ARTS & CULTURE ART P42 ART P48 IN PRINT P52 CINEMA P56 STAGE that’smags www.thebeijinger.com Novemberwww. 200 thatsbj.com8 / the Beijinger Sept. 200541 Hovering Child by American artist Fran Forman. See Preview, p46; photo courtesy of Common Ground All event listings are accurate at time of press and subject to change For venue details, see directories, p43 Send events to [email protected] by Nov 10 Nov 8-30 its over 150 art pieces of contem- porary art around the world from Wang Jie the 1960s to the present day. The By eliminating human figures in curatorial approach of the show is rt his paintings, Wang Jie’s emphasis basically chronological, showing is on clothes – our “second skin.” the historical development of the New Age Gallery (5978 9282) world of contemporary art that A Nov 8-Dec 21 parallels the trajectory of the Swiss Chinese Contemporary Art Awards bank’s tastes throughout the dec- ades. Expect big names including ART 2008 Founded in 1997 by Uli Siggs, CCAA Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Lucien has awarded Liu Wei this year as Freud, Jasper Johns, as well as its pick for “Best Artist” and Tseng emerging Chinese artists including Yu-chin as “Best Young Artist” (see Cao Fei, Qiu Anxiong and Xu Zhen. Feature, p44). Ai Weiwei has also National Art Museum of China been given a lifetime achievement (6401 2252/7076) award. The works of these three Until Nov 12 artists will be exhibited at the larg- Coats! est art space in 798. Ullens Center Until Jan 10: Edward Burtynsky’s China Beijing is the third stop – after for Contemporary Art (6438 6576) Berlin and Tokyo – for this exhibi- A fresh take on manufacturing art. See listing, p43. Yang Xinguang: Consumed by Form tion by Italian brand Max Mara. Hunan-born young sculptor Yang As the title of the show suggests, ast month’s Sotheby’s fall auction of Chinese contemporary Xinguang explores the meaning of you’ll see designs of coats from form itself by using wood, earth throughout the history of the art in Hong Kong ended with rather poor sales, prompting and stones in his pieces. Boers-Li brand (founded by Achille Mara- questions about whether the Chinese contemporary art market Gallery (6432 2620) motti in 1951). The show highlights L Nov 8-Dec 24 the designers behind the designs was entering a recession and grumbling over a perceived Chinese art – including Emmanuelle Kahn, Chen Wenbo: Asian Rays Anne Marie Beretta, Nanni Strada “bubble.” Such pessimism had previously been dismissed as crying The Chongqing native’s solo show and Karl Lagerfeld. National Art consists of 23 new paintings featur- Museum of China (6401 2252/7076) wolf, but recent events have people pondering the very distinct pos- ing his signature photorealist style. sibility that all is not well in the Chinese art scene. Observers have See photo, p43. PKM Gallery (8456 Until Nov 13 said the downturn in Chinese art sales is a direct result of the recent 7429) Group Show: Undefined Error Nov 9-19 An exhibition of the works of six worldwide financial meltdown, which has sent shockwaves through new media artist: Jin Jiangbo, Common Ground WAZA, Wan Xin, Robinson, Xu Zhe the international art market. This would make perfect sense, of course, The environmentally themed dig- and Hannah Kay in this new media were it not for the fact that in another Sotheby’s auction last month, ital media show pulls artists from art gallery. Yuan Fen New Media around the world together to pull Art Space (5978 9896) 223 pieces by YBA Damien Hirst were auctioned at prices higher for the world, giving an artistic face to the green movement. See Manolo Valdés than anticipated (the final tally was a mind-blowing 111.5 million Reviews, p46. Huan Tie Times Art In collaboration with Malborough Museum (6435 0952) Gallery New York, NAMOC brings pounds, or USD 199 million) – and this was even after the markets the Spanish artist’s important began to dive. What this says about the status of Chinese art in these Nov 11-30 paintings, sculptures, drawings and GABO prints to Beijing. The 1942-born shaky, post-Olympic times is anyone’s guess. This photo exhibition documents artist reconstructs human figures Meanwhile, the richest man in France, Bernard Arnault, LVMH's parts of seminal Latin American with influences from Rubens, writer Gabriel Marcía Márquez’s Matisse and Ribera. National Art chief executive officer, is planning a USD 140 million art foundation life. Visual records allow observers Museum of China (6401 2252/7076) in Paris, according to Bloomberg, and the largest auction house in to trace the literary processes of Until Nov 15 the 1982 Nobel Prize winner. Korea, Seoul Auction, has landed in Hong Kong, the world’s third Instituto Cervantes (5879 9666) Yan Cong: Peppermint Just like the peppermint flavor in largest art market. Both developments offer