The third instalment of Asia Now 2017 - the Paris Asian Art Fair – has just opened its doors yesterday. On this occasion, I asked a few simple questions to key actors involved in the field of Chinese contemporary art. Below is a compendium of their insightful answers.
A special mention should go to Magda Danysz Gallery’s booth that has built a symbolic Asian garden which - like in the Buddhist philosophy - hides details from the first sight while offering different interpretations and meditations inside.
Highlight a Chinese artist in your booth.“I would say Liu Bolin [see his portfolio here], especially because we are showing another facet of his work. Zhang Dali’s cyanotypes are also of interest. There were captured in a field in front of his studio, he knew this place was doomed to disappear and turned into skyscrapers, hence he created these cyan-blue prints representing bamboos.
”How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?“I forbid myself from estimating prognostics as changes are well under way. The Chinese art market is moving toward more maturity, a clean-up of the main actors has begun.
”What makes a “good” artwork?“It implies loads of criteria, including the technique, the creative process, the extent to which the work is anchored in art history, and how it engages in its epoch."
Highlight a Chinese artist in your booth.“Our booth introduces a duo exhibition of the Chinese photographer Liu Tao [see his portfolio here] and Zhang Zhenyu, whose works reutilize atmospheric dust. Both question ethical issues and raise awareness of our modes of existence.
”How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?Ludovic De Vita: “It seems previous actors who tended to distort the market are moving away, making way for a consensus towards a sort of aestheticization."Wang Lingyun: “It’s developing but chiefly abroad. The Chinese market still lacks education and communication, only a few people really understands contemporary art.
”What makes a “good” artwork?Ludovic De Vita: “It depends on the creating process, what is at stake in the artwork, how intense it is. The way artists engage in their works is also fundamental. For instance, Liu Tao photographs because he needs it, he cannot escape from this urge.”Wang Lingyun: “Such an artwork should enable us to visually read a message, it should make sense.”
Another special mention should go to ZETO ART, which is a Paris-based association created in 2017 by Ying Tuo and Long Zhi. This curatorial team intends to integrate the traditional curatorial approach with new modes of communication, while building a bridge between Asia and France and support emerging artists.
For Asia Now art fair, ZETO ART presents an exhibition entitled “Migration 迁徙”, bringing together young artists who work actively in France, China and Japan with various media including photography, painting, sculpture, and installation amongst others. Either forced or by their own wills, all the participating artists emigrated from their original cultural contexts to new civilizations, where they now live and explore through works of art. As the phenomenon is directly related to the difference between the social status of their homelands and the adapted countries, their works reveal different perspectives and offer both aesthetic and sociologic value to the discussion on “migration”.
Highlight from ZETO ART’s booth.Li Yang and his astounding photo series “404 Not Found”. Li explains: ”I was born in 404. It is the name of my hometown in the deep Gobi desert in western China, where China started making its first nuclear bomb in the late 1950s. You will never find the town on any map.” Li has been documenting this now abandoned city for the past three years.
How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?ZETO ART co-founder Ying Tuo: “Although the Chinese art market is the biggest market in the world, I think there is still work to do. Collectors tend to concentrate mostly on popular works or antiques. However young collectors can be game changers, notably for photography as buying photograph remains less risky and more direct.
”What makes a “good” artwork?Ying Tuo: “It has to make sense, to be anchored in contemporary times. The visual aspect matters too, so as the need to conduct research before creating a work so as to be aware of tendencies and the history of art.”
Highlight a Chinese artist in your booth.“I like all of them [Chen Qiulin, Feng Bingyi, Wang Chuan, Wang Jun, Yang Shu]. The triptych photographs you see was made by Chen Qiulin. Her works often combine social problems and her personal experience in the process of the rapid development in China. She has been using both analogue and digital photography.
”How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?“I think the market will go very well and for all media.
"What makes a “good” artwork?“It should be able to move you.”
Highlight a Chinese artist in your booth.“Our booth features new works by three young artists from the post-80s generation [Zhao Zhao, Cai Lei, Huang Yishan]. The two large-size photographs you see are the result of one of Zhao Zhao’s performances in the Taklamakan desert. He was Ai Weiwei’s former assistant and is a rather multidisciplinary artist.
”How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?“We are reaching a turning point. Most of artists of the older generation left, making way to the new generation born in the 80s. This new generation is very different because China has changed utterly. Post-80s China brought about a large range of input stimulus, such as open-mindedness and wealth, encouraging the creation of large scale artworks, perhaps at times too large. As a consequence, a fair number of young artists turned inwards and started to explore their individual world. You can find a lot of happiness and sadness in this new generation’s works. As for photography, everything is in the hands of new collectors who are about the same age of young artists. They are well educated, most have travelled the world, and they developed a very good taste while remaining open to many things.
”What makes a “good” artwork?“It’s impossible to define what art is, similarly it’s difficult to say what is an artwork and what is not. You can though decipher an aura emanating from a piece but you need to know art.”
Highlight a Chinese artist in your booth.“The Chinese born French Lise Chevalier and her experimental ink paintings. She incorporates Chinese ink directly into canvas, blending it with pigment, mineral chips, sand and elements of Chinese art such as rice paper and calligraphy. This is the first solo show we set up with her.
”How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?“It’s hard to say. Now there are plenty of young artists and young collectors. More and more new media artworks become incorporated in the art market, providing a framework for better understanding.
"What makes a “good” artwork?“It’s quite subjective. It depends on the emotion it triggers, on the frame of reference, on one’s own culture.”
Highlight a Chinese artist in your booth.“This year we presents Tang Chao’s solo project, which includes two videos: Near the Salt Lake and Local Photography, as well pictures in the same series of Local Photography. By using the images in a more abstract manner, he deliberately enlarges parts of the scene to avoid exploring the narrative.
”How do you see the Chinese art market changing in the next 5 years?“Not bad. Given the current economic situation, I don’t think it will get worse. In the past seven years we have seen more and more local collectors, more people are getting involved gradually, which is a good thing.
”What makes a “good” artwork?“It’s perhaps a matter of taste and choice. There is a tendency to explore new media for instance, hence we’re stepping in this new media direction.”
More information: www.asianowparis.com
