Zeng Fanzhi: Parcours @ Ullens Center for Contemporary Art - UCCA, Beijing

Zeng Fanzhi: Parcours
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art - UCCA, Beijing
Through 19 November 2016

Through 19 November 2016, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) presents Zeng Fanzhi: Parcours, the artist's largest and most comprehensive exhibition anywhere to date and his first institutional solo show in Beijing. Including nearly sixty works borrowed from collections around thé world, it covers nearly thirty years of Zeng's creative output, winding through his extensive stylistic and thematic evolutions on canvas and in sculptural form. The main body of the exhibition in UCCA's Great Hall features key works from each major series in Zeng's career, presenting a complete picture of his creative exploration and artistic contribution, and referring to art-historical precedents from Hellenistic sculpture to Lucian Freud. It culminates in a room dedicated to a recent series of works on paper—never before exhibited in China—which mark a new engagement with the aesthetics of Chinese painting, and in the Nave, where a special space has been constructed to show two of his most substantial landscapes.

Its title inspired by that of an early painting he completed in 1990, "Zeng Fanzhi: Parcours" offers to bring the viewer along on the artist's creative journey. A key figure in the generation of artists who emerged, along with the very notion of "Contemporary Chinese Art," onto the world stage of the early 1990s, Zeng Fanzhi has consistently used his works to reflect on the social and cultural climate of his country through a highly personal visual language. His early paintings, completed during the late 1980s while he was a student at the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, combine the pedagogical apparatus of socialist realism with a romantic interest in Western classicism and modernism to depict new realities of Reform-era Chinese society. Following his arrival on the Beijing scene in the early-1990s, Zeng Fanzhi quickly gained recognition for his "Masks" series, which gives symbolic form to the dichotomies and affectations of that era through figures in varying states of alienation. After this, Zeng Fanzhi continued his research info painting itself, producing the strikingly colored, tensely vibrating, monumentally scaled canvases of the "Abstract Landscapes" series. In recent years, he has combined the free-range brushstrokes of these landscapes with homages to works by masters including Leonardo DaVinci and Albrecht Durer, in a series of seven four-by-four-meter paintings that have been extensively exhibited abroad. The newest works in this exhibition consist of a grouping of paintings in ink on paper which signal an introspective shift in his practice. Today Zeng fulfills a role inhabited by artists throughout Chinese history: an aesthete among the worldly, offering uplift and solace through refinement.

Its design carefully authored by the artist's longtime collaborators Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, "Zeng Fanzhi: Parcours" rhythmically divides the expanse of UCCA's Great Hall into an immersive survey of his career. Six freestanding walls, each punctuated by a 2.4-meter square window, thoughtfully connect major shifts in the artist's practice. They are enclosed by a series of darker walls that run around the space's perimeter, chronologically presenting portraits from ail phases of Zeng's career. Having sought to avoid enclosed spaces, Tadao Ando has likened this layout to sections of an MRI scan that allow viewers to walk through layers of the artist's mind.

UCCA Director and exhibition curator Philip Tinari states, "UCCA is hugely excited to be presenting Zeng Fanzhi's most comprehensive exhibition to date anywhere in the world. His singular painterly vision connects his personal experience of living in contemporary China to centuries of artistic creation across many cultures, as art becomes a vehicle for exploring history and articulating taste. This exhibition offers not only an overview of his considerable talent, but a meditation on the importance of aesthetic cultivation in a messy world."

Regarding his survey, Zeng Fanzhi states, "Fortunately, I encountered painting in my youth and chose to embark on this creative path that now stretches for nearly thirty years. Along the way, I have discovered a place I call my own, where art serves as a guide through the long corridor of history, allowing one to traipse freely through time and space. My heart is filled with gratitude for the wonderment of this experience, and I hope by presenting this exhibition, which incorporates canvases from ail the major shifts in my practice, to share a fantastic visual journey with a global audience."

UCCA
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
www.ucca.org.cn

Zhang Huan: Hope Tunnel at UCCA Beijing

Zhang Huan: Hope Tunnel
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art - UCCA, Beijing
Through October 24, 2010

Zhang Huan’s Hope Tunnel is a curated social project related to the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province.

“Hope Tunnel is conceptual art on a grand scale, a monument to hope, a space in which art becomes a vehicle for awareness, philanthropy and the public good. A towering display of destructive power frozen in time, it allows us to reflect on the scale of recent earthquake disasters, commemorate the victims and contemplate the possibility of reconstruction and the challenges that lie ahead.”

