Tag: Academy of Fine Arts

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Contemporary 人物 当代 艺术家

Contemporary | Zhao Qi: like works

The Chinese art

Artist: Zhao Qi

zhao qi Born in Jin County, Liaoning Province in 1954
He currently works and lives in Beijing

zhao qi would like to call these paintings on small notebooks works. Therefore, this point is emphasized because according to custom. We often call this type of painting “studio”, or shorthand or something like that. What zhao qi don’t understand is, why can’t sketches and sketches be placed in the exhibition halls of art museums such as Chinese paintings, oil paintings and prints?

Zhao Qi work

Outside of zhao qi understanding of painting, I think the work is a kind of narrative and the painter expresses his ideas through the painting. Although these paintings on small books are not “formal” like the works on display, their essence is still something thoughtful.

These paintings are random, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, sometimes leaning against where. This way, I can see that when I painted. I must have been moved by the image in front of me. Yes, these images are painted in front of the object, it is not an imagination from nothing. ——This is different from other jobs, right?

——All the works are sent with feelings. suddenly I feel wrong to tell this fact. Because some images are also boring when I hold a pen and first draw carelessly. When painting, the picture looks interesting. Painting is indeed a very magical act, we cannot know where the end of the brush is attached.

Contemporary art usually refers to art that has innovated and subverted existing norms in the fields of oil painting, sculpture, and printmaking since China implemented economic reforms in 1979 and opened to the outside world, including photography. Installation.Concept.Performance. Video. Multimedia and other new art forms . The Chinese art circle regards an art exhibition in 1979 as the beginning of Chinese contemporary art history.

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Contemporary 艺术家

Contemporary|Kang Jianfei: reconcile with myself

reconcile with myself

When kang Jian fei was young, kang Jian feiwas looking forward to the New Year. When kang Jian fei grew up, kang Jian fei was really afraid of the New Year. If summarize the reasons for the fear, there will be more. The most core thing think is because of the fear of time. Generally speaking, a pessimist, and there are so many things kang Jian fei can’t figure out. The world in my mind is different. kang Jian fei like wine, and kang Jian Fei like to drink by myself. When kang Jian fei am drunk, kang Jian fei can see the imaginary world more clearly. That is the other me, maybe that is the real me. I’m more and more afraid of drinking with others, afraid that kang Jian fei can’t control my drunk self and hurt others. kang Jian fei always want to gain insight into the secrets of the world, never believe in established rules, and always feel that there is an invisible line connecting the world.

forward to the New Year

When I was young, I was looking forward to the New Year. When I grew up, I was really afraid of the New Year. If I summarize the reasons for the fear, there will be more. The most core thing I think is because of the fear of time. Generally speaking, I am a pessimist, and there are so many things I can’t figure out. The world in my mind is different. I like wine, and I like to drink by myself. When I am drunk, I can see the imaginary world more clearly. That is the other me, maybe that is the real me. I’m more and more afraid of drinking with others, afraid that I can’t control my drunk self and hurt others. always want to gain insight into the secrets of the world, never believe in established rules, and always feel that there is an invisible line connecting the world.

A child

When was a child, there were not many words from teachers who could remember when was in school. One sentence was said by the head teacher. have to break the casserole and ask to the end, so that have adhered to this principle for many years. If you are facing a math problem, it must be right, but it doesn’t seem to be a good way to face life and society. Seeking truth is an attitude, and the method of seeking truth is self-continuous thinking and practice, but don’t touch society with a truth-seeking attitude. It seems too hypocritical. Some problems will not be solved until many years later. Otherwise, let it go, let it go!reconcile with myself.

If life is a stage

If life is a stage, then each of us must become a certain role. When you are watched, you are an actor, and acting is almost your destiny. There is no permanent banquet in the world, and there is no drama that can be performed endlessly. Before time, everything is a temporary. I believe reconcile with myself in determinism and the alternate causality, just like the sun rising east Xiluo is purely natural.

But all people will pursue the meaning of life, especially these sentimental and awkward artists who draw pictures for meaning, put urinals in art museums for meaning, and even peeing is also in pursuit of meaning. Perhaps the most meaningless part for others is the ultimate meaning pursued by the artist. In the face of time, the meaning will be dispelled, will gradually change, and will be reborn into a new meaning. Freud divided me into id, ego, and superego, but whether it is desire, consciousness, or morality, it still revolves around “I”, who am I? Who is me again?

believe in the laws of the world, reconcile with myself,and that the greatest joy in life is inner peace. Therefore, at the end of this year, I choose to reconcile with myself.

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Contemporary 当代 纵观艺术 艺术家

Contemporary | Li Xiaofeng – Porcelain Heart

Li Xiaofeng is a Chinese sculptor and fashion designer, born in 1965 in Hubei. His unique work consists in wearable porcelain clothes.

