For Immediate Release
Figurative Painting From China
February 1st – March 27th 2010
Chinese New Year Celebration: Sat., Feb. 13th 2010, 3pm- 6pm
Artists: Xue Ji Ye, Li Wen Feng, Liu Li Ning, Sun Guang Hua, Liu Zai Jun, Liu Fen Hua, Li Da Peng, Liu Hui
Sandra Lee Gallery is pleased to announce Figurative Painting From China a group exhibition featuring painting and sculpture by 8 emerging and established contemporary artists from Beijing curated by Sandra Lee Gallery. A reception honoring the Chinese New Year will be held on Saturday, February 13th from 3pm – 6pm in conjunction with the Shanghai Celebration.
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Exhibition Summary
In honor of the Chinese New Year, Sandra Lee Gallery has invited 8 artists primarily from Beijing and nearby provinces to debut their work in San Francisco. Artists selected to participate in this exhibition represent contemporary trends in Chinese art in an era of unprecedented social, economic, and political transformation. What distinguishes this exhibition is its focus on figurative realism as personal expression. Director/ Curator, Sandra Lee carefully selected work emblematic of a deeper more humanistic approach to art, mostly absent before 1989 due to government interference. Beyond politics this exhibition highlights the artists’ individual and psychological perspective while still honoring their Chinese heritage. Sandra Lee Gallery examines the cross-pollination of art practice in China as it becomes increasingly engaged with the West.
Beijing and the Central Academy of Fine Art
Beijing, China’s capital, is the home of Cynical Realism and Political Pop, the most recent paradigms to sweep through art historical circles both in the East and in the West. The majority of artists represented in this exhibition graduated from Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts – the only arts university in China directly under the Ministry of Education. CAFA is widely considered to be the locus of fine arts education in China and was named by Chairman Mao. It has also been deemed China’s preeminent arts academy and a breeding ground for China’s top contemporary artists including Fang Lijun and Zhang Huan. Art collectors and curators from all over the world frequently visit CAFA while the artists are still students hoping to discover the “next big thing”.
Cynical Realism and Political Pop
Cynical Realism and Political Pop are the most widely recognized movements in Chinese contemporary art practice, both born in the early 1990’s when China became increasingly more open to the global market place and the West. Lui Hui, Xue Ji Ye, and Lue Zai Jun could be considered Cynical Realists. Their seemingly disinterested approach to socio-political themes in favor of personal expression, some art historian argue, is symptomatic of the art policy during the Cultural Revolution and post Tianamen square disillusionment. Political Pop, also a response to the Cultural Revolution, describes the confrontation between China’s political system and its economic policy. The seeming disharmony between China’s Communist policy commiserating with western capitalism, evident in the works of Li Da Peng, Liu Li Ning, and Sun Guang Ha, is described in clashes of iconography and the juxtaposition of the East and West. Moa embraces Minnie Mouse, a propaganda poster is subverted by a cellular phone call, and the “Golden Pig” has come to symbolize the jet setting artist.
However, the largest development in Chinese contemporary art is the artist’s individual perspective. Sandra Lee Gallery aims to showcase this diversity and subjectivity accordingly.
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To receive additional information and images, or to arrange an interview with Sandra Lee Gallery and preview the exhibition please contact the gallery at: art@sandraleegallery.com or call (415) 291 – 8000. Sandra Lee Gallery specializes in contemporary painting, sculpture, and works on paper with an emphasis on American and Asian artworks.