Current Gallery Exhibition:

SAVE AS: Contemporary Chinese Art
Born of Ancient Traditions
 
ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries in downtown Coral Gables continues its 35-year tradition of introducing important artists and art movements to this area with “SAVE AS: Contemporary Chinese Art Born of Ancient Traditions,” the first major exhibition of paintings in this country by Cao Xiaodong, opening from 7-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7th.

Although his computerized screen-pattern technique and compositions clearly categorize Xiaodong as a

contemporary artist, his style is compared by Chinese critics to that of their ancient ink and watercolor landscapes because of his use of traditional tones and his paintings’ nostalgic sense of preserving the past.

Well known in China for his 500-portrait mural of Chinese who were famous from 1911 to 1949, Xiaodong’s favorite subject matter is to contrast Western cultural icons with their Chinese counterparts, such as Playboy Bunnies with young women wearing Mao-era uniforms, or Marilyn Monroe with Mao Zedong, both in bathing suits.

As an example of that theme, in one painting a runner bearing a 1936 Berlin Olympics torch is paired with another carrying the torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In the latter painting both torches clearly symbolize democracy and each torch carries its own irony: Berlin, just as the Nazis began their ascendancy, and Beijing, capital of a nation ruled by a single party.

Several of Xiaodong’s paintings compare photos taken during the Tiananmen Square protests with such other mass protests as the May 1968 protests in France, considered a watershed event in that nation’s political evolution. The monumental “goddess of democracy” carved by students during the Tiananmen protests is flanked by the “goddess of democracy” monument in Washington, D.C., dedicated to victims of communism.

One of the most dramatic paintings in this exhibition depicts Chairman Mao Zedong, a favorite subject of many Chinese artists, with his face separated into 16 sections, each showing him at a different period during his tenure of office, possibly suggesting his revised attitudes during the accelerated changes taking place throughout China during that time.

After being introduced by the gallery at the Bridge Art Fair in Wynwood, two full-length dresses and a man’s jacket, shirt and necktie made of broken pieces of ancient Chinese porcelain by Li Xiaofeng, a 43-year-old Beijing artist, will be added to the exhibition in Coral Gables. Being exhibited outside China for the first time, the sculptural “garments” consist of shards of Ming, Qing, Yuan and Song dynasty porcelain that the artist has fitted together so perfectly the finished dresses and jacket appear to have been designed for their materials. Mounted onto a leather undergarment, the works open on the sides or back, just like an actual dress or jacket, and can be modeled as if they were of fabric.

Greater Miami’s longest-established contemporary fine art gallery, ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries has been exhibiting outstanding artists since 1974. For more information, call 305-444-4493.

















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