Wang Jiajia - A/S/L

WANG JIAJIA A/S/L

DE SARTHE is pleased to present A/S/L, its second solo exhibition for Beijing-based artist Wang Jiajia featuring a new body of mixed media works on canvas. Utilizing a recurring motif of vivid, large, and beast-like pupils throughout the exhibition, A/S/L contemplates the displacement of one’s vision from the physical body, caused by the contemporary and digital modes of seeing.

德薩畫廊欣然呈獻駐北京藝術家王加加於畫廊的第二次個展「A/S/L」 。 是次展覽將展出一系列全新

布面混合媒介作品， 以生動、 巨大、 如同野獸般的瞳孔作為反覆出現的主題， 思考人類在當代及數 碼的觀看模式的影響下， 視覺從身體的抽離。

An abbreviation of the phrase “Age/Sex/Location,” the question “A/S/L?” was briefly used early 2000s chatrooms and instant messaging platforms. In a time before profile pictures existed, this simple three-letter exchange provided a direct understanding of the person on the other side of the computer, traversing countries via cyberspace, enabling human connection in an unprecedented way.

展覽以「年齡 / 性別 / 地點」一詞的英語縮寫為題，在 2000 年代初的網絡聊天室和即時消息平台中， 陌生人之間的線上對話常以「年齡 / 性別 / 地點？」（A/S/L?）這個問題作為開端。 在個人頭像還未 普及的年代， 這三個簡單的字母為在電腦各端的彼此提供一個直觀的瞭解， 通過網絡空間超越地理 邊界， 以一種前所未有的方式實現了人與人之間的聯繫。

Wang Jiajia Horizon 5 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 70 x 70 cm

Influenced by art history, traditional Chinese painting, retro video games, and Internet culture, Wang Jiajia’s artworks are imbued with a strong personality characterized by vivid colours and gestural abstractions, facilitated by the artist’s impasto technique.

Drawing inspiration from video games, the eyes portrayed within Wang Jiajia’s artworks are reminiscent of the final bosses that stand ready to bring players to their doom. Peering out from thickets of paint with menace and authority, an exchange of gazes occurs as viewers encounter each work. This involuntary confrontation forces an awareness vis-à-vis the intimate spatial relationship between the artwork and the viewer, in which both are placed in relation to the other. Though aesthetically referencing the digital world in all its overwhelming saturation, chaos, fluidity, and conflict, Wang Jiajia’s artworks in A/S/L, via its compulsory interaction with the viewer, anchors its recipient within their physical surroundings.

王加加的作品受到藝術史、 傳統中國畫、 復古電子遊戲和網絡文化的影響， 用具有張力的色彩混 合具象及抽象的元素來展現他自身強大的個人宇宙， 展現其運用厚塗顏料的技法。 他亦從電子遊

戲中汲取靈感， 作品中描繪的眼睛讓人聯想到隨時準備將玩家致命一擊的最終敵人。 那對權威 而又咄咄逼人的眼睛彷彿從渾厚的顏料中向外凝視， 並與正在欣賞作品的觀者對視。 這種不由自

主的對抗迫使人們意識到藝術品與觀者之間的親密關係， 而兩者又在此關係中共生。 王加加在

「A/S/L」中的作品於視覺上呈現了數碼世界裡具飽和、 混亂、 失真和流動性等特質， 卻通過與觀 者的強制互動， 把他們連繫在其物理環境之中。

Wang Jiajia Gravity is Holding Me Back, We Are Oceans Apart 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 140 x 190 cm

Wang Jiajia How Far Out Does the Indigo Go 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 140 x 190 cm

Wang Jiajia Moments in Love 25 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 50 x 50 cm

Wang Jiajia Electro, Big Dreams, and Palazzi 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 140 x 190 cm

Wang Jiajia Flash Flex 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 140 x 140 cm

Wang Jiajia Horizon 7 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 70 x 70 cm

Wang Jiajia Horizon 8 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 70 x 70 cm

Wang Jiajia Purple in the Morning, Blue in the Afternoon, Orange in the Evening, Green at Night 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 140 x 190 cm

Wang Jiajia Summer Sunday Nights 2023 Spray paint, acrylic, resin and digital print on canvas 100 x 100 cm

Wang Jiajia b. 1985 born in Beijing, China

Wang Jiajia was born in 1985 in Beijing, China, where he currently lives and works.

He attended Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, graduating with a BA Honours degree in 2008. Born to a generation eclipsed by the popularisation of television, advent of the Internet, and ubiquity of pop culture, motifs extracted from video games, cartoons, song lyrics, movies, sports, and memes have all been subject to his work.

