
Bai Hongwei (1966, Shanghai, China)
Graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Shanghai Publishing and Printing College in 1987, Bai Hongwei joined Shanghai TV to work as a choreographer. He now lives and works in Shanghai.
Gu Zhenhua (1962, Shanghai, China)
Gu Zhenhua graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Shanghai Textile College in 1986, completed the Oil Painting Department of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts in 1989. He then graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Department of Fine Arts of East China Normal University in 1998 and was the Dean of the School of Shanghai Art & Design Academy. He now lives and works in Shanghai.
Ji Wenyu&Zhu Weibing (1959/1971, Shanghai/Heilongjiang, China)
Ji Wenyu was born in Shanghai in 1959 and now works and lives in Shanghai. Zhu Weibing was born in Heilongjiang in 1971 and now works and lives in Shanghai. Their works are in the collections of M+ Museum, Wemhöner, SCHAUFLER Foundation, Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Zhao Peisheng (1965, Shandong, China)
Graduated from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in 1987, Zhao Peisheng is a professor and master director of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology now and the former head of the Department of Animation and Public Art.
Zhang Haijun (1977, Liaoning, China)
Graduated from the Studio No. 1 of the Oil Painting Department of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts with a master's degree in 2006, Zhang Haijun teaches at the School of Painting Art of this academy now. His works have been collected by the Shanghai Development Research Foundation and so on.
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Gallery
