Through this exhibition, Galerie Loft presents a visual journey tracing the evolution of China through the theme of the body, enabling artists to address complex issues between modernity and tradition (Liu Zheng, Hong Lei), the traditional and the contemporary (Huang Yan, Han Lei), identity (Hai Bo, Sheng Qi, Ma Liuming, Chen Lingyang), history and globalization (Wang Qingsong, Hong Lei, Hong Hao), virtualization and loss of reference points (He An, Weng Fen, Lin Tianmiao, Wang Gongxin), as well as contamination and pollution—both cultural and physical (Chen Man).
Art In The Skin - Historical Photography Exhibition - ART PARIS ART FAIR 2014
Qiu Zhijie
27/03/2014 - 30/03/2014
At a time when young Chinese artists did not have the means to purchase materials for painting or sculpture, and lacked modern platforms to share their creativity, they chose to express themselves through their own bodies. This generation, symbolized by the Beijing East Village, was marked by an almost visceral need to create without concern for medium or commercial reach.
Exhibition Project by Galerie Loft on the occasion of the Art Paris Art Fair 2014.
At a time when young Chinese artists did not have the means to purchase materials for painting or sculpture, and lacked modern platforms to share their creativity, they chose to express themselves through their own bodies. This generation, symbolized by the Beijing East Village, was marked by an almost visceral need to create without concern for medium or commercial reach.
Through numerous performances, both individual and collective, they expressed their rebellion against the system and asserted their values and identity on the margins of Maoist ideology inherited from previous generations. To preserve a trace of these performances, they simultaneously produced photographs which, over the years, have become not only important testimonies of this transformative period in Chinese society, but also true works of art that have helped redefine contemporary art on the international stage. These are the works—exploring the relationship between artistic discourse and the transgression of norms through the direct use of the body in creation, that Galerie Loft has chosen to highlight as part of the Art Paris Art Fair 2014, which this year honors China
Created between the 1990s and 2010, these historical photographs—such as Tattoo II by Qiu Zhijie or the iconic 12m² by Zhang Huan and Rong Rong—are now true “icons.”
