Chambers Fine Art is pleased to announce the opening on June 8th of Intersection: Contemporary Oil Painting and Photography curated by Wu Hung, the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor in Chinese Art History at the University of Chicago . Timed to coincide with the survey of contemporary Chinese photography, opening at Asia Society and International Center of Photography (ICP) on June 10 th , this exhibition explores the relationship between the traditional medium of oil painting and the multifarious activities of contemporary photographers.
When rebellious young Chinese artists first began to move away from Socialist Realism in the 1980s they first turned to Western Pop Art for inspiration but, as Wu Hung has shown in numerous publications and exhibitions, more adventurous spirits soon began to explore the potentialities of photography, and video and performance art to express the tumultuous changes in Chinese society.
This exhibition includes work by two painters – Chen Danqing and Shi Chong – and three photographers Hong Lei, Han Lei and Liu Zheng – all of whom find inspiration outside the parameters of their chosen medium. Growing up in a society very much unlike the more settled societies of the west, the artists in this exhibition seek to make sense not only of events in the recent past of their country but also of its more distant history.
Using photographic sources Chen Danqing creates searing paintings evoking recent tragic events such as Tiananmen Square while Shi Chong's supra-realistic paintings are the result of a lengthy process which integrates many different forms of visual art. The large, carefully staged photographs of Liu Zheng comment artfully on Chinese legend while Hong Lei reinterprets Song Dynasty painting in a relentlessly modern idiom.
In recent years the sharp distinctions that used to exist between painting and photography have broken down. In a recent series of exhibitions held at the Museum of Modern Art , New York before it moved temporarily to Queens , departmental distinctions were demolished. In his astute choice of participating artists and in his introduction to the catalogue published to accompany the show, Wu Hung has shown that among many of the most stimulating artists the destruction of such boundaries is now a fait accompli in China.
*Catalogue Available
2004年6月18日，前波画廊将举办题为《交叉：中国当代摄影及油画》的群展。这个展览 由芝加哥大学中国艺术史系的巫鸿教授策划，与6月10 日开幕的在亚洲协会（Asia Society）和国际展览中心（International Center of Photography）举办的《过去与未来之间：中国当代摄影》展览同时展出。它主要探讨中国当代摄影家所运用的多方面的表现形式，与传统油画之间的关系。
上个世纪八十年代，中国新一代的艺术家从社会现实主义向西方波普艺术转变，并从中寻求灵感。巫鸿在其他许多展览和图录中都谈到，中国许多更大胆的艺术家都立刻开始试用摄影，录像与行为艺术等手段，以表现中国现今社会中的剧烈变化。
这次展览包括两位油画家──陈丹青和石冲，及三位摄影家──洪磊，韩磊和刘铮。他们都从自己使用的媒体之外找到灵感。 成长在一个与西方截然不同的社会环境下，这些艺术家并不局限于对近来政治事件的关注，同时也对中国的深远历史表现了无比的兴趣。
陈丹青用摄影技术作为灵感源头，创作了以近代的天安门事件为主题的油画。石冲的作品是漫长创作过程的结果，而每一个步骤都溶入了艺术家对不同媒体的理解和运用。刘铮借用中国的传说故事，却运用真人来摆置出大规模的活人画面。而洪磊则将宋代传统绘画重新诠释成现代艺术语言。
近几年来，油画与摄影之间的区别已经越来越不明显。 在纽约现代美术馆中举行的一系列展览中，部分作品之间的区别已经不存在。巫鸿用自己敏锐的观察力，选择艺术家，并在目录中详细介绍分析他们的作品。他向我们证明了一个事实──在今天中国众多艺术家的作品中， 摄影与油画之间已无界限。
*前波画廊为此展览出版了展览图录