Tag Archives: saatchi gallery

Ink Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery

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Ink
The New Ink Art from China
at the Saatchi Gallery 16-28 June 2012
and at Asia House July 2012

Xu Lei, Tree of Blue Underglaze, 2008, Ink and color on xuan paper, (213 x 125 cm)

Ink is an exhibition featuring the finest examples of contemporary Chinese Ink art at London’s landmark Saatchi gallery and subsequently at Asia House. The exhibition, curated by Michael Goedhuis, is the first comprehensive display of this genre to be shown in a public gallery of international standing and draws together major examples from distinguished private collections. Timed to coincide with London in June when art and antique collectors from all over the world descend on the capital, this cutting-edge show will feature ground-breaking artists from the internationally recognized Xu Lei to the avant-garde Qiu Anxiong. Ink will run from Saturday 16 June to Thursday 28 June 2012 at the Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s Square, London, SW3 4SQ.

“I am delighted to be working with the Saatchi Gallery to finally be able to provide the general public access to The New Ink Art which is perhaps the boldest pictorial experiment in art today. Artists trained in, and deeply knowledgeable of classical painting, are meeting the challenge of creating a pictorial language that is a convincing expression of the world of TODAY and in particular the transformed world of China. It is the theme of this exhibition to define just how audacious and innovative the best of these artists are, despite, or perhaps because of, their deep study of the past. Just as Cezanne and Picasso assimilated the work of Poussin and Velazquez and other Old Masters in order to develop their own revolutionary language, so the ink artists are grappling with the same challenge – how to express the transformation of their society with works that are meaningful precisely because they take account of the past in order to make sense of the present”.

The New Ink Art is increasingly being recognised, not only in China but also internationally, as the most audacious and idealistic movement in contemporary culture and is poised to shortly enter the mainstream of the art-world’s focus.

Michael Goedhuis, who was the first dealer in the west to recognize the significance of these radical innovations in Chinese culture, has concentrated in the past eighteen months on identifying for this exhibition the artists who are in the process of shifting the axis of Chinese aesthetics. It is for this reason that informed art-lovers and collectors and indeed the public at large will be drawn to the Saatchi Gallery for this culturally ground-breaking initiative. Although this exhibition is a loan show and works will therefore not be for sale, it is significant that the price range for the best of contemporary ink paintings is still very accessible by international standards.

A highlight of the exhibition is Tree of Blue Underglaze by the internationally feted artist Xu Lei who last year was the chosen artist for the design of the 2008 vintage Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine label. Inspired by the significance of the year 2008 for the Chinese and to highlight Mouton’s stature in the Chinese wine market, Mouton selected a Chinese artist. Xu Lei himself is one of China’s foremost artists and a leader in the innovative field of ink painting; he serves as the art director of the Today Art Museum in Beijing and is the editor-in-chief of the magazine ‘Classics’.

Qiu Jie, Mao in the Cotton Field , 2007, pencil on paper, (150 x 168 cm)

Other works of note include Gao Xingjian represented by the painting Dream Mountain (La Montagne de Rêve), who was born in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province in 1940. A writer, translator and dramatist he moved to Paris in the 1980s as a political refugee. Here he immersed himself in nature creating semi- abstracted landscapes, believing that art should not be used for political activism, but instead should be an expression of the soul. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 2000. Qiu Jie, who was born in Shanghai in 1960, grew up during the most violent phase of the Cultural Revolution and by the age of 10 was nurturing his talent making copies of propaganda images from local newspapers. He creates images blending stark themes from the Cultural Revolution with striking elements from contemporary culture (see illustration).

Artists to be exhibited include:
Gao Xingjian (???), Gu Wenda (???), Huan Yong Ping (???),Jennifer Wen Ma (??), Li Huayi (???), Li Jin (??), Liu Dan (??), Liu Kuo-sung (???), Liu Qinghe (???), Liu Wei (??), Lo Ch’ing (??), Lu Hao (??), Qin Feng (??), Qiu Anxiong(???)?Qiu Deshu (???),Qiu Jie (??), Qiu Zhijie (???), Wang Dongling(???), Wei Ligang (???), Wilson Shieh ( ???), Wu Yi (??), Xu Bing (??),Xu Lei (??), Yang Jiechang (???), Yang Yanping (???), Yao Jui-chung (???), Zeng Shanqing (???), Zeng Xiaojun (???), and Zhang Huan (??).

