4/4/2008
Private View
offiCina, Beijing
Liang Yue, Debora Vrizzi , Wang Jianwei, Xing Danwen, Yang Yong, Zhuang Hui. A group exhibition showcasing a fascinating selection of photography and video works by five Chinese and one Italian artists.
Artists: Liang Yue, Debora Vrizzi , Wang Jianwei, Xing Danwen, Yang Yong, Zhuang Hui
Following Paolo Gioli’s solo show, offiCina curates a group exhibition showcasing a fascinating selection of photography and video works by five Chinese and one Italian artists.
The word ‘Private View’ refers to an exhibition opening for a small group of people, a special visual inspection of a piece of art. It also alludes to a specific field of vision and to personal opinion or attitude, thought or observation. Playing on the double meaning of the expression ‘Private View’, this exhibition explores, on the one hand, the relationship between inner and outer space, private and public, individual and group. On the other hand, it wishes to call attention to public participation to art exhibitions in Beijing in recent years. Whereas contemporary art has gained growing audiences, more and more shows are now set up almost exclusively for commercial reasons. Opening receptions are attended for their networking potential and seen as fashionable, mundane occasions. Within this crowded context, events that allow individuals to approach more ‘privately’ a work of art, set up a pause for thought and create some space for reflection are much rarer than at the time contemporary art existed in this country only in the underground.
Presenting one rarely seen work by Xing Danwen and other artworks by prominent Chinese artists dating from the mid-1990s’, as well as a very recent video work by a talented young Italian video-maker (this one is accompanied by an essay by art critic Bruno Di Marino), the show juxtaposes diverse and very personal modes of representing a shared content.
offiCina
2 Jiuxianqiao Road, Factory 798, Chaoyang District - Beijing