Jing Kewen
dal 19/11/2008 al 3/12/2008
Segnalato da
19/11/2008
Jing Kewen
Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
The Confucius Code. Included in this exhibition is a selection of oil paintings done by the Chinese artist, whose creative vocabulary often derives from old photographs, magazine illustrations and private photograph albums that he has found or exchanged at flea markets.
Anna Ning Fine Art is proud to present the first exhibition in Hong Kong of
paintings by the Chinese artist Jing Kewen.
History and memory are like prisms. They do not give us a panoramic view of the real
world. Rather, they allow the richness and polymorphism of experiences in the past
to be reflected when viewed from different angles. Memory does not become art until
it is translated into a proper artistic language. This process, however, requires
considerable effort on the part of the artist. His personal effort is in fact one of
reconstructing cultural memory.
Included in this exhibition is a selection of oil paintings done by the Chinese
artist Jing Kewen (b. 1965) between 1990 and 2008. Jing's artistic vocabulary often
derives from old photographs, magazine illustrations and private photograph albums
that he has found or exchanged at flea markets. In transforming memory to art, he
depicts from an individual viewpoint the stylistic representation of cultural
memories – the glories and dreams of "Red China" as preserved in his memory and
imagination.
His paintings are often depictions of simple, plain buildings, breezy and sunny
weather, beautiful sunshine on grass, magnolia blossoms swaying in the wind, young
men and women with glamorous faces, beams of sunlight highlighting their figures and
clothes. In Jing's art, history and memory are presented as being pure, bright and
poetical as they were once imagined. The artist is not trying to purify his
memories; rather, he bearing witness to the collective memories of his generation.
"The best time" may only exist in "their" time, and the stories might only be
sensational and soul-stirring in the past. Even cruel and painful moments would be
"blossoming ones" when looked back at over a long period of time. Jing's paintings
are not just representations of social change since the old days, but also
visualizations of the vicissitudes of life. The artist's concern with the lives of
individuals against the background of reality may evoke in the viewer a sense of
nostalgia, melancholy and even expectation.
Hong Kong Arts Centre
2 Harbour Road - Hong Kong