He graduated at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)’s Mural Department, and began his activity as a muralist. Then he began specializing in sculpture in order to explore new concepts and expressive forms to apply to the Chinese contemporary artistic scene.

Li Xiaofeng
Li Xiaofeng

His sculpture-clothing project is truly original, both for the selected material and the idea of wearable “pieces of armor” that recall Chinese traditional works.

Li Xiaofeng’s creative process

Li Xiaofeng researches and collects fragments of ancient Chinese porcelain recovered from archaeological excavations, dating back to the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties: he models and polishes them and punctures them, then sews them together on a leather undergarment through a silver thread, creating a “porcelain fabric”. His meticulous work is a bridge between past and present and a sharp reflection on the concept of culture. 

porcelain dress 1
These dresses are fully wearable
porcelain dress 2

Li’s Rearranged landscapes

“Chinese culture” is the basic breakthrough point in Li’s works: he feels a sense of mission for its study and he channels it all in what he calls “Post Orientalism”. Landscape was always a major theme in his large number of paintings created in the past but, instead of simply copying like some other contemporary artists, he had always the urge to rearrange it, in a dynamic dialogue with history. 

This extract explains the reason why Li Xiaofeng’s calls his porcelain clothes “rearranged landscapes”:

“Since the time when it was the Mongol Yuan capital Khanbalik to the present day, Beijing has initiated its largest excavation projects of all time and, like a blue snake that has been hibernating for a millennium, the city is now stirring and shedding its old skin. It greedily emerges through the towering buildings, twisting free from the historical sediment of its ancient civilization. Blue-and-white porcelain shards that represent this civilization are unearthed in large quantities at the same time. These blue shards, bathed in the sunny skies of socialism and caressed by the contemporary cool breezes blowing from the west throughout the capital, assume a bewildering array of postures as fashion items entering the new century!

Xi Liaofeng at work
Xi Liaofeng at work

Among his works are women’s dresses, t-shirts and men’s jackets. His first piece in wearable porcelain fragments was “Beijing Memories”, a Mao suit.

MIlitary uniform
MIlitary uniform

Lacoste’s porcelain shirt Li XiaoFeng

In 2010 the world-renowned brand Lacoste commissioned Li Xiaofeng a porcelain polo shirt for men and women for the Holiday Collector series. Unfortunately, a problem occurred: the PRC prohibits the export of ancient artifacts, including old porcelain shards.

Despite that, the artist did not give up and realized the porcelain himself, with the crocodile’s logo attached, and tore it apart only to recompose it into a Polo shirt, one of the most expensive and exclusive items ever sold by Lacoste.

Lacoste's porcelain shirt-sculpture
Lacoste’s porcelain shirt-sculpture

The artist also released a limited edition polo shirt, choosing blue and white fragments depicting the lotus flower and drawings of newborns from the Kangxi period and the Qing dynasty. The lotus flower represents rebirth and purity while newborns represent fertility. In that period the mortality rate among children was high and this type of decoration was in great demand in the hope of being a blessing for children.

“Porcelain shards” polo shirt

Li Xiaofeng’s main expositions

2019Dreaming of Crafts of the Future: Mongyudowon Unfolds, 11th Cheongju Craft Biennale 2019, Culture Factory C, Cheongju
2018Cracked – Porcelain, Red Gate Gallery
 2D vs 3D, Red Gate Gallery
 798, We Are Back, Red Gate Gallery
2017Red Gate on the Move, Red Gate Gallery
 Contemporary Dialogues Between Fashion and Art, Zhu Zhong Art Museum
 The Silk Road and Celestial Clothes, Taimiao Art Museum
 Fusion – The International Exhibition of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing
2016Red Gate: The Next 25 Years, Red Gate Gallery
2015China: Through the Looking Glass，The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA
20145th Tanwan Ceramics Biennale, Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Tanwan
 ST. Start International exhibition of the Chinese Contemporary Ceramic Art, Today Art Museum, Beijing
20137th Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale 2013 Korea, Icheon CeraMIX Creative Center, Korea
2011Ming to Nirvana, Red Gate Gallery
2010Head On, Red Gate Gallery
 Width Contemporary Art Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Beijing
2008Virginia Miller Gallery, Miami
 Asian Contemporary Art Fair, New York
2006Sculpture, Pickled Art Centre
 Consumption Times I, Ha Te Art Centre
2005Diversity and Construction, Beijing
2004X Yard, Beijing
 Beijing International Art Camp
2002CAFA Graduates’ Exhibition

For more informations about Li Xiaofeng’s work: https://www.redgategallery.com/content/li-xiaofeng

or: https://www.artsy.net/artist/li-xiaofeng