A Vista of Perspectives at OCAT

By Martin Juaristi

The Sixth Shenzhen Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition has been open since December 2007, but it might have passed unnoticed for many art lovers in this city, where it’s still difficult for an artistic event to gather a fair amount of attention.

This one isn’t a small event. The quality, the size and the sophistication of the exhibited collection is outstanding, and so is the space it occupies, a large industrial premise in the heart of that cultural oasis known as OCT LOFT, which has no reason to envy most leading museums and galleries in the world.

In the exhibition’s advertisement, its title, A Vista of Perspectives, is said to embody two meanings: “the influence of China’s process of modernization on people’s lives,” and “the conflict between reality and the artist’s own self.” I can’t see how the title is supposed to convey so many things with only four words, but it is quite to the point in its suggestion of a wide diversity of views.

The exhibited works do express concerns about the side effects of the vertiginous changes China is experiencing and about the artist’s relationship with reality, but some do it in much more subtle or oblique ways than others. After all, any work of art, from the grittiest realism to the most escapist abstraction, can be seen as a consequence of the artist’s reflection on his historical context and his relationship with reality.

On the other hand, there is quite a lot of playfulness and mockery in some of the works, such as in Wenda Gu’s huge neon sign (which reads “OCT! OH! SHIT!” in capital yellow letters on the south entrance of the exhibition hall), or in Wang Shushang’s OCT Find China Tiger (a naive composition that seems to be taken out of a children’s coloring book).

Representational art dominates the exhibit, but the moods and the techniques couldn’t be more disparate. The Semi-Transparent Series by the UNMASK Art Group consists of three hyper-realistic figures made of painted metal that are placid and disturbing at the same time. Cao Hui’s skinned animals of the Strip You Series are equally disturbing, but one can’t help finding them funny at the same time. Chen Changwei’s masturbating panda bears might be hilarious, but raise questions about the political implications of the animal’s choice. The Greek Thanos Zakopoulo’s skyscrapers are made of mousetraps, which brings back the image of the caged facades of the typical Chinese apartment buildings. Xu Bing’s Story Behind resembles a traditional Chinese ink painting, but when we look behind it we see it’s the result of a clever optical effect achieved by means that I’m not going to reveal. You go and see it: there is something for every palate.

I don’t think this diversity should be seen as a drawback or a lack of consistency, but as an attempt to encompass the multiple tendencies of the contemporary sculpture scene. The only improvement I’d suggest would be to provide explanations in English, as well as some biographical sketches of the artists.

The BUZZ:

• Open to the Public: Dec. 16, 2007 - May 20, 2008.
• Venue: OCT Contemporary Art Terminal of He Xiangning Art Museum
• Gallery Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 17:30 p.m. (Closed on Mondays)

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About Martin Juaristi