Shift
Exhibition on young American artists creating on-site artwork in China
16 July–28 August 2011
Times Museum, Times Rose Garden
Huang Bian Bei Lu, Bai Yun Da Dao
Guangzhou
Artists:
Meghan Gordon, Shana Moulton,
Roxana Perez-Mendez, Adam Parker Smith,
Bryan Zanisnik
Curator:
Ruijun Shen
The exhibition will deploy five active young and middle-aged artists based in New York City. Meghan Gordon, Shana Moulton, Roxana Perez-Mendez, Adam Parker Smith and Bryan Zanisnik will attend a 15-day residency at the Times Museum. The artists will create works by utilizing both materials found in major wholesale markets in Guangzhou and local manpower. Whilst materials of the works will come from China, ideas of the works will reflect contemporary American youth’s soul searching. In the meantime, the exhibition will invite five outstanding young and middle-aged Chinese artists from around the country to interact with the American artists at the Times Museum in the form of seminars. Every evening, one Chinese artist and one American artist will present their works, followed by discussions and idea exchanges with the other artists on issues that concern them.
Mass production and assembly line production are not only one of the foundations of the economic boom in the U.S., but also a characteristic of modern American culture. A reflection of mass culture and commercial culture, Pop Art was also born against such a cultural backdrop and has been influencing American artists for generations. With the prevalence of globalization, China has become a major manufacturing base for mass-produced cheap products. “Made in China” has become synonymous with low quality, mass produced, disposable, and cheap products. With the introduction of assembly line production and a quick-consumption and disposal pattern, commercial and consumer cultures have been brought to China. With this introduction of new trends, mass-produced cheap products have become materials for Chinese artists’ art making. During this exhibition, cheap goods “made in China” will become links connecting American artists with Chinese audience and artists, invoking thinking about materialism and consumerism within different social and cultural contexts.
The exhibition attempts to transcend the barrier between Eastern and Western culture, experimenting an in-depth and fresh way of communication. Through the American artists’ direct experiences in China, and a face-to-face exchange on issues of mutual concerns, Chinese artists and audience as well as American artists are encouraged to think from each other’s perspectives. Through direct experiences, foreign artists are urged to reconsider their own culture from a different angle; through the lens of the American artists, local audiences are encouraged to re-discover their surroundings and re-examine themselves to find new possibilities. Reflection on pluralism, multi-standards, globalism and consumerism will be topics explored at the exhibition.
Related Events
A Dialogue Between Chinese and American Artists
July 11–14, 2011, 7–9:30pm
1/F Multifunctional Hall, Guangdong Times Museum
How Can Contemporary Chinese Art Succeed—Within China and Beyond?
Lecture by Richard Vine, Critic
July 15, 2011, 7–9:30pm
Venue: Guangzhou Holiday Inn Blue Sapphire Theater
Panel Discussion: The Value of Experience
July 17, 2011, 10am–12:30pm
1/F Multifunctional Hall, Guangdong Times Museum
Guangdong Times Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to contemporary art. For more information, please visit: www.timesmuseum.org
