Category: Art
One inch photo by Liu Guangguang. Oil on canvas, 2009, 2010
“What is it like to grow up in China today – to come of age at the same time as your country steps forward as a major world superpower? Being a young adult in China now means being exposed to choices and lifestyles that your parents never dreamt of. It means being influenced by Western culture – and by Western values. It also means that you, and all your friends, are the product of the one child policy: a generation of only children, facing a world of change and uncertainty.”
China is changing rapidly and as a consequence loads of exciting new artists are coming to the attention of the West. This new exhibition at the Sesame Gallery takes a look at the work of two young artists of the post-80s generation: Chen Hongzhu and Liu Guanguang.
Someone's Perfect Weather by Chen Hongzhu. Oil on canvas, 2010
Chen Hongzhu comes from a new generation of confident Chinese women who are not afraid to explore previously hidden territories. Her fragile women suggest trauma behind the perfection and owe much in style to the artwork of Mark Ryden and John Currin.
Liu Guanguang depicts the uncertainties and confused identities of his generation in bleak figures wearing animal costumes, staring starkly out of bare interiors at the multitude of new choices offered by a new consumerist society.
This should be an unmissable exhibition from some of China's rising stars. Make sure you visit NEW BEIJING: Young Painting from China in October. Make sure you check the website for opening hours.