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Chinese artists resurrect materiality in new exhibit
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ART by Zhuang Hong Yi and Zhang Zhenxue are on display at the Art+ Shanghai Gallery through June 19. The exhibit, titled “Resurrection of Materiality: Dual Exhibition by Zhuang Hong Yi and Zhang Zhenxue,” marks a resurgence of crafting and material-focused work in contemporary art and architecture.
Resurrection serves as a lens through which displayed works of rather sculptural quality are examined. Both artists share a common vision of material as a means not only to transmit meaning, but also as a means to create meaning. Treatment of the surface is therefore a technique as well as an artistic statement.
Zhuang Hong Yi’s works present composed images made out of multicolored flower petals on rice paper. In his “Flower Series” inspired by aerial views of the flower fields in the Netherlands, the Beijing-Rotterdam based artist applies colors and varnish on rose and lotus petals, arranging them on the surface in a process akin to action painting. In his final step, Zhuang covers the artwork with a layer of resin and occasionally an additional layer of other fragments of material. From a distance, his works may trick the viewer into seeing a two-dimensional painting, but a closer look reveals a collage that engages the spectator as they move in relation to the work.
Works of the Chongqing-based artist are marked by increased involvement with materiality rendered in thick layers of oil paint and occasionally glass fragments. Inspired by the cinema of the 1950s and particularly the cinema of one of the giants of Italian cinematography, Luchino Visconti, the artist constructs his works around the idea of decor and its function in the scenes. Thick impasto lines are an attempt to capture the immaterial meaning of the works coupled with strong material presence.
Date: Through June 19, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-7pm
Venue: Art+ Shanghai Gallery
Address: 191 South Suzhou Road
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