"A blind beetle crawling on the surface of a curved branch didn't notice that the track it was crawling was actually curved, and I was lucky enough to notice."
This is what Albert Einstein once said,
It is also a sentence that Wang Xiaosong often mentions when he is creating art.
Poster of the Chinese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale
A month ago, the Venice Biennale was officially opened. Co-curated by Professor Wang Xiaosong of Zhejiang University and independent curator Jiang Jun, the exhibition is divided into two parts: the "Collection", which is composed of image documents of "The Great Collection of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties", and the "Biography", which is composed of works by seven contemporary Chinese artists (Che Jianquan, Jiao Xingtao, Qiu Zhenzhong, Shi Hui, Wang Shaoqiang, Wang Zhenghong, and Zhu Jinshi). The exhibition aims to reflect on the theme of the Venice Biennale, "Outsiders Everywhere", from the perspective of "convergence, exchange and integration", and convey the values of "inclusiveness", "harmony and symbiosis" and "beauty and beauty" in traditional Chinese culture while showcasing multiculturalism.
In 1983, Wang Xiaosong was admitted to the Book Binding Department of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts (the predecessor of the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University), and in 1990, he went to the Visual Communication Department of the Berlin University of the Arts. In particular, during his university studies, it coincided with the rise of the 85 New Wave of Fine Arts, which was an era of active ideas in the Chinese art world, and in an open cultural environment, various artistic trends from the West poured into China, and the traditional artistic consciousness was impacted. In this collision and agitation of Eastern and Western cultures, Wang Xiaosong has always maintained a sensitive perception of art and a deep thinking about cultural trends. While full of feelings for social life, as an artist, he also has a deep sense of responsibility for cultural achievements.
Wang Xiaosong at the China Pavilion (before move-in)
In addition to being an artist, Wang Xiaosong is also the deputy dean of the School of Art and Archaeology of Zhejiang University, a professor, a doctoral supervisor, a member of the National Design Professional Degree Graduate Education Steering Committee, the director of the Institute of Contemporary Art and Design of Zhejiang University, and the chief expert of the major projects of the National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation, and the chief curator of the "Chinese Painting of the Past Dynasties" touring exhibition.
For Wang Xiaosong, as an artist, exploring the space between the shelf and the shelf is his artistic utopia.
This is a work by Wang Xiaosong exhibited at the 2023 Wuhan Biennale. The title of the work is "The Lady of the Kingdom of Qiu", which is intended to evoke a sense of identity with the audience in the historical context and cultural identity. In the form of new works and materials, we establish a certain inner thinking and contextual dialogue with the "eternal beauty" of traditional Chinese art.
For Wang Xiaosong, as a curator, the gap between history and contemporary, between East and West, and between the local and the world is also the essence of art that he has always adhered to in his curatorial work.
At the exhibition site, "Phoenix Art" conducted an exclusive interview with Wang Xiaosong, from the "Great Series" to the contemporary, from the United States to the "Collection", and discussed the clues, propositions and responses of the China National Pavilion in depth and comprehensively.
Phoenix Art & Wang Xiaosong
Wang Xiaosong in the studio
Countdown, only 5 days.
The Red Sea War, the line was interrupted, and the exhibits were stranded.
Perhaps in the process of arranging the exhibition, Wang Xiaosong can feel the meaning of "outsiders everywhere" at the moment. But fortunately, it was in just 5 days that Wang Xiaosong led the team to overcome the tight time and logistics difficulties and finally completed the exhibition. This not only demonstrates the professionalism and dedication of the team, but also reflects the tenacity and flexibility of Chinese culture.
Years of study and creative experience abroad have given Wang Xiaosong a unique understanding of the "global" and "outsiders" - making people from different cultural backgrounds understand and tolerate each other is a key issue that we need to solve urgently. At the opening of the Chinese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, he cleverly illustrated this idea with an example of everyday food: Shanghainese favour sweets, while Cantonese favour spicy flavours. When people from both places share the same table, it's often easy to reach a compromise. However, once the table is filled with Sichuanese with a sweet tooth, the situation becomes much more complicated. Both parties need to understand and adjust a little more in order to live together in harmony while retaining their respective dietary preferences.
