【Special Report】Overseas Exhibition - Special Exhibition of Reflections of Mind opens at Chinese Cultural Center in Paris
Reflections of the Mind - Rongbaozhai Contemporary Art Exhibition and Woodblock Watermark Special Exhibition
Guest ArtistsXu Bing Chen Qi Qiu Zhijie
Young Artists Feng Baoli, Jia Hongjun, Jiang Miao, Li Wenpeng, Liu Zequn, Sun Ziyao, Tu Shaohui, Wu Qian, Xiao Tingting, Zhang Meng, Zhu Dan
Time: 2024.12.20 - 2025.02.06
Location: Chinese Cultural Center, Paris, France
Organizer: China Cultural Center in Paris Rong Bao Zhai
Organizer: Beijing Rongbaozhai Technology Co., Ltd.
Exhibited Works
Recommended works of contemporary art exhibition
Guest Artists
Xu Bing's "Every Wind is Unreachable by AI" is a work with profound meaning and complex interpretation. Its significance lies in its "uninterpretability", which challenges the relationship between form and meaning in traditional calligraphy works, making it impossible for viewers to gain any information or understanding from it. This design not only reflects the tension between calligraphy as a visual form of traditional Chinese art and the language system, but also triggers an in-depth analysis of calligraphy theory.
Chen Qi's artistic creation of "Spring River No. 2" reflects his integration of tradition and modernity. He deeply studied traditional Chinese prints, especially Jiangnan watermark woodcuts, and made innovations on this basis, giving the traditional art form of watermark woodcuts a modern aesthetic visual approach. His works not only made breakthroughs in size, but also revealed the subtle changes in the world of mental images through the changes in color intensity, allowing the audience to have rich associations in the process of appreciation.
Qiu Zhijie's ink paintings are not only innovative in form, but also deeply reflect his thoughts on traditional culture and modern life in content.
"Form of Meditation Round Platform" can be interpreted as a tone full of meditation and recollection, with a lonely and sentimental quality. This work shows the artist's unique narrative style of the theme through the form of ink on paper. In the process of creation, Qiu Zhijie often explores deep emotions and thoughts through repeated writing and meditation. For example, his "Repeated Writing of Lanting Preface 1,000 Times" created between 1990 and 1995 reflects this mysterious atmosphere of meditation.
Therefore, "Form of Meditation" is not only an expression of personal emotions, but also a profound reflection on artistic form and cultural time.
Young Artists
Feng Baoli's mixed media works, with rich visual language and profound cultural connotations, demonstrate the infinite possibilities of contemporary art in terms of media and concepts. Through etching, spraying and assembly techniques, his works create artistic effects with rich texture and visual impact. This diverse use of materials gives his works a layered beauty, while also being obviously experimental. In terms of color, he prefers to use calm neutral tones, such as off-white, and uses local bright colors to highlight the theme of the work.
Jia Hongjun is an artist deeply inspired by Chinese religious art. His work "Laughing and Free Talisman" mainly revolves around "talisman" and "blessing", which correspond to "painting" and "poetry", that is, "image" and "text". This creative method of combining pictures and texts not only breaks the traditional form of artistic expression, but also forms a "structural call" to the audience in an unconventional way, guiding the audience to think deeply about the connotation of the work.
Jia Hongjun's works are often drawn from Buddhist classics and China's Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism culture. By combining the talisman images in traditional culture with contemporary art forms, they present critical and practical significance.
Jiang Miao's "Eye in the Sky. 2024.9" takes life and the universe as its theme. The painting is based on the "Eight Diagrams", the soul symbol "spin", and the "color" that releases energy, presenting the life and truth of the spirit, soul, and body; they absorb from the invisible and then release spiritual energy and magnetic fields to the material world, contributing more thoughts on the continuation of human civilization in today's problematic world full of material.
Li Wenpeng's Travel Series of Works attempts to use his own printmaking language to construct the landscape world of the immortals he imagines. Immortals are a unique artistic image in China, carrying people's highest imagination and yearning for beauty. With the development of society, they have gradually integrated into people's lives and have had a lasting impact on politics, economy, thought, customs, beliefs, culture, art and other aspects.
