Contemporary Painting from Chongqing
A New Exhibition Of 40 Paintings By Artists From Chongqing, China
September 20 to November 5, 2006
The Macdonald Stewart Art Centre presented the exhibition Contemporary Painting From Chongqing, which opened on Wednesday, September 20. The exhibition of forty paintings was curated by Judith Nasby, Director and curator of the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre. This was the first showing in Canada of work by the twenty participating artists who are faculty and graduates of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, one of the most prestigious art institutions in China: Bai Lei, Cao Jingping, Chen Yu, Feng Bin, Feng Dakang, Gu Xiong, Lin Guocheng, Liu Ping, Li Jie, Liu Chang, Lu Zheng, Luo Dan, Pang Maokun, Peng Jiande, Wang Dajun, Xia Xiaohong, Yang Shu, Zhang Jie, Zhang Zhen, Zhong Biao, Zhou Nan, and Zhu Hai.
Judith Nasby visited the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in
2005 and selected a broad range of works for the exhibition. The bilingual
(English/Chinese), fully-illustrated, 52-page exhibition catalogue was
co-published by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre and the Sichuan Fine Arts
Institute. In the catalogue essay, Nasby notes: “Chongqing, the largest city in
the world, is in the midst of massive economic and cultural change as China
modernizes and adopts a global focus. It is a city of immense contrasts. The
artists in this exhibition address the impact of change on cultural traditions
and heritage, the loss of neighbourhoods and outdoor markets with their
centuries of communal living.”
The city of Chongqing encompasses seven mountains intersected by three major rivers. It is the embarkation point for Westerners taking the Yangtze River cruise to see the gorges and ancient villages before they are forever changed by the Three Gorges power project, which will be the largest dam in the world at its completion in 2009.
Artists Luo Zhongli, Hao Dapeng, Feng Bin and Kuang Yuguang made their first trip to Canada for the official opening on September 20. Vancouver artist Gu Xiong was also be in attendance. Opening Remarks were delivered by Judith Nasby, Director and Curator, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre; Luo Zhongli, President and Professor, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute; and John Kissick, Director, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph.
Opening Reception and Catalogue Launch
Wednesday, September 20 from 7 to 8:30 pm.
To view a movie made at the opening click here.
This video requires a QuickTime Plug-in. To get a free copy (PC or MAC), visit: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Gallery Talk and Walkabout Tour with Judith Nasby
Tuesday, October 3 at noon.
Images:
Top right:
Wang Dajun, Image of Children, 2006 (oil on canvas, detail)
Top lower: Zhu Hai, Cross No. 1,
2004 (oil on canvas)
Mid-text:
Pang Maokun, The Girl Mouthing a Flower, 2005 (oil on canvas)
Centre Logo: Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (logo)