The Los Angeles Project
13 September–11 November 2014
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
798 Art District
No. 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu
Beijing
China
T +86 10 5780 0200
visitor [at] ucca.org.cn
From 13 September to 9 November, UCCA dedicates its entire exhibition space to an anthology of seven shows of contemporary artists living and working in Los Angeles in a critical examination of one of the most important art centers in the Western world. These seven artists represent a generation of creative practitioners drawn to a global nexus, one whose rich cultural legacy and robust network of art schools, galleries, and institutions act as a magnet for top talents in the field of contemporary art. Participating artists in The Los Angeles Project include Kathryn Andrews, Aaron Curry, Alex Israel, Matthew Monahan, Sterling Ruby, Ryan Trecartin, and Kaari Upson. The UCCA exhibition is the first showing in China for most of the artists as well as the first time the art of Los Angeles has been comprehensively presented in the region.
Outside of Hollywood, specific cultural connections between Los Angeles and Beijing have been lacking despite their imagined proximity as Pacific Rim cities. Los Angeles has long been conceived of as a “city of the future” in much the same way that urban development in China has unfolded against the backdrop of an implicit utopianism. As China’s creative scene matures into a multipolar terrain of geographies, contexts, and subjectivities, Los Angeles and its cultural topography become especially relevant to Beijing and its current position as the nation’s creative capital.
Curated by UCCA Director Philip Tinari and UCCA Chief Curator Paula Tsai, The Los Angeles Project is not a thematic group show but rather a group of exhibitions that uses the Center’s wide range of spaces to juxtapose a set of positions with highest regard for the individual character of each artist’s practice. In keeping with this anthological character, the exhibition is accompanied not by a single catalogue but by a collection of seven distinct artist books. Co-published with Koenig Books and supported by Artron Art Group, these books are realized with the assistance of project editors Karen Marta and Brian Roettinger.
A wide range of public programs will complement the exhibition. Apart from a series of talks by the participating artists, UCCA will host a festival dedicated to film in Los Angeles, curated by UCCA Director of Public Programs Meng Xie. The program will begin on the opening weekend with the Asia premiere of a new, remastered version of the essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself with writer and director Thom Andersen in attendance and a lecture by Glenn Phillips, acting head of the Department of Architecture & Contemporary Art at the Getty Museum and curator of the landmark exhibition California Video (2008). This will be followed by an extensive screening series that explores the depiction of LA in film by both local and outsider directors, spanning mainstream Hollywood productions, independent features, and experimental films.
The lead sponsor for The Los Angeles Project is Tomorrow Art. Publication support comes from Artron Art Group; CP and WTi Group are the new media art production partner. The exhibition is realized with the further support of Fondation Guy & Myriam Ullens, Geneva; Massimo De Carlo Gallery, Milan; David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles; Xavier Hufkens, Brussels; and Anton Kern Gallery, New York. Support for related public programming comes from the Embassy of the United States, Beijing. The Patrons’ Preview and Dinner is sponsored by Sotheby’s. Additional support was provided by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board and ForYourArt, Los Angeles.
Editorial contacts:
Ling Chen, UCCA: ling.chen [at] ucca.org.cn
Cheng Xia, UCCA: cheng.xia [at] ucca.org.cn
Phoebe Moore, Sutton PR Asia: phoebe [at] suttonprasia.com
