The exhibition was held at Wataru Gallery
On April 20, 2024, Gen Gallery presents a group exhibition with the theme of "Art Sea Exhibition for Three People" and the social aesthetic narrative as the clue. Different from the past, this is also the first exhibition curated by Gen Gallery with the goal of promoting social aesthetic education and cultural dissemination, and the premise of combining aesthetic education theory and social aesthetic education practice. The exhibition is curated by Li Ruoxian, Rou Qiang as the producer, Xu Xuan and Li Zheng as the artistic directors, and together with Ding Fang, Li Lixin, and Weng Jianqing, three artists who take the promotion of aesthetic education in colleges and universities as their own responsibility and explore the ethnography of Chinese contemporary art, they comprehensively display 19 works created by them in practice of the research concept of scholar-type artists.
The scene of the opening ceremony
As a scholar-type artist, Ding Fang has always practiced the belief that art should return to the depths of history. From the idea of "Oriental Renaissance" to the academic research and practice along the Silk Road, he re-examines the context and origin of oriental civilization, experiences the collision and friction between the body and the earth, spares no effort to pay attention to the evolution of civilization, and excavates the "primordialness" and "tragic beauty" of the land. Just like Ding Fang's creation with the theme of mountains and rivers, in the magnificence and heroism, all the feelings of the family and the country and the national spirit can be traced. With the style of "leaving the northwest" and the symbol of "Loess Plateau", the artist traces the migration history of the Chinese nation with the experience of walking, and also looks back at the epic journey of redemption behind the oriental civilization.
Ding Fang, "Good as Water", mixed media, oil on canvas, 30×40 cm, 2021-2023
Above the Shadow, Under the Light, mixed media, 45×80cm, 2013-2015
As an art historian, Li Lixin is equally pure and persistent. He has always followed the most typical expression of the artistic paradigm, but his paintings are full of a certain "flatness" and "decorative interest". The shape and composition are less traditional angular perspective, but linear in the horizontal and vertical staggered to construct the order of space. In addition to the rational composition, the thin water-based colors and viscous oil paint are not so clearly divided in Li Lixin's creation, the thin ink rendering is still complex and durable, and the sharp acrylic painting is also full of interest. From the desert Gobi to the small bridges and flowing waters, from the ruins of temples to small European cities, the natural landscape and the carrier of human civilization coexist in these visual slices that he presents in front of the viewer. From viewing to memory, it is not only a record of Li Lixin as a spectator, but also a casual spiritual flow of the artist's fingers.
Li Lixin, Dunhuang, 69×105cm, ink and color on paper, 2015
Li Lixin, Portugal Évora, 80×120cm, Acrylic, 2018
Weng Jianqing, who is committed to the anthropology of art, the contemporaneity of art and the study of public issues, has proposed that contemporary public art "adopt the perspectives of cultural anthropology, art sociology and fieldwork to explore the historical origins, cultural forms and community relations in the reconstruction of places." "Art practice and personal experience are essential requirements for the study of academic issues in art" runs through Weng Jianqing's creative process. For him, an artist's personal experience, inspiration and emotions are an important foundation for artistic creation. For this reason, Weng Jianqing's works attempt to emphasize the correspondence and inheritance of humanity and history, and reproduce the space that changes with the context and the times, from the modern city to the countryside, awakening the individual's memory and empathy for the life scene.
Weng Jianqing, Winter Dance, 45×50cm, acrylic, gouache, vellum paper, 2024
Weng Jianqing, Impression of Pingjiang, 45×50cm, acrylic, gouache, vellum paper, 2023
From art historians to art educators to artists, just like the multiple identities of the three artists in the exhibition, art skills are never unique, and art education is as important as a cornerstone. Today, when aesthetic generalization has become an inevitable trend, the exhibition brings together cutting-edge scholars from various disciplines to reveal the social value of social aesthetic education for aesthetic education itself, as well as for individual and social development. In addition, Gen Gallery will also plan a wealth of social aesthetic education activities, presenting an artistic feast integrating academic, artistic and educational aspects for the audience.
The exhibition will run until May 18, 2024.
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition poster