Wang Jiajia’s recent solo exhibitions include, A Tree Cannot Pick Up Its Root, TANK Shanghai, China (2022); The Sun Is in My Eyes, Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, Rizhao, Shandong, China (2021); Elegant, Circular, Timeless, SPURS Gallery, Beijing, China (2020); FOMO: Fear of missing out, Tao Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan (2020); Pop the Champagne, Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing, China (2018); and Alternate Realities, DE SARTHE, Beijing, China (2016). His recent group exhibitions include, Apostolic Succession, SPURS Gallery, Beijing, China (2021); CLEAN, SPURS Gallery, Beijing, China (2020); and One if by Land, Powerlong Art Center, Xiamen, China (2019).

王加加

1985年出生於中國北京

王加加 1985 年出生於中國北京， 現工作生活於北京。 2008 年獲得英國倫敦聖馬丁設計學院榮譽學士

學位。 他出生在電視普及、互聯網崛起及流行文化無孔不入的時代，從電子遊戲、卡通片、歌詞、電影、 體育和表情包中提取的元素均成為他的作品主題。

王加加的近期個展包括：《扶搖直上》 ， 油罐藝術中心項目空間， 上海， 中國（2022）：《日照》 ， 瀟當

代美術館， 日照， 山東， 中國（2021）；《鋥光瓦亮》 ， SPURS Gallery， 北京， 中國（2020）；《Fear of missing out》 ， Tao Art Space， 台北（2020） ； 《帶你飛》 ， 博而勵畫廊， 北京， 中國（2018） ；及《平

行現實》 ，徳薩項目空間，北京，中國（2016） 。 他的近期群展包括： 《使徒統緒》 ，SPURS Gallery，北京， 中國（2021）； 《CLEAN》 ， SPURS Gallery， 北京， 中國（2020） ；及《以夢為陸》 ， 寶龍藝術中心， 廈門，

中國（2019） 。

Artist CV Wang Jiajia b. 1985 in Beijing, China 2008 B.F.A. (Hons) Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London, UK Solo Exhibitions 2023 A/S/L, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China 2022 A Tree Cannot Pick Up Its Root, TANK Shanghai, Project Space, Shanghai, China 2021 The Sun Is in My Eyes, Tao Art Space, Taipei, China 2020 Elegant, Circular, Timeless, SPURS Gallery Fear of missing out, Tao Art Space, Taipei, China 2018 Pop the Champagne, Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing, China 2016 Alternate Realities, DE SARTHE, Beijing, China 2015 It’s an Adventure, Lanng Art Center, Beijing, China 2014 Present Tense, Hai Gallery, London, UK 2013 Science Fiction, C5 Gallery, Beijing, China The Artist and the Spells, Red Zone Arts, Geneva, Switzerland 2012 Thinking About You, J Space, Beijing, China 2011 Home 2, E Cube Contemporary, Hangzhou, China 2009 Home, XYZ Gallery, Beijing, China 2008 Home, Home Again, Alexandre Pollazzon Ltd., London, UK Group Exhibitions 2023 Art Basel Hong Kong (Lin Jingjing, Mak2, Wang Jiajia, Wang Xin, Zhong Wei), DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China 2021 Apostolic Succession, SPURS Gallery, Beijing, China 2020 CLEAN, SPURS Gallery, Beijing, China

2019 2017 2015 2013 2009

2008

One If By Land, Xiamen Powerlong Art Center, Xiamen, China Closer to the beautiful world, Klein Sun Gallery, New York, United States The Spaces We Know, Octavia Gallery, Houston, USA Empty Vanity Group Show – CYAP Theme Exhibition, Galaxy SOHO, Beijing, China Zhong Gallery Opening, Beijing, China Adventure Beyond the Edge of Time, Eleven Howland, London, UK Art Quest, Beijing, China Artheke Launch Show, Hong Kong Catlin Prize The Village Underground, London, UK Room for My Art, Art Standing, Miami, USA Martian Hearts, Contemporary Art Projects, London, UK Dialegs Pictorics, Galeria Manuel Alzuerta, Barcelona, Spain Robert Dowling, Tim Ellis, Nick Goss, Michael Pybus, Jiajia Wang, Alexandre Pollazzon Ltd, London, UK Drawn In, 00130 Gallery, Helsinki, Finland

Wang Jiajia A/S/L

18 March – 29 April 2023 Hong Kong

de sarthe 26/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong www.desarthe.com Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am–7pm Tel: +852 2167 8896 Fax: +852 2167 8893 E-mail: hongkong@desarthe.com Texts: Wang Jiajia and Allison Cheung Photographs: Hamish Chan

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de sarthe 26/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong E-mail: hongkong@desarthe.com Tel: 2167 8896 www.desarthe.com