The 2011 Jeju International Contemporary Art Exhibition was held from October 17th to 24th in the Chengshan Art Museum of the Jeju International Art Center, Korea. Displaying the latest works from over 80 artists from all over the world, organizers of this great event hope that it would integrate the frontier spirits of artists from various countries and build a platform for art communications. Taking art as the link for tourism, culture, education, ecological architecture, multi-marine and commercial cooperation, it will contribute to the further prosperity and development of the artistic civilization in Korea. In-depth cooperation and communication between China, Korea and the other countries redefine the glory of rising Asian contemporary culture and art.

Gu Qunye, Zhang Yanzi, Xing Gang, Zhang Qilin, Gu Kaijun, Wang Mengsha and other Chinese artists all make their first appearance in Korea. The collection from the exhibition by the organizer includes Football Baby by Gu Qunye and Iceberg? Mountains Beyond Mountains by Xing Gang, who were invited to start their own art studio at the Jeju International Art Center.

Consulate officials, the Chief Director of Korean Art Association, the Director of South Korea Modern Art Association, the President and the Director of the Jeju Fine Arts Association and artists from Russia, China, Thailand and Japan attended the opening ceremony. Honorable guests from international art institutions, enterprises, collections, finance and other sectors visited the exhibition. Its grand opening was covered in the media of South Korea such as KBS, SBS, MBC, KCTV, Jeju Daily, Jeju Halla Daily, Jeju Special Self-Governing Council, Jeju Art Association, Jeju Three Shareholders, Shin Kong Sea Transportation, Jeju Video Media Center, etc.

Han Dong, Operational Commissary in charge of Chinese Artists in this exhibition and Xing Gang who serves as the Chinese curator have respectively elaborated on the meaning of this exhibition from the perspectives of “Art is a universal language, an approach dealing with communication barriers and cultural differences,” and “This is a reunion of pan-Asia Pacific contemporary art with the display full of vitality aroused by the differences”. One of the most important curators in Korea, Bai Guangyi works as the chairman of this exhibition who spoke highly of the outstanding achievements Chinese contemporary artists have made in recent years. He believes that emerging artists from China, Thailand, Korea, Japan etc increasing constitute to the fundamental strength of the international art stage as they have made efforts to present the coexistence of cultural differences in their own way, which has resulted in worldwide attention.

Zhang Yanzi, contemporary ink painter, born in Jiangsu in 1967 and graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Capital Normal University with a dual master’s degree, now works at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Seams of Sunshinne is her microscopic explanation through the reality, filled with the various desires in this world of suspended dust, implied and hidden swimming, which escape the most trusted human eye. It is sunlight which exposes the dust. When sunlight penetrates the cleaned clothing fibers, it is fragmented into numerous rays by the filament of silk stockings so that the presence and uproar of dust can be detected clearly by the human eye. This kind of broken-gap is a force which is often overlooked. When they show in the state of cohesion, it is like the rays of sun.

Xing Gang, independent artist and painter, born in Tianjin in 1978 and graduated from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. He now lives and works in Beijing.

Bird and Potpourri•Ice-cold Fish depicts birds with no nationality that drift away like stiff fighter planes. Exotic flowers rush forward with the floating clouds, although they sacrificed a lot, they retain their tenacious perseverance; the frozen bottom of sea and the constantly evolving fish contain the deeply hidden desire and longing pursuit of a leap into the sky. Fish know the power of mass which embody their contributions to the sea and human beings with their unfolding expressions and love of magical beauty. Whether it is birds, fish or the fragrance of flowers out of the clouds, they all have an ideal, a reluctance to be enveloped, oppressed and tied, which constitutes the power of the frontier exploration in art.

Liu Bolin, independent artist and sculptor, born in Shandong in 1973 and graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He now lives and works in Beijing.

Urban Camouflage seems like the act of a “hermit in the city” at first glance. When scrutinized, a real social destruction for the helplessness of human civilization and spiritual salvation can be found in his art. Having himself embodied as part of the building and the scenery, or hidden in the realistic scene, the artist makes the scene empty or tenuous while the hidden human body among them retains his soul and is real. This is a transcending state of mind, beyond the self and the reality of existence, as well as a desire for salvation.

Zhang Qilin, freelance artist and painter, born in Tianjin and graduated from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, now she lives and works in Beijing and Tianjin.

Overstep the Boundary is two worlds of red and black, reality and fantasy, life and death…Getting in means confronting the red walls of imprisonment and paralysis while going out means black universe of infinite freedom; it is everyday life while out is beyond Nirvana, bliss; it means life or a fate totally worse than death while out means death or rebirth after death…The artist has captured her own behavior in an attempt to overstep, which sets off alarms and explains the choice of life that one must confront. This kind of frustrated psychological struggle cannot be instantly decided upon. Only through the self-transformation and reshaping his inner world, can one get rid of the shackles of reality, thus achieving changes and sublimations.

Gu Qunye, artist and designer, born in Shandong in 1971, he now works at Shandong University of Art and Design.

FOOTBALL BABY is a monster COS named after COSPLAY who steps on the earth with one foot. Its image borrows the concept of a dragon, which is a patchwork of various animals with devil’s horn, face of a monkey, eyes of ET, the hands of a lizard, the feet of a lion and tail of a fox…The artist tries to act like a human with cartoon characters. Without ears and mouth, COS cannot hear or speak. Though he has large, bright eyes, there are no eyeballs in them. It has such a long fox tail that it appears as an “accidentally revealed the fox’s tail”…Many take it as a monster but the artist holds that it is an image of ourself.

Gu Kaijun, freelance artist, was born in Jiangyan of Jiangsu province in 1973. He now lives and works in Tianjin.

Out of the Mountains is a kind of thought on Kunlun culture and Tai Xuan system of Taichi. Mirroring the landscapes of ancient paintings while increasing the solemn and scared mountains, it presents an image by means of personification. At this point the mountain was shrouded in mystery although no totem, gods or ghosts from Shan Hai Jing turn up, it seems that these lives are hidden inside for this symmetry of the mountains and caves appears like fantasy.

Wang Mengsha, freelance artist who was born in 1982 in Wuxi, Jiangsu province and graduated from the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts.

Time passes like flowing water is constituted with a simple touch of rouge taste which is also disseminated with the flavor of the Republic of China; this kind of ignorant innocence of youth comes from instincts. Women in the painting are full of a desire to be integrated into the high-speed rotation of social machines while having an ideal wish to stay away from the hustle and bustle, the idea of escape from social reality. Facing their inner contradictions, to be integrated or to be isolated? In their hesitation, a new kind of ideal emerges which provides a new possibility for the creations of artists.