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Sculptor's edgy take on seal-carving stone
By Wang Jie |
April 22, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
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COLORFUL, alabaster-like Shoushan stone is one of the most famous stones for elaborate carving in China and considered the most desirable stone for seal carving.
Largely mined near Mt Shoushan in the suburbs of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, the stone comes in many vivid and amalgamated colors; it's smooth and compared favorably to jades.
Yet under the knife and chisel of young sculptor Qiu Qijing, the stereotyped meanings and characteristics of Shoushan stone have collapsed.
Titled "Surpass and Review," an exhibition by Qiu features a cluster of installation and carved pieces of Shoushan stone and jade. It is underway at the Shanghai Art Museum through April 25.
Entering the exhibition, visitors step into a nearly dark hall where the works are dimly illuminated.
The light falls on a circle of life-sized carved male figures standing around two skeletons lying on a sand-covered floor.
"Desire and lust are the two scariest enemies for human beings, yet they are the strongest drivers of progress of civilization," Qiu says. "They test the bottom lines of our greed and savagery, while they also attract nobility and sin like a huge magnet."
Unlike his peers who use metal or glass to convey their post-industrial message, Qiu, who comes from Fuzhou, selects Shoushan stone and jade to create sculptures infused with natural feeling, an Oriental aesthetic and contemporary sensibility.
"Qiu frees Shoushan stone from its historical moorings and abandons its original function and associations," says noted art critic Wang Minan.
The sculptor carves some phallus shapes on the top of some stones on exhibit.
Beside avant-garde installations, the sculptor also carves smooth stone into mountains where a single flower grows and a hermit lives. He adopts classical Chinese aesthetics but redefines the classical flowers and birds, mountains and rivers.
For example, his jade carvings titled "A Copy of Bada Shanren's Work" tries to trace the spirit of Bada Shanren (1626-1705), a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) prince and a leading artist who painted flowers, birds and landscapes in a distinctive, dramatic and calligraphic style.
The characters of his name Bada Shanren look like the characters for the words "laugh" and "cry," so in signing his works he signaled his confusion and grief for his country under Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) rule. For a time he had to retreat to a monastery for his safety, but later reemerged to paint.
Another of Qiu's works pays homage to Master Hong Yi (1880-1942), who led a life of pleasure until age 39. Then he became a Buddhist monk at a temple near Hangzhou and became known as a great artist, calligrapher, seal cutter and art teacher.
Date: Through April 25, 9am-5pm
Address: 325 Nanjing Rd W.
Tel: 6327-2829
Largely mined near Mt Shoushan in the suburbs of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, the stone comes in many vivid and amalgamated colors; it's smooth and compared favorably to jades.
Yet under the knife and chisel of young sculptor Qiu Qijing, the stereotyped meanings and characteristics of Shoushan stone have collapsed.
Titled "Surpass and Review," an exhibition by Qiu features a cluster of installation and carved pieces of Shoushan stone and jade. It is underway at the Shanghai Art Museum through April 25.
Entering the exhibition, visitors step into a nearly dark hall where the works are dimly illuminated.
The light falls on a circle of life-sized carved male figures standing around two skeletons lying on a sand-covered floor.
"Desire and lust are the two scariest enemies for human beings, yet they are the strongest drivers of progress of civilization," Qiu says. "They test the bottom lines of our greed and savagery, while they also attract nobility and sin like a huge magnet."
Unlike his peers who use metal or glass to convey their post-industrial message, Qiu, who comes from Fuzhou, selects Shoushan stone and jade to create sculptures infused with natural feeling, an Oriental aesthetic and contemporary sensibility.
"Qiu frees Shoushan stone from its historical moorings and abandons its original function and associations," says noted art critic Wang Minan.
The sculptor carves some phallus shapes on the top of some stones on exhibit.
Beside avant-garde installations, the sculptor also carves smooth stone into mountains where a single flower grows and a hermit lives. He adopts classical Chinese aesthetics but redefines the classical flowers and birds, mountains and rivers.
For example, his jade carvings titled "A Copy of Bada Shanren's Work" tries to trace the spirit of Bada Shanren (1626-1705), a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) prince and a leading artist who painted flowers, birds and landscapes in a distinctive, dramatic and calligraphic style.
The characters of his name Bada Shanren look like the characters for the words "laugh" and "cry," so in signing his works he signaled his confusion and grief for his country under Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) rule. For a time he had to retreat to a monastery for his safety, but later reemerged to paint.
Another of Qiu's works pays homage to Master Hong Yi (1880-1942), who led a life of pleasure until age 39. Then he became a Buddhist monk at a temple near Hangzhou and became known as a great artist, calligrapher, seal cutter and art teacher.
Date: Through April 25, 9am-5pm
Address: 325 Nanjing Rd W.
Tel: 6327-2829
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