This side, that side, the poetries on the journey

Aye gallery will launch the group exhibition “this side, the other side, the poem on the journey” of three young artists Chen Qiang,Xu Dawei, Zhao Rong on Aug. 16 ,curated by young scholars Xu Shen. Aye gallery not only focus on discovering and developing new artists, but also keep a very high demand of the artistic quality of works. In this exquisite small group exhibition, three artists are focused on different fields: the creation of animation, paintings, and installations. Their works constitute a complete and vibrant exhibition structure, and more importantly, they are showing out the talent, honest, and vitality which the young artists should have.

Chen Qiang’s short animation “hanging city” is from his real life experience. It is a well-made, delicate emotion video works. It had participated in many important exhibitions, such as Hong Kong Short Film Festival, Frankfurt Film Festival, Short Film Festival in Berlin, Paris and other Chinese photo exhibition, etc. to show the standard and independent creativity that the younger generation of Chinese animation artists should have. His new work “Little Bastard” series is the debut, using the similar manner of graffiti to find a new balance between the performance of art and the individual nature of art, with simple images and production, highlighting the charm of its own visual language.

Xu Dawei’s paintings exhibit the complex backgrounds of post 80’s artists, and the reference system rooted: not only the affection of European and American art, but also the traces of Chinese culture, as well as a strong expression of individual experience. After years of trying, his new work “cylindrical space” series, with a new form of expression, continues the exploration to space, and make the ubiquitous, broken visual experience connected with broken spirit experience. New works highlight the regular and irregular opposition. Behind the remarkable tension picture, it is the artist’s courageous breakthrough of his own style of painting.

Zhao Rong’s installations and materials works highlight the cold metal texture, but delicate and full of meditative experience. His works are not only from the traditional Chinese philosophy, which the analysis and emotion of their own material attributes; but also from the European philosophy of deconstruction: decomposition and restructuring of image symbol. There is no clear and the continuing themes in his work on the surface, but full of the marks of ways of thinking, like “investigation of things”. Thus they explore out the direct link between the public sensory intuition and private individual spirit. Or we can say that his works are the diary about his unspeakable meditation.

Three artists are all focusing on the expression of individual experience, and to adhere to explore different forms based on their real life and experience. On the other hand, they focus so much on the real-life experience, we cannot help but believe, to explore the unique art form is not their purpose, but merely the pass of showing their already impressive performance of self. Art forms and the artist’s ego which is the goal, which is a method, in fact, it is not clear, or they are interchangeable. The art forms and individual spirit of the artist cannot be separated, and the so-called “this side” and “that side”, no matter where they point to, they are mutually each other. Indeed, the most important thing is not distinguished from each other, but the endless back and forth, and the new discoveries on the journey. Three artists’ works do not have a grand concept, but all make the self-form and spirit together. In an era full of infinitely information, a small self-belief takes courage. Long years in the future, this quality will increasingly show its importance.