chen zhen, born in shanghai in 1955 and deceased
in 2000 in paris, is considered the leading representative
of the chinese avant-garde. the show is the first
anthological exhibition on the artist held in italy,
following his tragic and premature death.
the exhibition shows a rich selection of works and
installations from international museums and private
collections, but also a complete section dedicated to
unfinished projects, hitherto unseen -
paintings, drawings, models, photographs, sculptures
and installations created by chen zhen in more than
10 years of work, between 1989 and 2000.
the homage to this extraordinary artist, curated by gerald
matt and ilse lafer, was produced by mart rovereto
in collaboration with the kunsthalle in vienna, where it
was on show from may 25th to september 2nd, 2007.
http://www.kunsthallewien.at
chen zhen
chen zhen’s study of ivory engraving at the shanghai
school of fine and applied arts (1973-76) provided
him with classical training in drawing, painting,
and sculpture. during his undergraduate study in
stage design at shanghai theatre academy (1978-82),
he further developed his sense of three-dimensional
space that proved to be the core of his plastic
explorations in years to come.
after training as an artist in the period of the chinese
cultural revolution, he moved to paris in 1986, and
studied at l'ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts
and at l'institut des hautes etudes en arts plastiques,
subsequently teaching at both.
the essential spirit of his work is encapsulated in the
notion of ‘transexpérience’, and is a fine example of
pluralism in art.
constantly traversing boundaries, chen zhen operated
in an area between eastern and western thought,
privileging synergy rather than clear-cut choice
and rigid classification. his art deals with many issues,
ranging from international politics to the life of the
individual, and in his artistic practice he searched
for a visual synthesis which clearly expressed,
especially from an aesthetic point of view,
the need to be understood in a world with different
perspectives from those that had surrounded him
as he grew up, and the desire to mix chinese culture
with that of the nations he was becoming familiar with.
it was for this reason that chen zhen, who was
initially oriented towards painting, later began to
concentrate on installations.
chen zhen asked questions like ‘are dialogue and
agreement ever possible among nations?’
and ‘if the pursuit of complete understanding
or real communication is not possible among cultures,
how can we put in place a structure that will
prevent conflict and injustice among nations and
cultures?’
he stated ‘you can only arrive at your objective
opinion by understanding the east and being
involved in the west. observe the world by
examining yourself!’
according to chen zhen, despite persisting
‘eternal misunderstandings’, there are people who
want and try to understand the culture, desires
and aspirations of other people.
for those people chen zhen worked and started to
assemble everyday objects like beds, chairs, tables,
chamber pots, cots and mattresses, which he rescued
from oblivion and reconverted, giving them a new life.
however, in contrast with their original function,
the objects were no longer practical for human use.
the spirit shaping these works is rooted in ancient
taoist philosophy – where yin and yang represent two
sides of the same whole -, and he explored the
path of buddhist spirituality without, however,
ignoring the scientific and rational culture of the
western world. his attitude towards migration and
exile, and his far intercultural dialogue, clearly document
the ‘unspeakable’ that translated spirituality and healing
power into the materiality of sculptures.
chen zhen’s work has been previously exhibited
extensively around the world, with shows at the
new museum of contemporary art, new york, 1994;
center for contemporary art, kitakyushu, japan, 1997;
guggenheim museum soho, new york, 1998;
venice art biennale, venice 1999;
ludwig museum, cologne, 1999;
GAM, turin, 2000;
MOCA, zagreb, 2000;
serpentine gallery, london, 2001;
P.S.1 contemporary art center, new york, 2003;
palais de tokyo, paris, 2003;
galleria continua, san giminiano, 2005;
shanghai art museum, shanghai, 2006.
for further information on the artist
see http://www.chenzhen.org
and
galleria continua, san gimignano / beijing
http://www.galleriacontinua.com
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images featured on this page:
‘no way to sky, no door to heaven (homage to duchamp)’
shows a panel made of mesh in which on one side
there is a cover of rags, and on the other side there
is a cover of ashes from burned paper.
this panel can swing between two door-frames
that have no openning.
on one it says ‘no door to earth’ (the rags), and on the
other side it says ‘no way to sky’.
it’s a door to nowhere.
chen zhen's work betrays a sly knowledge and
confidence, and once one can enter through no door
the rest of the works betray their ironic roots.
‘la chose plus importante’
(the most important thing in art is to first show the artist’s
piece of identification)
chen zhen said ‘the most important thing is that the
cultural hybrid is no longer limited only between two
cultures, but among the many cultures and civilisations’.
‘la voix du sommeil’ -
(sleeping tao)
and
‘table de diagnostic’
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