Portal. ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries Features Works by Prominent Chinese Artists

The ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries presents until the end of May 2011 some of the superstars of the contemporary Chinese art market. Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, and Feng Zhengjie are some of the artists included in the exhibition, “Portal: Contemporary Chinese Paintings, Prints, Photographs and Sculpture,” the fourth of the gallery since 2007 dedicated to Chinese artists.

By Sophie Annie Videment

Superstars of the contemporary Chinese art market, the artists presented in “Portal,” have in common that they depict in their own way-sensual, brutal, subtle, provocative-the well-known contradictions of China’s modernity, between individuality and collectivism, and communism and the commercialized present.

Huang Yan, Self Portrait, archival inkjet print with Pochoir, 31 ¾”x 23 ½”, 2008, Ed. 200.

When entering the gallery, the eye is instantly caught by a Zhang Xiaogang multiple, from his renowned “Big Family Series.” Inspired by family photos from the Cultural Revolution period, Zhang Xiaogang’s paintings explore the notion of identity within the Chinese culture of collectivism. Zhang Xiaogang’s portraits depict an endless genealogy of expressionless family members, their well-kept emotions being only perceivable by red marks on the faces and necks. The piece featured in the exhibition represents in particular the “one child” policy, this “one child” being preferably a boy.

On the opposite side of the space, three multi-colored dinosaur sculptures by Sui Jianguo are joyfully appealing. Through his “made in China” series, Sui Jianguo, referred to as “a leading figure of China’s New Sculpture movement,” draws attention “to the political and economic system behind the toy industry.” Sui Jianguo views his dinosaurs as parallels to much of the world’s manufacturing: designed in the West, made in China, and then exported globally.

Close to Sui Jianguo’s sculptures stand Wang Guangyi’s Political Pop’s paintings. Combining the ideological power of communist propaganda with consumer logos such as BMW or Rolex, Wang Guangyi’s canvases provoke with their duplicitous message, highlighting the conflict between China’s political past and commercialized present.

Wang Guangyi, No Gillette, 2002, lithograph, 29 ¼” x 23 ½”, Ed. 199.

In the same gallery area, Feng Zhengjie’s paintings reflect a vision of another pop genre, futuristic pop. His generic portraits of empty-eyed women with exotic colors are influenced by promotional imagery, and are reminiscent of Warhol’s celebrity portraits. Neither western nor Chinese, Feng Zhengjie’s hybrid women are commercial beauties, a science fiction product of globalization.

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Is the subject of Huang Yan’s work a painted body or a landscape? Multimedia artist, Huang Yan superimposes Chinese landscape scenes onto photos of faces and the human body, combining a traditional Chinese art form and contemporary performance art. The skin becomes a piece of paper, leading us to question whether the subject of his work is the body or the painting. The Museum of Modern Art in New York recently acquired two of Huang Yan’s photos, presently exhibited on its third floor.

Back to the right wall of the gallery entrance, three silkscreen prints by Guo Wei focus on pre-adolescents. His work is seen as highlighting the recent development of individualism in China.

Two large-scale paintings in the show by Cao Xiaodong and Lu Peng bring together ancient, contemporary, and western symbols. Cao Xiaodong’s painting shows Mao Zedong surrounded with Playboy “bunnies,” while Lu Peng’s typifies his complex compositions of falling-or flying-nudes surrounded by a chaotic mass of banners, signs, and jet planes.

To finish this extremely rich exhibition is a particularly graceful print by Yang Qian. From the “Bathroom” series, this work, which depicts Marilyn Monroe, reflects a subtle feeling of fragility and nostalgia. Viewed through a mist of water drops, this series suggests the overlapping of reality and illusion.

“Portal” will be on exhibit until the end of May at ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Greater Miami’s longest-established contemporary fine art gallery, now in its 37^th year. The gallery is located at 169 Madeira Avenue, in the business district of downtown Coral Gables.  www.virginiamiller.com

Sophie Annie Videment is an art critic based in Miami. She is an expert and art consultant on contemporary art, and is member of Paris-based European Chamber of Expert-Advisors in Fine Art.

* All images are courtesy of Art/Space Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables (Miami), Florida.