MARCH 23, 2020

By Ungyu Yeo

Photograph: 10 Chancery Lane Gallery

Wang Keping is an important figure in Chinese contemporary art history and was one of the most provocative artists of the acclaimed “Stars (Xing Xing 星星) Group” and Exhibition of 1979 that carried through to the early 1980s. His works are in the collections of the Musée National d’Art Moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the M+ Uli Sigg Collection, Hong Kong; the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, among others. Wang Keping was awarded by France with Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his artistic contribution.

Prière was made in 2000  by Wang Keping, as a woman bowing in prayer. Made of albizia wood the dark color is attained through a process of charring and burnishing finely.  Known for his sensuous wooden sculptures, Wang works primarily in hard woods from France, where he has lived since 1984. He pays particular attention to the natural elements of the wood itself, incorporating them into his work. With a natural intuition of space and balance, his sculptures reveal the essence of the wood with its grain, knots, curves, or even its flaws. Wang’s works gracefully Inspire subtle emotions. He describes his sculptural process as a collaboration of what the wood has to give him and what he can bring to the wood.

Another work by Wang Keping is called “Maternité (Maternity),”made in 2012, as a mother holding her child. The mother and child is a recurring theme in his works and this particular piece emphasizes tenderness through its sinuous curved lines as if she is rocking her child. Made of maple wood, the dark color is attained through a process of charring and burnishing finely. Known for his sensuous wooden sculptures, Wang works primarily in hard woods from France, where he has lived since 1984. He pays particular attention to the natural elements of the wood itself incorporating them into his work. With a natural intuition of space and balance, his sculptures reveal the essence of the wood with its grain, knots, curves, or even its flaws. Wang’s works gracefully Inspire subtle emotions. He describes his sculptural process as a collaboration of what the wood has to give him and what he can bring to the wood.

Xiao Lu is China’s first documented female performance artist. In 1989 she fired two gunshots to her work, Dialogue, in the National Art Museum of China, China Avant-Garde Exhibition curated by Gao Minglu. Xiao Lu Xiao believes that genuine authenticity in performances can only be achieved without rehearsals and by never repeating them.

Her work, “One”, is a pair of unique performance photographs demonstrating the ancient Tao philosophy of "Yin"(ink) and "Yang" (water). In Taoism, the universe can be seen as "one", an integral composed of "Yin" and “Yang". Another work, “Gunshot" is a unique performance photograph recalling Xiao Lu’s impromptu performance in 1989 at the National Art Museum of China where she fired a handgun at her own installation.

Xiao’s artworks have been exhibited in the Solomon Guggenheim Museum, Art and China after 1989/Theatre of the World, The Tate Modern, and the MoMA, Before and After Tiananmen. Xiao Lu is also featured in the new Phaidon published book “Great Women Artists.”