As one of China’s first video artists, Wang Gongxin has built an impressive legacy filled with awards and titles. Despite his status as a new media pioneer, however, he admits that he still feels estranged from the domestic art scene. In fact, Present.Being is only his fourth solo exhibition at home since moving to America in 1995.
“To be honest, as a new media artist, I know what I do doesn’t appeal to the local market, yet, so I do have concerns about giving solo exhibitions in China,” he says.
“Also, the circumstances here are difficult,” he adds, pointing towards the challenge of finding an appropriate venue to maximize his large-scale works while attracting an audience interested in experimental art."
Sitting with Wang at OCT Contemporary Art Terminal a week before the exhibition opening, he revels in the freedom that he’s been given. Present.Being eschews the usual curator-artist dichotomy, giving him full reign to create the context between the space and the works.
“Not many galleries I know could support such an exhibition without frowning at the budget,” he concedes. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any system or foundations to sponsor us.”
In other words, the arts continue to require wealthy patrons. He is pleased by the increasing numbers of galleries and new collectors in China, but is aware of the gap between those who appreciate art and those who buy it.
“Most of these collectors are more like speculators, who consider artworks as commodities instead of learning the value of art itself,” he says.
“They tend to buy works from young artists with lower prices rather than mine. I mean, why not? There is a good chance that one of these young artists will become a big name one day and their works will be valued more. It truly makes no difference if they don’t understand what they have bought.”
In a career full of accolades, Wang is the only Chinese artist to be nominated for the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. He grins when it’s brought up and recalls his surprise at being invited to contribute to the show in 2011.
“I had never been involved with theater before, so I was convinced that they had the wrong person,” he laughs. “It turned out that the director was impressed by my video work that had been exhibited in London years ago and was looking to cooperate. I thought, that’s me, indeed.”
The show was based on the best-selling Wild Swan, which resonated with Wang’s family background. Arriving in London, he was cornered by the director who excitedly spent six hours discussing the concept and convinced Wang to take on the project despite the language barrier.
The show was a major success, with Wang receiving credit for its spectacular set designs. Despite the acclaim, the 2013 nomination for the Olivier Award was unprecedented.
“I guess those judges were as unprepared as I was by nominating the first Chinese artist,” he says. “I never gave it much thought, although it meant more comparisons to Ang Lee’s Oscar awards.”
Art lovers continue to follow Wang’s celebrated career. 20 years ago, the trained oil painter exhibited his first video work, Brooklyn Sky. Inspired by a visit to America, Wang returned to Beijing where he dug a deep hole near his home and placed a monitor inside, showing a view of the sky over Brooklyn. The piece was lauded by CNN as one of “10 artworks that will change the way you see China.”
A series of photographs documenting that piece’s creation will be shown at Present.Being. The exhibition follows Wang’s artistic evolution but he notes, “It would be a pity to do this as a retrospective with Sony sponsoring all these exquisite devices, so I’ll introduce three of my latest works.”
Created last year, ‘The Story of Lei Feng’ appropriates the iconic image of the PLA soldier reading a book, and interprets him through different races, ages and identities. ‘Who’s Studio’ reconstructs French realist painter Courbet’s ‘The Painter’s Studio’ through multimedia video projection. ‘Blood Stained Auction’ is his contemporary take on the 1950s revolutionary realism style.
// Until May 24, 10am-7pm, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, www.ocatshanghai.com.
0 User Comments