UCCA Director Jérôme Sans describes Hope Tunnel as being “conceived by an artist who believes that art has the power not just to move us emotionally, but to galvanize us into positive action. We may be dwarfed by the wreckage of freight train no. 21043 and humbled by the destruction wrought by nature, but as the title reminds us, we still have the power to help—and to hope.”

Artist Zhang Huan calls his train “a witness to history” that should be preserved. “At a time when the whole world is looking toward the future, preserving the past seems more important than ever. Reflecting on the disaster, investigating the causes, mitigating future dangers and finding ways to live in harmony with our environment rather than trying to conquer it—that’s where the real future is, the tunnel of hope that leads us to tomorrow."

Moving beyond “art for the sake of art”

Hope Tunnel is more than just a train, an installation piece or a Memento mori that recalls our own mortality. It is a multi-faceted philanthropic project and an experiment in using art to serve the public good.

“As a non-profit public arts center, UCCA is in a unique position to carry out curated social projects such as Hope Tunnel. Free of the artistic constraints and profit motives that restrict many traditional museums and galleries, UCCA possesses the resources, vision and innovation needed to harness the social and philanthropic power of art.”

“At UCCA, we are committed to engaging not just with the “art world” but with society in general and the world at large. Through exhibitions, films and educational events that reflect what is happening in Beijing, in China and around the globe, we seek to create a forum for dialogue and a place for developing innovative solutions. “

“Art should be about more than just making pretty things and putting on spectacles,” says UCCA Director Jérôme Sans. “It means caring about the world around you and giving something back to society.”

The long journey of freight train no. 21043

When the Sichuan earthquake struck on May 12, 2008, freight train no. 21043 was passing through a tunnel in the border region between Gansu, Sichuan and Shaanxi Provinces. Loaded down with grain and aviation fuel, the train collided with a boulder, caught fire and became trapped in the tunnel's inferno. It took workers six months to dig out the wreckage, clear the tunnel and reopen the railway line to earthquake-damaged areas of Sichuan.

When he heard the news reports and saw the photos of the Sichuan earthquake and the train disaster, Zhang Huan was badly shaken. Realizing that the train had both historical value and emotional resonance, he decided to try to preserve it for posterity. After a long and complicated process, the artist managed to obtain the wreckage and transport it to his studio in Shanghai for selective renovation.

When two large carriages of the train are installed in UCCA's largest exhibition hall amidst railway tracks and quake debris, visitors are able to examine the wreckage and watch a documentary that follows every step of the train’s journey from a salvage company in Xi’an to Zhang Huan’s workshop in Shanghai to UCCA in Beijing. A percentage of ticket sales will go to the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project to fund disaster relief and reconstruction projects in Yushu, Qinghai Province.

In conjunction with Hope Tunnel, two of Zhang Huan’s large incense-ash sculptures are on display in the UCCA lobby: Military Officer and Cultural Officer.

BIOGRAPHY: ZHANG HUANG

Internationally acclaimed artist Zhang Huan was born in 1965 in Anyang, Henan. He currently lives and works in Shanghai. As an active member of the Beijing art scene in the 1990's, he was involved mainly in performance art and was considered one of the foremost avant-garde artists in China. After relocating to New York in 1998, he became a full-time artist working in a variety of different mediums and giving artistic performances in major cities worldwide.

In 2005, he returned to Shanghai and established the Zhang Huan Studio, where he continues his artistic work, expanding into new realms and developing new forms. The ash-painting technique he created has added another method of painting to the art history books. Zhang Huan has also pioneered a variety of other techniques, such as sculpting in ox-hide, wooden door carvings, and woodcuts with feather additions, to name just a few.

In 2009, Zhang Huan directed and stage-managed the lyric opera Semele, performed at the La Monnaie Royal Theatre in Belgium. He is the first Chinese modern artist to direct a lyric opera. In 2005, Zhang Huan and his wife founded the Gao An Foundation, which establishes "hope elementary schools" in impoverished areas of western China. They have also provided scholarships and study grants to ten major universities in China.

Curators: Jérôme Sans, UCCA Director
Project Coordinators：Paula Tsai, Joy Bloser

UCCA - ULLENS CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART - BEIJING - PR CHINA

www.ucca.org.cn

Liu Gang - Merlin, Champagne and Regalia

(c) Liu Gang - All rights reserved

Paper Dream N.06, 2008

C-Print, 124x 102 cm

Courtesy of the Artist

This first solo exhibition by artist Liu Gang presents selections from his new photographic series, Paper Dream (2008). Using images appropriated from newspaper advertisements for upscale housing developments in Beijing, the artist creates works of sheer excess and absurdity, but also comments on new forms of identity in China. The show is part of an ongoing exhibition series reflecting collaboration between the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) and Lan Club that features the best emerging artists of Beijing. “As a witness of contemporary life in Beijing and its fast moving developments, Liu Gang: Merlin, Champagne & Regalia is the perfect fit for UCCALAN(D), whose ambition is to stand at the heart of urban creativity,” says UCCA' Director Jerome Sans.

