This exhibition, curated by Feng Boyi, a Beijing based independent curator, includes young Chinese painters who have all responded to China’s modernization and the affect on its youth—socially, emotionally and sexually. Inevitably, environmental and cultural transformations within China have forced social renegotiations of desire, power and self-identification. This exhibition examines the unpredictable attitudes and emotions of Song Kun, Ren Xiaolin, Zhao Jihua, Jiang Hai, Lai Shenyu and Yang Xiaogang.

Though aesthetically different, these emerging painters address common themes: androgynous personas, ambiguous emotions and changing relationships with nature. Song Kun creates dark landscapes that are distant and dream-like. Views are obstructed and blurred by objects in the foreground, fog, bubbles and metal bars. What lies beyond is mysterious and unknown, creating a sense of longing. Ren Xiaolin uses watercolor to depict relationships between love and nature. Though he references traditional Chinese landscape painting, Ren Xiaolin evokes universal desires for intimacy as well as complexities of human nature.

Androgyny and ambiguity are most evident in the work of Zhao Jihua. She portrays herself in men’s clothes, suggesting a need for neutrality that balances a strong and forceful character with apathetic expressions. Jiang Hai’s paintings show mutations of bodies with insects; they expose changing dreams and struggles for personal survival.

Finally, Lai Shenyu and Yang Xiaogang represent Chinese youth who are driven by mass media and television. Similar to the other painters, sexual desire is constantly emphasized in their work despite the uncertain state of the world in which they live. All of these artists see parallels between the complexity of contemporary society and the intricacy of human nature.

Body-Boundary reveals much about the mental state of Chinese youth today who have to maneuver between different worlds. With so much over stimulation, younger generations are challenged to find both a way to live their lives and to make their works of art meaningful. Concepts of self and sexuality take on new meanings. This exhibition hopes to capture these personas if only for a brief moment, before their identities and ideologies shift yet again.

Catalogue Available