Foreword
About Cold Ink:
Cold Ink Abstract Ink Art is composed of seven artists graduated from the Mixed Media Studio, CAFA, and their ages span across the 1970s and 1980s. Based on the same artistic aspiration, they come together, some of them are already mature artists, while some are young who have just been graduated from the academy, and some are students for the Master’s degree, the structures of the cold ink are diverse, based on the heritage of academy education, which is the academic system by Hu Wei who works at CAFA, at the same time, combining the artistic creations of the members, who are excellent students from Hu Wei’s Studio, holding a unified experimental look of the artistic style, as well as strong personal styles.
Li Sa:
Manifesto of Cold Ink:
Firstly, “contemporary ink” shifts from the edge to the center. Secondly, it’s a misreading of Chinese culture to understand ink only in the level of the surface techniques and materials. Ink is carrying the responsibility of the cultural spirit and ideals of the entire literati class (intellectuals). Thirdly, the development of modern art continuous the evolution of the figurative to the abstract, hidden the logic of constant advancing of “cultural modernity”, embodying the core of modern culture: the “rational spirit”. Fourthly, it’s obviously that a “man in lack of introspective” in the culture fails to understand the abstract. Fifthly, we oppose and criticize the “theory of market” - consumer culture erodes Chinese culture (blind imitation of the Western artistic style) and the plagiarism without cultural judgment (repeat and patch up the pattern of traditional art), both of them are not the future of Chinese art. Sixthly, the fusion of ink and abstract combines the dream of value for the “responsibility” of traditional culture and the core “rational” spirit of the modern culture. Seventhly, the most that Chinese contemporary art is lacking in is “rational”. Our attitude is also very simple: rational, rational, and rational, always rational, to promote cultural change by the spirit of operation of the cultural responsibility and rational value.
About the exhibition:
It’s the first round exhibition for the members of Cold Ink Group, mainly featuring some creative statuses at the present stage, all the members respectively coming up with the most representative and experimental valuable works over the last year in the initial round, which is a enlightenment to the future cold ink, laying the experimental and innovation gesture of the cold ink, at the same time, it’s the first group exhibition for the Cold Ink for communication. Therefore, the first round is not only a beginning, but also to lay a gesture of the cold ink in the future exhibition.
For the exhibition, the academic question for the Cold Ink would be presented by the form of discussion and documentary, eventually becoming several directions of the long-term works: Document, innovative and forward-looking, in the current surging art market, the main issues for artists of cold ink to solve in the future are the academic construction of the works and artistic exploration, while cold ink remains firmly committed that the art of strong cultural construction and introspective value is the future of art.
The exhibition presents two structures: firstly, contemporary transformation of oriental imagery; secondly, the oriental style to perform the Western substance.
Curator: Duan Shaofeng Opening Reception: at 15: 00 pm, August 3, 2013 Duration: August 3 – August 11, 2011
Venue: Fangcaodi Gallery, 798 Art Zone, Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, P.R. China
Organizer: Fangcaodi Gallery 798, in cooperation with New Youth Art Salon
Artists: Fang Zhiyong, Jin Jinghua, Huang Qi, Kong Yan, Li Hao, Li Sa, Yu Yang
Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO
