Zhan Wang
dal 16/6/2006 al 9/9/2006
Segnalato da
16/6/2006
Zhan Wang
Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown
This provocative and stimulating installation features a miniaturized mountain city aglow in a surreal aura of light. Wang seeks to question the relationship between modern cities in China, the continuing project of Westernized urbanization and, hence, the subsequent demolition of Chinese tradition.
Urban Landscape
Williamstown, MA the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) proudly
presents Bejing-based sculptor Zhan Wang¹s Urban Landscape. Expect the
unexpected with this on-site installation. The extravagantly-detailed
miniaturized city is constructed using stainless steel pots, pans, forks,
serving platters, tea pots, and other ordinary household utensils. Zhan
Wang: Urban Landscape will be on view at WCMA beginning June 17, 2006.
WCMA¹s Summer Party on July 15 at 5:00 pm will highlight this exhibition and
three others currently on view. All are invited to attend.
In Urban Landscape, Zhan Wang takes everyday objects and assembles them in a
way that de-familiarizes them, creating an effect that stuns the senses. The
fabricated metropolis is flanked by Wang¹s famous stainless steel rock
sculptures and illuminated from above, evoking a surreal, mesmerizing glow.
Although the effects are dazzling, the statement is somber. Disenchanted
with the relentless urban demolition of China¹s cities, Wang seeks to
conjure the memories of what has been destroyed in China and what these
cities perhaps still stand to lose.
Artist Statement:
As someone who has lived all his life in Beijing, I have seen this regime
demolishing non-stop. They don¹t let you choose a place and make it special
and meaningful; sooner or later, they will take it down. By trying to reach
a level of western-oriented modernization, we are destroying the continuity
of our own tradition.
- Zhan Wang
Zhan Wang attended Beijing Industrial Arts College from 19781981 and also
the Central Academy of Fine Arts from 19831988. He currently works as a
Professor of Sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing while
also creating and exhibiting new works. He is perhaps most famous for his
stainless steel rock sculptures and his pieces are represented in art
collections all over the world. Zhan Wang has participated in numerous
exhibitions, the most recent of which were Transience: Chinese Experimental
Art at the End of the Twentieth Century at the Smart Museum of Art,
University of Chicago (1999) and Universal Experience: Art, Life and the
Tourist¹s Eye at the MCA in Chicago (2005).
Related Events:
A gallery talk on this exhibition, given by WCMA¹s director, Lisa Corrin, is
scheduled for June 27 at 2:00 pm. WCMA¹s Summer Party will be held on July
15 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at the museum. The party will celebrate the museum¹s
summer exhibitions, including: Jackson Pollock at Williams College: A
Tribute to Kirk Varnedoe ¹67; Jacqueline Humphries: Seven Sisters; Zhan
Wang: Urban Landscape; Mergers and Acquisitions, and Rhoda Holmes Nicholls.
These events are free and open to the public.
Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive - Williamstown
Opening hours: Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.