In Wang's view, this simple example of diet is a reflection of the need for wider human communication and tolerance. In order to build a common destiny, human society needs a generous and tolerant attitude and a willingness to communicate sincerely. It is through the unique existence of each individual and their mutual aggregation that we are able to construct a rich and colorful human society.
In order to express this more vividly, Wang Xiaosong borrowed an ancient Chinese character as an analogy: the character "set" depicts a flock of birds gathered on a tree, each making a unique sound, but playing a harmonious symphony together. This symbolizes the coexistence and collision of diverse cultures, which is the core idea pursued by Wang Xiaosong in the curation of the China Pavilion. This convergence and collision of different cultures is not only a concrete embodiment of cultural integration, but also a driving force to promote the continuous progress of human society.
The project team of the Great Series of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties, the documentary archive of "The Great Series of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties", documents, digital visualization, multi-size, the curatorial team of the Chinese National Pavilion of the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, photographed: Yishi Culture
In the curatorial work of the China Pavilion, Wang Xiaosong and Jiang Jun used Warburg's iconographic approach to create a platform for in-depth cultural exchange between artists, viewers, and professionals. On this platform, he hopes to discuss the future, reflect on colonial issues and cultural entanglements in history, and explore ways to eliminate cultural differences. To this end, they invited seven artists to present around the core theme of "The Great Collection of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties".
Chinese paintings of the past dynasties are the treasures of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation and one of the important material carriers of the "cultural self-confidence" of the Chinese nation. Compiled and published by Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics, the "Great Collection of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties" was personally approved by Comrade Xi Jinping in 2005, and has been attaching great importance to and continuing to pay attention to it for 19 years, and has made important instructions for many times.
President Du Jiangfeng of Zhejiang University took a group photo with the curatorial team
The project includes a total of 12,405 pieces/sets of ancient Chinese painting treasures, of which more than 3,000 pieces/sets are in overseas institutions outside China, accounting for 1/4 of the total number of works included. In this exhibition, 100 pieces of overseas Tibetan paintings included in the "Great Series" are selected, such as Tang Hangan's "White Picture of the Night", Dong Yuan's "Creek Bank" of the Five Dynasties, Song Guoxi's "Tree Color Pingyuan Picture", Yuan Nizan's "Yushan Forest Gully Picture", Dong Qichang's "Autumn Ji Picture of Rivers and Mountains", and "Summer Scene of Mojing Thatched Cottage" by Wu Li of the Qing Dynasty.
The National Museum of China's "Prosperous Revision of the Classics III - The Great Series of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties" Achievement Exhibition
It is worth noting that in the course of the previous national tour of the "Great Series", Wang Xiaosong has always paid attention to how traditional Chinese painting can be combined with emerging digitalization, so as to promote the digitization process of excellent traditional culture and broaden the application of digitalization. The innovative design and artistic concepts of the series also make people feel the need to promote digitalization and deepen their understanding of digitalization.
"The Great Series of Chinese Paintings", 2005-2024, Documents, Digital Visualization, Multi-size Image Copyright: Curatorial Team of the Chinese National Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Photo: Yishi Culture
Upon entering the gallery, the viewer is greeted by a series of exhibits – the "Collection" section presents an archival archive of 100 Chinese paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the Freer Gallery, representing the finest traditions of Chinese painting. Through digital means, Wang Xiaosong and his team brought together these works scattered around the world and exhibited them in the form of a documentary archive, which not only shows the history and circulation of these works, but also provides Westerners with their interpretation and perspective.
In the planning of the China Pavilion, Wang Xiaosong and Jiang Jun focused on how to promote cultural exchange by showcasing and disseminating the essence of traditional Chinese painting. He is well aware that only through understanding and respect for different cultures can true cultural blending and coexistence be achieved.
The Chairman of the Hong Kong HKADC, Mr Fok Kai-kong (left), and the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the HKSAR Government, Kevin Yeung, visit the Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in China, accompanied by the curators of the China Pavilion, Wang Xiaosong (middle) and Jiang Jun (right).
In an exclusive interview with Phoenix Art, Wang Xiaosong said that through this kind of archival exhibition, visitors can see how Westerners understand and appreciate traditional Chinese culture, including the interpretation of poems and seals in paintings. He emphasized that such exhibitions are not only about showcasing great works of art, but also about reproducing and disseminating Chinese culture through the perspective of Westerners, and conveying the beauty of Chinese art in their language. This way of cultural communication embodies the theme of "beauty and beauty", that is, to build a bridge of cultural exchange between China and the West through mutual understanding and appreciation.
In exploring the different perspectives of traditional painting in China and the West, Wang Xiaosong pointed out that Western scholars have tried to reveal the enduring vitality of Chinese culture through meticulous image analysis and historical document research. In particular, when interpreting the landscape paintings of masters such as Dong Yuan, they emphasize the harmonious coexistence of nature and man embodied in the paintings, a perspective that is in line with the spirit of landscape in Chinese literati paintings, which regard nature as the sustenance of philosophical reflection and landscape as the destination of the soul. On the other hand, Oriental interpreters interpret Western art, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Giotto's paintings, Oriental scholars pay more attention to the technical details of artistic expression, such as shapes, colors and materials, and also look for similarities with the philosophy of life and interpersonal harmony in Eastern culture. This cross-cultural interpretation of art not only reflects the visual and philosophical diversity of the East and the West, but also a profound exploration of the common cultural values and survival philosophy of all mankind. Through such exchanges and comparisons, we not only gain a deeper understanding of the unique aesthetics and philosophical reflections of our respective cultures, but also reinforce the important role of art as a bridge between different cultures and histories. In the interweaving of landscape and philosophy, Eastern and Western art jointly build a more open and diverse platform for cultural dialogue.
China Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, 2024, Photo: Yishi Culture, Curatorial Team of the China Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Thorsten Rodiek, director of the St. Anna Museum in Lübeck, Germany, once commented on Wang Xiaosong's artistic creation, "His works are historical and based on the past, and at the same time, we can taste the fleeting nature of history." Like all historical events, the theme of Wang Xiaosong's works makes people feel that they have laid a new layer on the 'history'. ”
And this sense of history is also reflected in his curatorial philosophy. In this Weishuang China Pavilion, how to re-identify the classics, and how to face such rich visual resources and painting resources in the context of the revival of traditional culture, and how to transform these resources into contemporary ones in the future, so that people can understand them, are all important topics that Wang Xiaosong thinks about.
At the exhibition site, the "Biography" section invited 7 contemporary artists to create 7 works of art in response to the "Great Series", and referred to the method of image philology in Warburg's "Atlas of the Goddess of Memory", using the display wall of image documents to connect the "Great Series" images with contemporary art works, and at the same time echoing the global image history, forming a two-way linkage between China and foreign countries, ancient and modern. Among them, Zhu Jinshi from architecture, Che Jianquan from landscapes, Jiao Xingtao from figures, Wang Zhenghong from flowers and birds, Wang Shaoqiang from brushwork, Shi Hui from calligraphy, Qiu Zhenzhong from gardening, these seven traditional Chinese painting perspectives are cut into the creation.
Wang Xiaosong, professor and curator of Zhejiang University, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony
In this exhibition, the two curators use the narrative perspective of art history, from image theory to landscape and landscape to humanistic worldview, constituting an overall behavioral activity. All participants, whether artists or curators, reinvent themselves internally and connect with the world externally, prompting us to rethink our knowledge systems about image and art history, philosophy and culture.
For 20 consecutive years, Che Jianquan has photographed the same pavilion and its surrounding environmental changes, exploring the extensibility of time and space and the changes of the natural landscape, while introducing the viewer's perspective into a looming dimension of time and space, showing the unpredictable universe and society.
Che Jianquan, Pavilion, 2003-2022, video, 1280 mm*750 mm*40mm×20, photography: Yishi Culture, curatorial team of the Chinese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Jiao Xingtao's sculptures use materials left over from the industrial age, such as copper and iron, to create figures in traditional China. The coldness and hardness of the metal, as well as the smoothness of the melt of the metal, including the bumps and roughness of the weld joints, can be imagined by touch, and they represent the fusion and confrontation of the old and the new, the traditional and the modern.
Jiao Xingtao, "Soul Rhyme", 2022, metal, multi-size, photograph: Yishi Culture, curatorial team of the China Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Although Qiu Zhenzhong's outdoor sculpture "State" is three meters high, it makes people realize that the threads from Chinese calligraphy are entangled, fluttering, and finally merging with the wind when they are combed, becoming the soul of the "garden".
Qiu Zhenzhong, "State" series, 2024, reinforced keel, FRP coloring, multi-size, photography: Qiu Xin, Qiu Zhenzhong Studio
Shi Hui's works combine the symbolism and materiality of words to interweave the traces of the past and the prophecy of the future, and the papier-mâché presented by the pulp becomes an entanglement, examination and touch of time. It has been deconstructed from its original semantic system, and their recognizability has become obscured, thus becoming a reconsideration of sealed memories, inspiring us to decipher the unspeakable past that has been drowned out by time.
Shi Hui, "Books Are Not Books", 2021-2024, rice paper, pulp, cotton thread, wood panel, multi-size, photographed by Yishi Culture, curatorial team of the Chinese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Wang Shaoqiang uses ink painting as a symbol to express nature through painting research and formal analysis, expressing the inner "Tao" and the spirituality of life, allowing the viewer to experience a kind of peace and enlightenment that transcends material boundaries and touches the depths of the soul.
Wang Shaoqiang, Quenching the New, 2024, ink on paper, 400 mm*400mm×105, photographed by Yishi Culture, curatorial team of the China Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Wang Zhenghong brought 10,000 micro-shaped birds to the scene. Together with the actor wearing the bird form, the artist himself shuttles through different scenes in the form of a performance wandering, creating a scene where a thousand birds gather. Reflect on the delicate relationship between individuality and collectivity.
Wang Zhenghong, "Traces of a Hundred Birds", 2023, metal, jade, wood, multi-size, performance: Ma Yiao, photography: Yishi Culture, curatorial team of the Chinese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Zhu Jinshi's "Tower" is composed of thousands of pieces of rice paper, cotton thread, bamboo poles and other environmentally friendly materials, and constructs a giant built-in light-like tower-like device. The work is inspired by the architectural image of a tower in Chinese painting. As a spiritual building, the tower integrates multicultural symbols, and the work not only echoes the towers of China, but also reflects the cultural and philosophical meanings of towers around the world in a cross-cultural and cross-historical context.
Zhu Jinshi, "Xuan Paper Tower", 2024, fireproof rice paper, steel pipe, cotton thread, bamboo pole, LED strip, 8500–8700 mm*3500mm, photo: Yishi Culture, curatorial team of the China Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
Wang Xiaosong is deeply aware that traditional Chinese art is an important cornerstone of our culture. However, he stressed that while we learn and pay homage to tradition from the ancients, we must not simply go back to the past, but innovate in inheritance and rejuvenate traditional art in the current culture. This concept of "imitating the ancient but not imitating the ancient" is the core they insisted on when planning the exhibition of the China Pavilion. By blending traditional and modern aesthetics, he hopes to showcase the profound heritage and modern innovation of Chinese art on a platform with local and international influence such as Venice.
Chinese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, photo: Cao Xi
The scene of the Chinese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
The theme of this year's Venice Biennale is "Outsiders Everywhere", while the theme of the China Pavilion "Beauty and Commonality" shows the integration and clustering of ancient and modern cultures through the keyword "set". Wang Xiaosong and Jiang Jun applied the imagery of "Ji" to the exhibition, hoping to show the diversity and inclusiveness of contemporary Chinese art by bringing together the participation of different regions, different audiences, different skin tones, and different individuals.
The exhibition uses the landscapes, figures, flowers and birds in traditional Chinese painting as elements, and through the artist's re-creation, it shows a tribute and innovation to the ancient painting system. This process is not only a review of tradition, but also a reinterpretation of tradition through modern artistic means. This multi-level cultural blending and creation embodies the profound connotation of "beauty and beauty", and demonstrates the unique charm and influence of Chinese art in the context of globalization.
It can be said that this curatorial work is not only an exhibition, but also an in-depth dialogue between Chinese and Western cultural exchanges. In this exhibition, Wang Xiaosong not only inherits the essence of traditional Chinese art, but also integrates contemporary aesthetics and international perspectives, truly realizing the harmony and beauty in cultural diversity.
(Article from Phoenix Art)
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