"Trio - Fang Lijun and His Students" opens at XIN ART SPACE on 26 August 2023

Gallery Dynamic

2023.08.18

EXHIBITION TITLE Trio - Fang Lijun and His Students ARTIST Fang Lijun Gong Jiandong Zhang Lin CURATOR Yu Ke OPENING 2023.08.26 DURATION 2023.08.27 - 10.08 VENUE XIN ART SPACE 2F, Zhongyi Building, 270 East Beijing Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai ABOUT THE EXHIBITION Artist Fang Lijun (b. 1963, China) is invited to participate in the group exhibition *Trio - Fang Lijun and His Students* at Xin Art Space. The exhibition Trio - Fang Lijun and His Students focuses on the artist Fang Lijun and his students Gong Jiandong and Zhang Lin, presenting three generations of artists with a mentorship relationship, each rooted in their respective eras. They approach the concept of image creation in painting from different perspectives. Curator Yu Ke writes, "Fang Lijun's students have not merely inherited their teacher's artistic 'attitude (style, skill and perspectives)'; instead, they rebelliously establish their own creative methods. They employ a more lifelike perspective to analyze urban life and community spaces today, responding to their own era's context and sense of existence. This perhaps encapsulates the younger generation's distinct approach to creation. Together with Fang Lijun, they resemble a triple variation under a common theme, composing the symphony of art through a rhythm of diversity. The exhibition attempts to showcase distinct painting concepts of two generations within a defined space. There are marked differences and even contradictions between them. However, these differences and contradictions precisely arise from the unique aspects of generational creation and development. They are reflections and expressions of their experiences in their respective times and societies, thus giving rise to diverse trends of value recognition. This also underscores the essence of contemporary artists seeking a relationship between their personal experiences and cultural creation. It forms the foundation of how artistic creation interacts with contemporary culture within a mixed, blended, and multi-layered social structure. Within the confined space of 'X-IN (Xin Art Space),' employing Fang Lijun and his students' 'Triad' as the exhibition's content aims to align our habitual understanding of education and creation through the lens of inheriting differences. By retracing the imprints of China's contemporary art development, the exhibition seeks a clearer path." ARTISTS Fang Lijun was born in 1963, Handan, Hebei. He graduated from the Printmaking Department of China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1993. on July 1st of the same year, Fang Lijun moved to Yunamingyuan, the Old Summer Palace, and later the Yunamingyuan Artists' Village was gradually formed. In 1993, Fang Lijun established his studio in Songzhuang. The Songzhuang Artists' Village has steadily developed for the last two decades. In 2014, Fang Lijun established the Archive of Chinese Contemporary Art. Fang Lijun has held exhibitions in major art institutions and galleries, including Ludwig Museum Koblenz, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Japan Foundation, Ariana Museum in Geneva, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Turin, Macaw Museum of Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Shanghai Art Museum, Hunan Museum, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum and the etc. His participation includes the Venice Biennale, Sǎo Paulo Biennial, Kwangju Art Biennial, and Shanghai Biennial. His works are collected by The Museum of Modern Art (USA), Seattle Art Museum(USA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (USA), Centre de G. Pompidou (France), Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst (Germany), Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam(Holland), The National Gallery of Australia (Australia), Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Japan), Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo(Japan), Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art(Japan), National Art Museum of China(China), Shanghai Art Museum (China), Guangdong Art Museum (China), He Xiangning Art Museum (China), Hunan Museum（China）, CAFA Art Museum(China). He is one of the Chinese contemporary artists with the most extensive collection by major art institutions worldwide. He has published 56 personal catalogues and related publications, including Fang Lijun: Chronicles, Fang Lijun: Criticism, Fang Lijun: Works of Art,FANG LIJUN, Fang Lijun：The Precipice Over the Clouds, Fang Lijun: Espaces Interdits Forbidden Areas, Fang Lijun：Woodcuts, Live Like A Wild Dog, Etc. Fang Lijun has been invited as a visiting professor and graduate supervisor in 23 universities, including Central Academy of Fine Arts, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Xi 'an Academy of Fine Arts, etc. In 1993, his painting "Series 2, No. 2" appeared on the cover of the New York Times Magazine.	Exhibition Poster
	Fang Lijun, 2016 Woodcut Print｜244×366cm｜2016
	Fang Lijun, 2021.1.5-2023.4.7 Ink and color on paper｜90.5×60.5cm｜2023
	Fang Lijun

Artists

Fang Lijun

Fang Lijun (b. 1963, Handan, Hebei) graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Printmaking Department in 1989. In July of the same year, he resided in the Yuanmingyuan area, becoming a key advocate of the "Yuanmingyuan Artists' Village." In 1993, he established the Songzhuang studio, contributing to the formation of the "Songzhuang Artists' Village." In 2014, he founded the "Archive of Contemporary Art of China," systematically organizing the development of Chinese contemporary art. Since 2004, Fang Lijun has been appointed as a guest professor and graduate mentor at more than twenty institutions, including the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, Wuhan University, and Hubei Academy of Fine Arts.

Fang Lijun’s solo exhibitions have been held in major art institutions worldwide, including the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, Ludwig Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Japan Foundation, Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Musée Ariana, et cetera. Domestic retrospectives have been mounted at the Shanghai Art Museum, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Macau Museum of Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Hunan Provincial Museum, United Art Museum, Minsheng Art Museum, and He Art Museum, among other significant venues. Additionally, he has been consistently invited by mainstream international exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, São Paulo Art Biennial, and Shanghai Biennale.

Fang's works are permanently collected by international museums, in particular the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Queensland Art Gallery, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. Within China, his works are held by the National Art Museum of China, Contemporary Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum, He Xiangning Art Museum, and Guangdong Museum of Art.

Furthermore, through his artistic career, Fang Lijun has published over 50 monographs, including Fang Lijun: Chronological Notes, Fang Lijun: Works Catalogue, Fang Lijun: Cliff in the Clouds, Fang Lijun: Forbidden Zone, Fang Lijun Prints, and Surviving Like a Stray Dog. In 1993, his work Series Two No. 2 appeared on the cover of The New York Times.

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