After the Saatchi Gallery, the exhibition will travel to Asia House where it will remain until the end of July. Founded in London in 1996, Asia House is the leading pan-Asian, non-profit and non-political organisation in Britain.

Art of Giving at the Saatchi Gallery {Art Review}

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October is Art season in London, and I love it. It’s a wonderful way to spend an evening, drinking champagne and looking at art. One of the best of all of the exhibition’s I have been to this year was the Art of Giving at the Saatchi Gallery.

With works from Banksy, The Chelsea football team, Anthony Quinn, Derren Brown, Vic Reeves, Noel Fielding, Alexa Meade, Gavin Turk and Boyarde Messenger

Some of my favourites included; Boyarde Messenger’s painted models on plinths, wearing Charlotte Dellal shoes. The Models had to be painted at Chelsea photographer Simon Addinsell’s flat causing chaos when they walked down the King’s Road.

Stephen Walter’s The Island is beautiful and full of detail, Russelll Young’s I like you, I miss you, I love you, I killed you ,made me stop and stare for a good few minutes and Derek Cattani’s photography of Christian the Lion made me want to get my credit card out and buy the lot. Another amazingly talented artist is Drew Walker. His portraits of celebrities are rich in detail.

There was a wonderful performance from Tallulah Rendall and Lord Jeffrey Archer did the auction. Encouraging everyone to open their wallets to great success.

Famously reclusive Banksy also made an appearance, even taking his rat for a touch up before it was auctioned off. If only I knew what he looked like….

13 charities reaped the benefits of the auction, including: Crisis, British Red Cross, Stepping Stones Nigeria and Independent Age.

http://www.artofgiving.co.uk/index.html

ARTIST BOYARDE MESSENGER FUSES FASHION & ART FOR THE ART OF GIVING AT THE SAATCHI GALLERY

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On of my favourite Artist photographer’s Boyarde Messenger will be creating for the first time, a live installation around the female nude for the Art of Giving, in the Saatchi Gallery, October 7th, 2010. Boyarde and the Art Of Giving have joined forces to create a spectacular of the female form. A selection of live models, wearing Charlotte Olympia shoes, will be hand painted by Boyarde Messenger, to forge a stunning fusion of art and fashion and will be presented at the opening night of the exhibition. Each model will be a unique work of ‘performance’ Art.

The evening is expected to host the glitterati of London society, dedicated to promote art while raising awareness and donating funds to various charities.

Boyarde studied an Art Foundation at the Wimbledon School of Art and followed on to graduate with BA (Hons) in photography at The Bournemouth Arts Institute. She began her career as a commercial photographer, eventually developing and combining her painting and photographic skills to create these individual artworks. Boyarde spends half her time in Belize, Central America, where the bursting sunshine and free-spiritedness of the people creates her palate of inspiration.

Back in London, high heels adorned, transcending the boundaries of art and fashion, this installation was inevitable, for fashion is in her blood. Her mother, Nike Williams, acclaimed art director of 60’s flagship magazine Honey brought back curves to women. She also styled the original Pirelli calendars; her stepmother, Victoria Nixon, a former international model, was discovered by Helmut Newton. Following in their footsteps, Messenger continued with her fascination of the female form, its power, and Scopophilia. Boyarde is best known for her Pop Art Bottoms, both hand-painted and photographed by Boyarde, which she describes as “highlighting… [her] playful personality, injecting it with humour and mischievousness, whilst liberating the object of desire, admiring its form, yet still confirming the vital balance between power and vulnerability.” Alongside her live installation will be a photographic collection of Messenger’s latest hand-painted Pop Art Bottoms. Messenger exhibits internationally, in London, Paris, New York and Miami.

Art Of Giving runs from October 7th- 9th 2010. Exhibition runs daily. Private view and official launch October 7th.
Art of Giving was set up by Tracey and Ben Bambrough. Art of Giving’s mission is to bring together the sense of wellbeing that owning an original artwork can give with the positive feeling that comes from donating to an admired charity. “Art of Giving was created to make a difference in the world through art.”

‘Finding the unusual… is the hallmark of gifted photographers and [her]… series of photographs from Belize reveal the technical gifts and social documentarian lurking in Messenger’s closet’. ’The Independent

Short-listed for the final judging day, 2009 Terry O’Neill Award, “the world’s leading photographic competition”
The youngest winner of The Observer photographic competition, 2005