From eating house to art house

• Source: Global Times
• [09:44 September 06 2010]
• Comments

Two photos from Yan Libo's 1+1-1 collection series. Photo: Courtesy of iPlus

By Li Jun

The Little World Open Art Exhibition at the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC)?in Yangpu district offers an insight into what budding Chinese artists and designers are doing. Some 28 young artists and designers, most born in the 1980s, have taken over a deserted restaurant to show their works.

The Little World exhibition aims to have these young creative talents build their own independent world and share their thoughts. The works on show include photographs, paintings, installations and fashion.

"It took us one month to prepare for the exhibition," said Li Xiaodan, the curator at the real?estate?planning company iPlus which leads the project.

"We were asked by KIC, a real estate project jointly developed by the Yangpu government and Shui On Land, to design a two-month project related to young people to promote this area."

Yet the exhibition is in no way a normal commercial operation. "We are trying to present a 'La Rive Gauche' (the famous Left Bank area of Paris) to a Chinese audience," said Jia Zhenxiong, a staff member at iPlus.

"The venue itself is a breakthrough for us. It used to be a restaurant. We only added some partition walls to provide separate spaces for the artists and designers. We use the 'open art' concept and encourage the exhibitors to express their personalities freely."

This coincides with cityscape photographer Yan Yibo's view. "Unlike exhibitions I have attended before, this one is very relaxing and free. I could arrange my show as I liked. Although the exhibition was initiated by a real estate company, it was much less commercial for me and there was no stress on the artists," said the 30-year-old photographer whose works were shown at Liu Haisu Art Museum last year.

Entitled 1+1-1, Yan's photographs express a feeling of absurdity. Pairing photographs as sets, Yan aims at showing two sides of the city's development. "I wanted to add some drama." Two-thirds of Yan's works here have not been exhibited before.

As Yan said, artists and designers on show enjoyed freedom to tailor the space to their own needs.

Xiong Xiaomo, a 28-year-old Shanghai cityscape photographer, occupies what used to be the toilet of the restaurant to hang his dark-colored photographs on white ceramic tiles.

He water brushed a curving indigo band through his pictures to create a mysterious feeling and to immerse viewers in his works. Xiong's works have been published by magazines like GQ China, Phoenix Weekly and Global Entrepreneurs, and he works in the media.

Beside her ink landscapes, 26-year-old illustrator and painter Vicki Ling also projects negative versions of her paintings onto a 50-square-centimeter white background in an installation. Shanren Recluse, a Muji-like local clothing brand, lays grass over a space to create a natural habitat to go with its linen clothes.

"Most of the artists and designers here were born in the 80s. We specifically picked up emerging exhibitors to make the show feel young. Some of them have labeled their works to attract buyers, but we focus more on art rather than products," Jia said.

In reality exhibitors are not counting too much on selling their products. "I don't expect visitors to buy my works. I am not worried about this. I have a gallery that represents me. I come to attend the show because it sounds interesting," said Yan.

The exhibition will run until October 15. "Afterwards, some of the works exhibited here will be purchased by art collectors, including KIC, and the rest will be taken back by the exhibitors," curator Li Xiaodan explained.

Beside her ink landscapes, 26-year-old illustrator and painter Vicki Ling also projects negative versions of her paintings onto a 50-square-centimeter white background in an installation. Shanren Recluse, a Muji-like local clothing brand, lays grass over a space to create a natural habitat to go with its linen clothes.

"Most of the artists and designers here were born in the 80s. We specifically picked up emerging exhibitors to make the show feel young. Some of them have labeled their works to attract buyers, but we focus more on art rather than products," Jia said.

In reality exhibitors are not counting too much on selling their products. "I don't expect visitors to buy my works. I am not worried about this. I have a gallery that represents me. I come to attend the show because it sounds interesting," said Yan.

The exhibition will run until October 15. "Afterwards, some of the works exhibited here will be purchased by art collectors, including KIC, and the rest will be taken back by the exhibitors," curator Li Xiaodan explained.

Beside the exhibition, Dukou Bookstore, a leading independent bookstore in Shanghai, Lomography, a specialist photographic equipment retailer, and a board game store, are opening temporary outlets along the street. "This is pioneering," said a staff member from Dukou.

Date: Until October 15, midday to 9 pm

Venue: KIC 创智天地

Address: 67-89 Daxue Road

大学路67-89号

Admission: Free

Call 6329-0955 or 6329-0977 for details