Abstract Art: Exhibition traces most radical art devt. of 20th century
Updated 19:37, 23-Jul-2019
Abstract art remains one of the most radical art movements of the 20th century. To trace its development, an exhibition is being held in Beijing with a selection of works by 13 artists from different generations. Li Qiong reports.
Each artist in the exhibition represents a decade, as defined by their date of birth. The works on display span such a long time from Vivian Springford - born in 1913, at the time abstract art first appeared to Alex Israel - born in the early 80's, when abstraction was challenged by so-called "neo-expressionist" figurative movements. Trying to sketch out a subjective overview of abstract painting's evolution over almost a century, the exhibition is not simply curated based on chronology.
Relevance linking different artists is often found in the exhibition. John Armleder is recognized for randomly pouring paint on a vertical canvas or a canvas placed on the floor, and gesturally mixing in a diverse range of experimental materials. Here, the artist used Chinese textiles to separate his paintings.
In the same room, his student, Chinese artist Xu Qu uses different watermarks of banknotes from across the world to create colourful abstract compositions in the "Currency Wars" series. Materials are a very key component in abstract art. Some even use light.
And some female artists strike for some unique perspectives, such as Sylvie Fleury. With her monumental make-up palettes, Fleury questions the structures of desire and power attached to cosmetic objects.
From Asia to the United States and Europe, the artists in this exhibition embrace and renew the heritage of abstraction.
Their works can be observed at Beijing's Song Art Museum till November 17. LQ, CGTN, BJ.