Liu Gang

Merlin, Champagne & Regalia

March 7 - April 4, 2009

Presented by UCCA

http://www.ucca.org.cn/

and Lan Club

Curators: David Spalding and Snejana Krasteva

Lan Club Address:

4/F Twin Tower,

B12 Jianguomen Waidajie

Beijing

P.R. China

Jérôme Sans: New Director of UCCA - Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

On March 1st, Jérôme Sans joined Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) as its new director

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is a non profit art center founded in Beijing by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in November 2007. UCCA presents exhibitions of established and emerging artists and is developing a trusted platform to share knowledge through education and research.

The arrival of Jérôme Sans initiates a phase of new developments following UCCA’s successful launch led by artistic director Fei Dawei. Fei Dawei’s leadership, as well as his contributions to the preparation and successful opening of UCCA, has been indispensable. Before the art center project began, Fei Dawei was responsible for organizing research, collections, and exhibitions for years as director of the Ullens Foundation. Under his professional guidance, the Ullens Foundation became one of the most active organizations promoting Chinese contemporary art worldwide and also one of the largest centers for the collection of Chinese contemporary artwork within two years after its establishment in 2003. Fei Dawei’s rich experience in organizing exhibitions and his comprehensive knowledge of Chinese contemporary art circles led the Ullens to invite him to lead the preparation and opening of UCCA as artistic director. Since 2005, Fei Dawei has been instrumental in the successful establishment of the art center and was the curator for the opening exhibition: '85 New Wave: The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art. During this period, he also continued his work as director of the Ullens Foundation. Having set the organization of UCCA on the right course, Fei Dawei has now chosen to concentrate on his primary interests of academic research and promoting art education.

Jérôme Sans has been known for rethinking the curatorial practice and approach, first as an independent curator then as an inventor of new models of institution, such as the world acclaimed Palais de Tokyo in Paris that he co-founded and directed until January 2006. After creating the Palais de Tokyo, Jérôme Sans moved to the UK where he became director of programs at the BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. Jérôme Sans curated numerous international exhibitions such as the 2000 Taipei Biennial in Taiwan My Home is Yours / Your Home is Mine co-curated in 2001 with Hou Hanru at Tokyo Opera City, the 2005 Lyon’s Contemporary Art Biennial, and the 2006 Nuit Blanche in Paris. He is also the author of several books including Araki, published by Taschen in 2001, Au Sujet de about Daniel Buren, published by Flammarion in 1998, the recently released In The Arab World Now published by Galerie Enrico Navarra in 2008 and has contributed to various art publications. Jérôme Sans is among the most creative and adventurous personalities working in today’s art scene. ''UCCA’s audience is mainly composed of a new generation of Chinese in search of change and new things,” said Guy Ullens, founder of UCCA. “The choice of Jerome is a perfect fit for us.’’

Jérôme Sans’ ambition is to make UCCA a new model for private institutions, a place to live, and a platform for open dialogue. UCCA is acting as a beacon for the arts in China, as well as a major point of reference in the international art scene. Expanding beyond the traditional concept of a museum, Jérôme Sans’s goal is to develop UCCA into a distinctive destination that breaks the outdated mold of how an art center is perceived and welcomes a variety of audiences. “To achieve such objectives,” said Jérôme Sans, “UCCA will showcase the latest of China’s contemporary art, design, fashion, music and multimedia in a vibrant, exciting, alternative space, featuring a restaurant, a bar, a shop and a cinema, to offer a unique experience of contemporary creativity’’.

Jérôme Sans' experience, his far-reaching work on international projects with artists and key art world figures, and his long experience working in Asia for major exhibitions (Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok) and with Chinese artists such as, Chen Zhen, Wang Du, Yan Pei Ming, Huang Yong Ping, Wang Jianwei, as well as curators such as Hou Hanru and Fei Dawei, will enable UCCA to further expand its cultural program and facilitate the access of its audience. While UCCA is an art organization in China serving local audiences, it has also brought together an international team. This expansiveness reflects the continued growth of cultural life in Beijing and stands at the center of UCCA’s vision. By being both local and international, UCCA aims to bring art dialogue between China and the wider world to a higher level.

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art

798 Art District,

No.4 Jiuxianqiao Lu,

P.O. Box 8503,

Chaoyang District,

Beijing

P.R.China 100015

http://www.ucca.org.cn/