Exhibition Time: 10am-6pm, 11th February - 1st March, 2018
Evening Auction: 7pm, 12th February 2018
Venue: Bloomsbury Gallery London
, 34 Bloomsbury Street， WC1B 3QJ
www.bloomsburygallery.com
By the new year of 2018, hosted by China Arts & Entertainment Group, ‘Initiation- Selected Works by Emerging Chinese Artists and Designers’ exhibition arrives in London with works by outstanding Chinese emerging artists and designers, hoping to offer the British audiences a rich and unique creative perspective, artistic inspiration and cultural experience. This exhibition is co-curated by Ms Sun Feng, Mr Wang Jie and Mr Ji Minghui.
The Chinese New Year, ‘Spring Festival’, embodies praise of the changing of time and the expectation for the newborn. Spring symbolizes the beginning of things, as well as the commencement of vitality and prospects. In art and design, youthful creativity, with its infinite vigour, has always presented a great deal of achievement at its optimum stage.
Mr.Xiang, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, giving a speech
The exhibition contains five sections: ‘Winter Wonderland’, ‘Spring Initiation’, ‘Generational Shift’, ‘Seasonal Pleasures’ and ‘Philosophical Underpinnings’. The scope covers works, such as contemporary installations, photographs, fibre art, porcelain design, jewellery design, furniture design and industrial products, etc. The creators are award-winning graduates and young tutors from leading Chinese art institutes, including Central Academy of Fine Arts, China Academy of Art, Academy of Arts & Design Tsinghua University, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Nanjing Arts Institute, College of Art and Design Tongji University , School of Design of Jiangnan University , Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, etc. The exhibition will briefly sketch the outline of present situation in the art and design discipline in China.
Evening auction
This new generation of Chinese artists and designers has attentively inherited the tradition and, on the other hand, they are lively adapting and activating it. During the process of imitation and transformation, their works are empowered with new touches. At an early stage of their artistic life, they take mastering techniques as a way to deliver exquisite and excellent results. To achieve the unity of material, technique and expression of critical thinking, they experiment with traditional materials and new media. They continue to discuss the purpose of art and design and the interaction with audiences, which inspires our perception of the contemporary world. By exploring the concepts and paradoxes in philosophy, human nature and environment, they continue to generate critical topics. These artists and designers readily shift between forms and contents, materials and derived effects, and images and psychological reflections with appropriate artistic languages, contemplating the power of life and the harmony in nature. Experimental spirit and bold explosion is what we find in their practice. Indubitably, they are representative of the future of creativity. Let us look forward to welcoming a spring full of vitality and creation.
Mr. Xiang and the 3 curators: Sun Feng, Wang Jie and Ji Minghui
The exhibition duration is from 11 to12 February 2018, at the Bloomsbury Gallery London. The works are available for sale, some will be auctioned at 7pm on 12th February 2018. Part of the auction income will be donated to inaugurate “Initiation: Sino-British Emerging Artists and Designers Cooperation Program”.
Exhibition
I. Winter Wonderland
A transcendental dreamy world is formed with the paper festoon sculptures by Li Hongbo, the luminous effect installation by Liu Shuang, the carpet made by ‘Straight-word Weaving’ inspired by the painting of Pan Gongkai, the ‘horse-leg table’ by Chen Xuan and the jewellery by Tai Jingwen. Strong artistic languages unveil the shift between forms and contents, materials and derived effects, and images and psychological reflections. A sound installation full of ceremonial sense by Chen Xi slowly rolls everything into a new cycle of dimension.
II. Spring Initiation
The design works in this group are full of natural elements. There are also photographs and tableware jewellery crystallising the thoughts of life or catering to the harmony of nature. It can be seen that these approaches are mature and creative, embracing distinct experiment and exploration.
III. Generational Shift
The works from this group better define the traditional techniques of making, such as engraving, gilding, enamel glaze, filigree inlaying or embroidery. In addition, the idea of transforming and extending the gardening theory of ‘view-borrowing’ or ‘flower windows’ is infused with refreshing energy. All of these works showcase a reactivated tradition in the process of imitating and transforming.
Read more about HOU Xiaohui
IV. Seasonal Pleasures
Applying a narration from the senses of vision, taste and touch is the main feature of these works. They discuss the function of art and design and its interaction with the audiences, guiding and prompting people’s perception on the contemporary world. The porcelain designed for the G20 summit by Huang Chunmao is a classical case of systematic design of user experience.
V. Philosophical Underpinnings
The artist and designers created works that provide discussion on the concepts or paradoxes in philosophy, human nature and environment-generating critical topics. At an early stage of their artistic life, they take mastering techniques as a way to deliver exquisite and excellent result. To achieve the unity of material, technique and the expression of critical thinking, they experiment with traditional materials and new media.
Images and text: : China Arts & Entertainment Group
