& rts ACulture Apr 15-19: Xi Shi Caught red-handed? See listing, p81.
ARTS & CULTURE
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80 that’smags the 2005 Beijinger April 2010 Sept. www./ thatsbj.com
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ART – NEW OPENINGS Apr 7-May 23 Maryn Varbanov Newly opened space HT Gallery exhibits sketches and small works by seminal artist Maryn Varbanov (1932-1989). The Bulgarian-born Varbanov was a hugely influential artist both in China and abroad, where he pioneered the sculptural use of thread, fabric and natural materials. Following a major retrospective at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou last year, this show brings a glimpse of his epic imagination to Beijing. HT Gallery (5978 9830) Apr 10-May 6 Morocco at Heart This show, which will be introduced and opened by the Moroccan ambassador to Beijing, presents work by French photographer Christian Jacques, who has explored Morocco in a series of breathtaking journeys. Café Zarah (8403 9807) Apr 11-17 Liao Zhenwu: Monument Liao started work on this massive installation on the day that the 2008 Sichuan earthquake hit. At its center are two giant paintings (5x12 meters), which attempt to sum up some of his experience of horror and loss in the wake of the disaster. After its debut in Bejiing, the work will travel to Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenzhen and the US. Today Art Museum (5862 1100) Apr 17-May 17 3 plus 1 Performance and video artist Xi Jian Jun gets together with three Jiangsu friends, including Zuoxiao Zuzhou, to create this exhibition. Should be one not to miss. Sackler Museum (6275 1667) Apr 17-Jun 3 Caochangdi PhotoSpring A ten-week long not-to-be-missed festival devoted to the power of photography and the artistic community of Caochangdi. See Art Feature, p82. At galleries around Caochangdi. Details at www.ccdphotospring.com.
ART – ONGOING SHOWS Until Apr 8 Tibetans Drink Coke Too “Urban researcher” Hai Yin-Kong photographs Tibet’s “everyday spaces” in an attempt to get past the usual clichés of life on the plateau. Café Zarah (8403 9807) Until Apr 10 Aiting Wang: Aiting Park Bucolic paintings by a young artist unafraid to work with sentimental subjects in her lushly textured canvases. XYZ Gallery (8459 9299) The Secret Language of Women Group show of Chinese and international new media artists inspired by nüshu, a secret script invented by and for women. Yuanfen New Media Art Space (5978 9896) Still Life: Chinese Contemporary Photography Beautiful survey show of Chinese contemporary photography. Artists include Adou, Hong Hao, Hong Lei, Huang Lei, Li Yongbin, Ling Hua, Mo Yi, Qiu, RongRong & Inri, Ruan Xiaorong, Xiong Wenyun and Zhao Liang. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (6432 2663)
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Until Apr 11 Ye Nan: Phosphorous Red & Yuan Yuan: A World of Yesterday and Tomorrow Ye Nan’s paintings depict a world of stone and fire, rendering the world in natural hues, while Yuan Yuan’s paintings follow a path of fantasy and nostalgia. Chambers Fine Art (5127 3298) Spread by MadeIn Xu Zhen’s alter-ego MadeIn (as in Made in China) sends up art, politics, himself and us in this first solo outing in Beijing. ShanghART Beijing (6432 3202) Woody van Amen: Language as a Medium for Art C-Space specializes in introducing the work of significant European artists to the Chinese scene. Here, they present work by Dutch artist Woody van Amen, who first became known as a Pop Artist in the 1960s. C-Space (5127 3248) Zhang Yuan: Unspoiled Brats Zhang is best known as a filmmaker who has anatomized the new China in works like Beijing Bastards. Here, he presents the lives of ten young people, in their own words direct to camera, and in sets of photographs that aim to capture the spirit of their lives. He chose the participants by putting out the call on Twitter for youth “with a restless heart who are not satisfied with reality” and the resulting self-portraits are captivating. UCCA (8459 9269) Until Apr 12 Wang Qingsong: Three Video Projects Wang is most renowned as a photographer, whose large-scale staged images have satirized a rapidly changing New China. Here, he presents three recent video works, including the masterful Skyscraper, which distill that change in mesmerizing sound and vision. Pékin Fine Arts (5127 3220) Until Apr 15 Laura Matei: Solo Show Manuela Lietti curates this solo outing by Matei, a Romanian-born mixed media artist now residing in Italy. Expect jungle scenes constructed from plastic wrap and string. Fun Art Space (8459 9257) Until Apr 16 Linger: Yu Xiao, Liu Xiaofang and Song Shimin This exhibition features the work of three young photographers all concerned with the loss of their childhood. Each has a different perspective on growing up: nostalgic, absurd and in the case of Yu Xiao’s creepy Never Grow Up, outright denial. 798 Photo Gallery (6438 1784) Until Apr 18 Zhou Jun: Control Lost Zhou’s latest meditations on the rapid developing landscape of China, rendered in his trademark black-and-white photographs tinged with red. Zhou has a masterly technique that creates evocative images of great power out of what would seem to be the least promising materials, a nation under construction. Red Gate Gallery (6525 1005) Until Apr 19 Jungle – A Close-Up Focus on Chinese Contemporary Art Trends This riotous group show by Platform China is definitely worth
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ORGANIZER
hen you’ve lived in Beijing a while, you know that spring is extremely short. When it comes, though, it brings warm weather, a fresh feeling, and cultural festivals galore. Following last year’s debut, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) launches its Second NCPA Opera Festival on April 15 (see Feature, p81), while France’s Croisements Festival returns for the fifth time. Elsewhere, the recital series known as Chopin Cycle brings the young Israeli pianist Dorel Golan to the Forbidden City Concert Hall. Spring also brings Affordable Art Beijing at Sanlitun Village. AAB offers us a cornucopia of works, from artists who range from the unknown to the eminent, all at price tags under RMB 10,000. See our Art Feature on p83 and www.affordableartbeijing.com. Meanwhile, Penguin celebrates that city we all love to hate, in Shanghai: A History in Photographs, 1842-Today. Edited by Pulitzer-winning photographer HS Liu and leading curator Karen Smith, it features a fascinating array of old photographs, many ferreted out of international archives, complemented by shots taken specially for the book (see photo, p79). Debate is warming up with the weather. Zhou Guoping, a retired researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, astonished many recently with his comment that the success of pianist Lang Lang “has set a negative example for Chinese parents who force their children to learn skills. It’s like gambling with little possibility of winning.” Zhou may be right, but Lang Lang’s concert with the China Philharmonic Orchestra (Apr 25) will still be sold out. Avatar’s huge success has turned up the pressure on Chinese filmmakers. The premiere of Future X-Cops (starring Andy Lau) was postponed to March 30 so the filmmakers could improve its special effects. Feng Xiaogang, who’s been working on If You Are The One II, claims to be undaunted, telling Sina.com, “Although its box office receipts may not compare with Avatar screening by screening, I believe the film can make a breakthrough by taking 100 million dollars in a year.” Feng’s next film will be Tangshan Earthquake, slated for release in July. Tang Wei from Lust, Caution is changing gears by returning to the screen in a rom-com, Crossing Hennessy (April 20). Hong Kong’s Echoes of the Rainbow, fresh from winning a Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival will premiere here April 16. Finally, BC MOMA is promoting new work by young Chinese filmmakers in special screenings this month. Liu Jie’s Judge examines the death penalty, while Shen Zhiming shows social values varying across the generations in Bliss. Cecily Huang
All event listings are accurate at time of press and subject to change