Liu Xiaodong
Painting as Shooting
8 May–2 August 2015
Opening: Thursday 7 May, 6–9pm
Fondazione Giorgio Cini
Isola Di San Giorgio Maggiore
Hours: Thursday–Tuesday 10–19h
Faurschou Foundation is pleased to present Painting as Shooting by Liu Xiaodong, curated by Jérôme Sans. This is the first major European institutional exhibition that fully explores Liu Xiaodong’s unique practice.
Liu Xiaodong is considered one of China’s most influential painters of the last two decades. He is one of the leading figurative painters of the “New Generation” of contemporary Chinese Realism of the ’90s and one of China’s foremost artists.
This exhibition focuses on a unique selection of some of his most important recent projects dealing with major global sociological, cultural, economic, ecological and environmental issues from the past ten years; presenting the journey of a voyageur moving through the images of the various worlds and situations he has witnessed, in locations worldwide from China and Asia to Cuba, Europe and Israel.
Liu Xiaodong
Liu Xiaodong is a painter of everyday life. His images are of family and friends set against modest scenery capturing ordinary moments, such as eating, laughing or playing games. However, in-depth exploration of what is hidden behind the small stories that populate the surface of his work reveals a much bigger picture. Xiaodong’s paintings are pointing with simple gestures to the reality of the periphery, the margins and the paradoxes of our contemporary society.
Painting as Shooting
Liu Xiaodong approaches his work with the eyes and the storyboard practice of a filmmaker. Each of the artist’s major works begins with a simple idea from one of his daily diary entries, describing the events he has witnessed, photos he has taken or people he has met, and then transforms them into live characters on his canvas. In a way the artist’s paintings resemble a production set where he acts as a director who collaborates with actors to play, record or recreate a situation, various impressions or the effects thereof. It is hereby that Liu Xioadong embodies the concept of “painting as shooting.”
Biographies
Liu Xiaodong (b. 1963) lives and works in Beijing. He holds a BFA and an MFA in painting from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (1988–95). The artist gained recognition in the 1990s and represents the Chinese Neo-Realism style. His solo exhibitions include Kunsthaus Graz, Austria (2012) and Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2010), while his work was also shown in various group exhibitions such as the Shanghai Biennale (2000, 2010), the 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006) and the 47th Venice Biennale (1997).
Jérôme Sans is an internationally renowned curator, art critic, artistic director who has curated numerous major exhibitions around the world. He was the former director of the groundbreaking Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art in Beijing and co-founder of the acclaimed Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He is currently artistic director of one of the most important urban development projects in Europe, the Lyon Rives de Saône-River Movie, and co-founder of Perfect Crossovers ltd, a Beijing-based cultural consultancy group.
Faurschou Foundation
Faurschou Foundation is a privately owned art institution with a collection of contemporary art, with exhibition venues at Copenhagen North Harbour as well as Beijing’s attractive art neighbourhood 798. Faurschou Foundation introduces the visitors to some of the world’s most acclaimed artists. Faurschou Foundation’s collection is constantly developed and expanded. Over a very short period since its establishment in 2011 Faurschou Foundation has profiled itself as a significant art institution with solo exhibitions of among other artists Ai Weiwei, Cai Guo-Qiang, Louise Bourgeois, Shirin Neshat, Gabriel Orozco, Danh Vo, and Bill Viola.
Press preview
The exhibition will be open to the press on May 5 through 7 from 12–18h.
For further information and interviews with Liu Xiaodong, Jérôme Sans or Jens Faurschou, please contact:
Jannie Haagemann (Curator, Faurschou Foundation)
jannie [at] faurschou.com / T +45 31 46 30 03
For Chinese:
Di Pan (Communication Manager, Faurschou Foundation Beijing)
pan [at] faurschou.com / T +86 10 5978 9316
