More than Watercolors

More than Watercolors

Born in 1936 in Anhui Province， Yin Baokang graduated from the art department of Northwest Normal University in 1957. Yin has studied and practiced watercolor painting for more than 60 years， during which time he combined foreign methods and experience in watercolors with traditional Chinese painting skills. Yin excels at painting landscapes featuring musical rhythms characterized by the usage of lines and colors. He believes watercolors’ roots remain in the soil of Chinese art， an integral piece of traditional Chinese culture.

Confluence and Transcendence

May 24 – June 3， 2014

National Art Museum of China

Tradition and Innovation

Born in 1960 in Shanghai， Wang Tiande graduated from the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting of Zhejiang College of Fine Arts （today’s China Academy of Art）. While in Paris in 2002， he accidently dropped a cigarette on a piece of xuan paper （traditional Chinese paper for painting and writing）. The burnt effect caught his attention. He improvised and developed it into an innovative artistic expression， adding a new dimension to traditional Chinese painting techniques. Wang continued his “burnt technique” in calligraphy and traditional painting， and in 2012， the form of his work found a new twist： on the edges of his landscape paintings， he added rubbings of historical stone tablets – even from original stone tablets in some cases. This new development in his art was also unintentional at first. Earlier， he collected some stone tablets with characters dating back to Ming （1368-1644） and Qing（1644-1911） dynasties from the Suzhou area. These discoveries inspired him， and he uses them to bridge cultural gaps and link tradition to innovation.

Opening Doors – Exhibition of Works of Wang Tiande

May 5 – May 26， 2014

Today Art Museum

Lee Mingwei in Bloom

Lee Mingwei was born in Taiwan in 1964. Today the artist lives and works in New York. In Lee’s living installation Sonic Blossom， classically trained opera singers confront random museum visitors with a simple question： “May I give you a gift of song？” If they accept， the singer leads the spectator to a chair and serenades them with Schubert. Lee’s work takes the form of participatory installations， where strangers can explore issues of trust， intimacy， and selfawareness on their own， aiming to discuss both the communality and individuality of memory and emotion. Many of Lee’s works reflect emotional and psychological effects of migration and cross-cultural identity – homelessness， isolation， and loss， as well as a wisdom， perspective， and heightened awareness of one’s ties to the world， whether in the form of family， kinship， memory， or kindness.

Lee Mingwei： Sonic Blossom

April 26 – May 18， 2014

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art

Designer Huang Jiancheng

Born in 1961 in Hunan Province， Huang Jiancheng graduated from the Decoration and Design Department of the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts and obtained a Master of Arts degree. He now serves as the Deputy Director of the School of Urban Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His design expresses visual effects based on the display of space. His work is not only about buildings， but also connects with spaces of interior and exterior fields. His design is about narration and visual carriers， which ensures a close relationship with the “thing”， the carrier of the “thing”， and the “field” where things happen. Huang’s latest exhibitions include pictures， models and visual images as well as conceptual works designed by his team. They further the study of modern design in terms of construction of cultural values， definition of designers， and education of artistic design.

Field · Huang Jiancheng Design

May 23 – June 22， 2014

Art Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts

Imperfect Fang Lijun

Born in 1963 in Hebei Province， Fang Lijun graduated from the Department of Printmaking of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He now resides in Beijing. Fang is one important representative of late-20th-Century art trends. He created the image of the “bald hooligan”， which became an iconic symbol of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Fang remains energetic. Even though his fame exploded， it did not prevent him from creating new work. His latest exhibitions are starkly different from his shows in the 90s and early 2000s. One representative work is a ceramic sculpture made in 2013 in Jingdezhen， a Jiangxi city famous for ceramic art. Most ceramics feature smooth surfaces and perfect form， but his sculpture is the exact opposite. He wanted to capture not a moment of perfection， but a process of falling into pieces. According to him， it’s the“feeling of binding a fragmented experience.”

New Body of Work by Mr. Fang Lijun

May 13 – June 6， 2014

Art Public-Cabinet P.H. Geneva， Switzerland