"SPRING BLOSSOMS” – CHINESE MASTER JIA PINGXI’S INK EXHIBITION AT VA GALLERY – WANCHAI ARTONE

JANUARY 19,2012, 5-8pm - PRIVATE INVITATION TO VA GALLERY GRAND OPENING EXHIBITION AT OUR NEW ADDRESS WANCHAI ARTONE VA GALLERY - No. 16 & 16A, Art One, M/F, Convention Plaza, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, H.K. 半島維畫廊 - 香港灣仔港灣道1號會展廣場閣樓 Art One 16 及 16A 號舖

ART ONE is strategically located right next to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and a stone throw away from Hong Kong Art Center, hence, enjoys the tremendous arts related traffic deriving from their major art exhibitions and activities throughout the year. ART ONE therefore provides a perfect setting that is inductive to international and local galleries to showcase their art pieces, as well as the patronage of art lovers. The location of ART ONE is further supported by the neighboring Renaissance Harbor View Hotel and Grand Hyatt Hotel providing first class accommodations, ample parking space with valet parking, function room facilities, and outstanding food and beverage outlets, all under the same roof. ART ONE is believed to be the real FINE ART DESTINATION.

China’s economic development after the Cultural Revolution and the resulting transformation of society coincided with the upbringing of Wu Haizhou, who was born in the late 1970s. The artist draws us into a spiritual world of his own perception where color and brushwork and strong personalities are intertwined. His realistic depictions of industrial portraits, observations of the power machine, and metaphors that lie between concreteness and abstraction give us a sense of ambiguous hesitation and reticence. This sense runs consistently through all of Wu Haizhou’s work of recent years. Wu Haizhou graduated from China Central Academy of Fine Arts. He was invited to hold a solo exhibition, “Here and There”, in Germany in 2009, and his first large-scale solo exhibition, “The Public Unknown”, was held in Beijing in 2010. This exhibition is Wu Haizhou’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. In this exhibition, titled “Hallucinatory Authenticity”, Wu Haizhou continues to show viewers his unique interpretation of the world.

Li Hongjun's works explore the properties contained in paper to express his observations and sensations of the world. His “Myself”, “Expansion”, “Drift Away” and other series used displaced paper, rotation and other methods to combine eastern and western methods of paper cutting, and expressed the distortion of man’s values after encounters with the reality of modern society. Today, his many years of work have given him an outstanding reputation as an installation artist, and he has been called by CAFA’s vice-president Xu Bing “an artist with Chinese folk wisdom”.

Li Hongjun’s sensitive mastery and personal expressions of contemporary art languages enable what he has done to be a valuable personal case in the modern art practice in China. Nowadays he is one of the most striking artists of sculpture in Chinese mainland. Li Hongjun’s particular life experiences have given him dual identities. In the early 90’s he created installations in international exhibitions alongside artists such as Fang Lijun and Xu Bing, but when his wife fell ill he chose to return home and take care of her. In 2006 an admission notice from Central Academy of Art’s Experimental Art Program allowed Li Hongjun, in middle age, to return to Beijing and continue his creation of art. His works are mostly made by paper. His “Myself”, “Expansion”, “Drift Away” and other series used displaced paper, rotation and other methods to combine eastern and western methods of paper cutting, and expressed the distortion of man’s values after encounters with the reality of modern society. Today, his many years of work have given him an outstanding reputation as an installation artist, and he has been called by CAFA’s vice-president Xu Bing “an artist with Chinese folk wisdom”.

Mind and Hand Coordination – An Exhibition of Six Artists Artists: Wu Di, Wu Haizhou, Jiang Huajun, Wei Yan, Tian Tian, Song Chen Duration: August 15th – September 15th 2011 Venue: VA GALLERY MW3, M Floor @ The Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Street, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2368 1068 Fax: (852) 2368 3388 Email: info@va-gallery.com Website: www.va-gallery.com These 6 artists are representative of those born in the 1970’s, heavily influenced by collective concepts. Their intense feelings are poured into an outlet that uses their quite personal experiences to remind us of our common feelings: ego and the loneliness that always accompanies us. Face to face with the complicated world, they are making a great contribution to Chinese contemporary art. These artists are sharing their own feelings with us, and they express their hearts through their hands. It is a rational awakening of self-consciousness. One who doesn’t know himself, directly face his own feelings or express what he needs, cannot be independent. There is a tacit cooperation between life and art—only independent individuality can create independent art—and this is the most important step of self-awakening for Chinese contemporary art. They are Wu Di, Wu Haizhou, Jiang Huajun, Wei Yan, Tian Tian and Song Chen.

Xiong Yu is one of the most outstanding Chinese contemporary artists and also an important representative of post-70s artists. In his works one can find many characteristics of mid to late 1970s artists, including their dreams, visual cartoon styles, experiences of illusion, images and colors’ “cool”, as well as expressions of electronic culture. With his classical background, Xiong Yu always breaks the rules of real society and constructs his own art language through surreal and virtual worlds. His works touch upon topics of ideals and realities and focus on the relationship between social reality and ideals. The elements of wings and beams of light in his works convey people’s faith. The artist says: “Everyone has a dream, existing in their hearts just like invisible wings. “ Xiong Yu’s works are not influenced by fixed forms. These exaggerated characters with big eyes and elegant gestures easily draw viewers’ eyes to the works, and face directly into our hearts. Xiong Yu’s works bring one back to any dream or desire one has ever had.