In this era, the author uses immortals as the theme of his work, creating a picture of immortals of various images hiding among mountains and rivers and living a leisurely life. He wants to try to allow people who live in today's society with an increasingly fast pace of life to slow down time while looking at the picture to find the image of the leisurely immortal in the painting, and feel a sense of ease and comfort that is different from usual.
Liu Zequn's Existence series not only demonstrates his unique understanding and expression of art, but also reflects his profound thoughts on existence, life and the nature of the universe. Through these works, Liu Zequn attempts to explore and express the complex and delicate relationship between humans and the universe, as well as the return and importance of fragile human nature against the backdrop of the strength and hardness of material technology.
Sun Ziyao’s landscape painting “I am a Link in the Cycle” is complete and simple, with lines as powerful as those of a knife or an axe, showing his unique insights and deep understanding of the natural landscape. Sun Ziyao’s artistic creation is not limited to the expression of personal emotions, but also focuses on the relationship between man and nature. His life experience in Tibet has filled his works with awe and reflection on the natural environment, exploring the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. His works are collected by public institutions such as the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Hong Kong Museum of Contemporary Art.
Tu Shaohui's works often present a poetic dream, clear and elegant, with strong visual impact and profound philosophical thinking. His creative inspiration comes from careful observation of nature and deep understanding of traditional culture. In Tu Shaohui's works, flying birds are a theme that runs through the whole process. Whether it is flower and bird paintings or starry sky paintings, flying birds have become an important element in his creation. Through the images of these flying birds, he cleverly connects traditional paintings with modern paintings, showing a unique innovation.
Wu Qian's paintings are based on oriental aesthetics, combined with the Western abstract expressionist style, to express the Taoist spirit of "inaction and indifference" through creation. For example, in the work "2022-39", he used oil painting to present the spiritual continuation of traditional literati ink painting. In addition, his works also reflect his unique understanding and interpretation of color, light and shadow, and artistic conception.
Xiao Tingting’s “These Are My Wings” covers multiple themes, including the complexity and confusion of human emotions, the isolation of urbanization and nature, and the evolution of human attributes. These themes not only reflect her deep insight into social phenomena, but also demonstrate the diversity and depth of her artistic expression. Xiao Tingting's artistic style is not a direct statement, but a way of conveying a state of infinite possibilities through inspiring power. This style makes her works highly appealing and gives space for thinking. When the audience appreciates her works, they can not only feel the visual impact, but also trigger deep emotional resonance and thinking.
Zhang Meng's works combine the aesthetic connotations of traditional Chinese painting with the aesthetic characteristics of Western modern art, showing the integration of Eastern and Western aesthetics. Her art contains strong oriental interest and philosophical elements, and is also full of the beauty and modeling pursuit of Western modernist art. This integration is not only reflected in her painting techniques, but also in her pursuit of artistic conception and poetry.
Zhang Meng's work "Landscape 20211111" For Zhang Meng, landscape is a methodology. She combines the intermediate state with comprehensive perception, does not make drafts, does not predict the direction, and unfolds the "space for action" on the canvas in each "process", laying out abstract and moving landscape images, creating a deep attention-style "immersion". In the end, the author and the viewer can perceive the connection between the outside world and themselves, forming a new atmospheric place in the work.
Zhu Dan's "121" is deeply influenced by Australian Aboriginal artists, and this influence is reflected in his treatment of abstract art. Unlike many Asian artists who are influenced by the American abstract art movement, Zhu Dan's non-figurative paintings reflect more of the vitality of the earth's natural growth and ritualized spiritual expression, reflecting a primitive desire for "life" and a deep thinking about "existence". Zhu Dan's works also show his deep interest in Chinese calligraphy and Eastern philosophy. The concept of reincarnation from "birth to death" frequently appears in his works, which is the core expression of his creation.
Exhibition View
Visitors at the Paris exhibition
Exhibition in Paris
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