Out of the frame

• Source: Global Times
• [13:35 June 28 2010]
• Comments

AK-47 by Zhang Dali. Photos: Huang Xi

By Huang Xi

The luxurious 18Gallery on the Bund is hosting an exhibition entitled City, echoing the theme of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai: "Better City, Better Life," with an exhibition including a wide range of genres.

This exhibition has more than 20 paintings, installations and photographs by nine artists from China and France, to represent a Sino- France artistic dialogue by exhibiting art from outstand-ing contemporary artists.

To make this event very special, the organizer is presenting live music performances and video shows every Thursday and Friday evenings until July 15, showcasing the development of digital art over the past decade and the challenges facing young artists.

A large installation by Laurent Graber and Antoine Trollat is showcased in the middle of the showroom.

Covering 64 square meters, this work is made of white paperboards and fluorescent tubes.

The artists consider their creation an integrated platform combining different genres and talents of all of the participating artists.

P. Nicolas Ledoux, who usually uses images and characters to express his understanding of art and life, here uses circular white and black cloths on famous paintings with the words "art as idea as idea as money as money" emblazoned on the black circles, giving the viewer a sense of there being a hole in the paintings.

Colorful graffiti works from Sun7, L1ÈS, Yaze and Zhang Dali are the most eye-catching exhibits in the showroom.

Sun7 borrowed ideas from the World Expo 2010 and translated it into his own understanding.

He applies red, black and gold as the main colors for the abstract imagery of a city invaded by street and urban art.

Sun7's works look like experimental Chinese painting rather than Western-style graffiti.

Born in 1977, the artist has painted the streets of New York and Paris and has extended his talent to perfor mance and installation art.

Zhang Dali, one of the most established graffiti artists in Beijing, brings recent work to the exhibition. The work is grounded in red and features depictions of the word "AK-47."

In the middle of the painting, "AK-47" turns white in contrast to the Chinese red to form a large face.

This imagery shows the style and inspiration gained from graffiti art. Zhang has painted several face outlines on abandoned walls in Beijing, signifying the way over-zealous modernization has destroyed the original beauty in Chinese cities.

Yang Yongliang, a Shanghai artist born in the 1980s, also has works on display, some of which were shown in his recent solo exhibition in the same gallery in May.