Alina Chaiderov & Apostolos Georgiou

Alina Chaiderov
Aranya Art Center is delighted to present Swedish artist Alina Chaiderov’s first solo exhibition in China, comprised of two newly commissioned sculptures, Core of Existence and Into Vastness, and a series of photographs. Chaiderov often chooses to work with the simplest materials and plays with the intertextuality of their physical properties and their psychological implications. Born in the former Soviet Union and exiled to Sweden with her family in the late 1980s, the artist integrates collective experience, and individual encounters, in addition to the perception and sensation of her body and the subconscious, into her works, exploring the fundamental propositions of matter, time, memory, and space.

The materials presented in this exhibition are minimal; the transparency and fragility of the glass in Core of Existence contrast with the frigid and rigid qualities of the metal support. The copper in Into Vastness is the artist’s most commonly used metal, an element that’s particularly dangerous and even deadly for a patient suffering from Wilson’s disease like her, and the intake of which in food should be carefully controlled. At the same time, the artist believes that copper pipes in infrastructure are like the veins in the human body, transporting energy throughout the city-conceived as an urban “body.” In this sense, she draws our attention to the broader social and cultural landscape through the mechanism of our bodies.

Although we may discover intertextuality between Chaiderov’s photographs and sculptures, the artist prefers to consider them two independent creative paths. The photos in this exhibition are taken by the mobile phone, which the artist compares to an extensive organ of the contemporary body. With this device, her sensitive observations allow her to capture the subtleties of everyday life promptly.

This exhibition is organized by Damien Zhang, director of Aranya Art Center and curatorial assistant Jiang Ruoyu. The exhibition is open to the public from August 20, 2023, and will be on view until October 15.

Apostolos Georgiou
Aranya Art Center is delighted to present an eponymous solo exhibition by Greek artist Apostolos Georgiou, featuring nearly 30 works on canvas and paper completed from 2017 to 2023.

On a stage-like canvas filled with absurd and witty scenes, Georgiou portrays anonymous figures using coarse brushwork, modeled on the artist himself and symbolizing a community of his contemporaries. “I am an ordinary person who shares the joys, sorrows, desires, and fears of everyone,” the artist explains. The figures seem intimate yet indifferent to each other, preoccupied with their little worlds, either wearily or comically coping with life. The artist claims his works are “failed representations,” which is not necessarily a pessimistic expression; instead, he willingly shares with the viewer that “I have also been frustrated.” These performative figures and images are symbolic in revealing the alienation in contemporary relationships and the dilemma of individual existence.

In Georgiou’s paintings, we may observe many familiar life scenes. However, the “everyday” is not his subject, but rather translates the “thoughts and ideas” from his everyday life into pictures. Since these specific ideas may not come true, their narrative and logic hence come undone when depicted, resulting in a pictorial anachronism that brings about many missing meanings. Like traps, such missing pieces lure the viewer to introspect into their own lives. Georgiou considers himself a provocateur, and his painted work “wouldn’t lie,” concealing a serious creative attitude beneath his dark humor.

Georgiou is also a jazz aficionado, and this exhibition will feature the artist’s carefully compiled playlist to accompany the viewing experience of the show, offering a diverse cultural perspective to dive into the artist’s creative world.

This exhibition is organized by Damien Zhang, director of Aranya Art Center and curatorial assistant Gao Liangjiao. The exhibition is on view from August 20 through October 15, 2023. Special thanks to gb agency.

Media contact: Liangjiao Gao, gaoliangjiao [​at​] aranya.cc / T +86 138 1143 1757