reassurance, perhaps, that Nov 13-Dec 30 the candy canes, Yan Cong (which the international art market may have life in it yet, though it is clear Wang Qingsong literally translates as “Chimney”) Wang presents new installations, makes cartoon-like paintings filled that the large corporations that often patronize the art market will photos and video works of poign- with crisp and vivid colors. Taikang need to readjust their expenditures in response to the current crisis. ant cultural jokes. See photo, p43. Top Space, 798 Hall (6438 8443) Marella Gallery (6433 4055) Ni Haifeng: Para-Production As for the Chinese art scene, this too begs the question as to whether All Month Curated by researcher/curator certain larger-than-life Chinese artists will still be able to rake in the Pauline Yao, who won the 2008 Xu Zhen: Impossible is Nothing CCAA (Chinese Contemporary Art astronomical amounts of cash they’ve seen in recent years for their The organizers have been tight- Awards) prize for Independent lipped about the contents of this works. For them, perhaps, the glory days are over. criticism, the show explores the exhibit, which takes its title from relationship between the produc- The new Saatchi Gallery has re-opened in the 70,000 sq ft Duke the Adidas slogan. Nonetheless, tion of goods and cultures. See expect interesting works by Xu Reviews, p46. Joy Art (5978 9788). of York Headquarters building in London’s Chelsea District with Zhen, the founder of the director an inaugural show “The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art,” of Biz art (Shanghai), famous for Until Nov 15 his piece 8848-1.86, in which he Library featuring the work of 30 Chinese artists, including Fang Lijun, displayed a series of videos and The pensive space of the library has photos claiming that he actually Wang Guangyi and Yue Minjun. Unfortunately for the organizers, been a muse for many philoso- cut 1.86m (the height of the artist) phers, artists and writers through- the show was criticized for the perceived low quality of the art and off the top of the Mount out the ages. Hong Hao, Song Qomolangma (Everest). Long Dong, Leng Lin, Liu Jianhua and relative obscurity of some of the participating artists. This may not March Space (6438 7107) Xiao Yu show works inspired by be a bad thing – after all, there’s only so much we can take of kitschy Until Nov 2 the concept of the library. Beijing Commune (8456 2862) cynical realism and paintings that have already been displayed thou- Tibetan Contemporary Until Nov 16 sands of times. For people who think Tibetan art begins and ends with thanka paint- Huang Rui: Chinese History in Animal People have been buzzing about Shanghai-based artist Zhang ings, the works of various media Time in this show, which include digital The DIAF founder’s show exhibits Huan’s opera, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of G.F. photography, rock pigments and recycled bricks covered with carv- Handel’s death and is expected to premiere some time late next year oil paintings, will bring a new per- ings of Chinese astrological animals spective on Himalayan art. Featur- that were collected in the ruins of and will be shown at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. How Zhang, ing works by Gade, Nortse, Tsering hutong demolitions. Beijing Angle Nyandak and Tsewang Tashi. 798 Modern Art (6561 8327) who is known for performance art pieces, including one in which Red Gate Gallery (6438 1005) Ouka Leele: Between Two Worlds he walked the streets of New York with raw meat hung all over his Until Nov 4 Spanish female photographer body, will connect his aesthetic sense with the German-born Baroque Moving Horizons: UBS Art Collection Ouka Leele draws comparisons to American female photographer Curated by London-based curator composer remains to be seen. Venus Lau Joanne Bernstein, the show exhib- Cindy Sherman. Born in 1957, she started out as a painter, and her that’smags 42Stheept. 2005Beijinger www. / thatsbj.comNovember 200 8 www.thebeijinger.com photographic works straddle the She’s not quite as famous as Nam line between reality and dreams June Paik, but keep an eye on (or nightmares). Iberia Center for this other Korean contemporary Contemporary Art (6437 0593) multimedia artist. The theme of Until Nov 16 laundry in this exhibition resonates with Kim’s earlier works, which use Zhou Jirong: Fantastic City an extensive range of materials The 1962-born artist’s latest works ranging from fabric to video to have a recurring theme of sunset kendo masks. Galleria Continua in Beijing. Zhou depicts his urban (6436 1005) landscapes in a haziness that veils the images with uncertainty. The Until Dec 31 works materialize the painter’s Zhu Wei opinion that Beijing is losing its The artist interprets the modernity identity under the rapid pace of of China with Chinese ink.