2001 – CEAC

Naughty boy’s world

root — Fri, 12 Oct 2001 14:23:47 +0000

Opening

October 5 at 5 PM, 2001

Duration

October 5 till 30, 2001

Location

CEAC, Xiamen, China

Artist

Wang Shugang

Wang Shugang’s works is small and simple comparing to those complicated and extravagant modern installation art. Wang Shugang’s artistic language is of populace, comparing to the modern artists who are talking about for the populace but actually doing the noble creation. Small and simple visual impression represents Wang Shugang’s personal view and artistic taste, and at the
same time the artistic language for the populace represents his hope that is, to break the self-appreciation situation, to get close to the people, and to fulfill the purpose of exchanging with the people. As to the former one, we can easily get the smell of Chinese traditional artistic appreciation; but to the later one, we can also feel the spirit of post-modernism. In the space consisted of personal experiences and public exchange, traditional concepts and modern ideas, Wang Shu gang endlessly seeks for his own supportive point for his creation， and expresses his feelings and thoughts by the installations.

Actually, when Wang Shugang was still a student in the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, he was facing this new artform with a conflict feeling. It was when he immigrated to Germany in 1989 than the started to know about this artform and took it as his creation means. Now, Wang Shugang is in his middle age. After 11 years artist life abroad, he is more sure of the way to make installations. In his point of view, installation is not only an international language, but also an effective tool of visual expression. Its effectiveness lies in that it can help the artist to use various materials to fully express his personal experiences in a contrast space, so that some meanings which can not be expressed by the traditional language can be expressed more clearly.

Although Wang Shugang tries to express clearly during his creation, he is still not a person who eats on the talbe with the traditional concepts. All his artistic pursuits are developed under the rules of the modern art games. However, in the modern art rules, there is avery important content is: to emphasize on the symbol of the art not the signal. Therefore, his pursuit of clarity is the clarity of moral. This means when we look a this installations, we can not only depend on the visual feelings, but also give more understandings. In this regard, the American critic Tom Wolfe has avery inspiring conclusion. He said, “The key to appreciate the traditional art is that seeing is believing, and the key to appreciate the modern art is that believing is seeing.” The former one emphasizes the visual judgement based on the common cultural concepts, but the later one emphasizes on the visual judgement based on recognizing the cultural concepts. If we agree with his concept, then we can find how outstanding the concepts are in the modern art, and how necessary it is to understand the concepts when we appreciate the modern art.

The new installation of Wang Shugang is exhibited in the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen University, from October 5 to October 30, 2001. In this exhibition, you will see the artist’s artistic explanation to the life meanings: “Life is like this. The world is like these one hundred sticks of red sugar-coated haws, In which you just need to live purely and naught ily.”

Gallery

For You

root — Wed, 12 Sep 2001 15:18:46 +0000

Opening

September 7 at 5 PM, 2001

Duration

September 7 till 30, 2001

Location

CEAC, Xiamen, China

Artist

Lam de Wolf

Lam de Wolf shows her new works from 7th of September till 30th of September 2001 in the CEAC, Xiamen University with “For You”. The exhibition shows new works and is a start of Lam de Wolf in China. Lam de Wolf showed more than 100 times, most of the time was in Europe, but also in U.S.A., Australia and Japan.

The last years Lam de Wolf also combined some of her autonomic and conceptual art with experimental art in which the public would become part of the artworks. An example: you see an almost empty room. On the ground, along the wall side, there are small packages, packed like presents. In the middle Lam deWolf is sitting on a table. She is talking with a visitor about life, dreams and the conversation ends with she giving one of the packages to the visitor, by let the visitor writing his/her name in the empty place on the ground. In the package is a present, connected to the visitor, Lam de Wolf says. Some visitors enjoyed the beauty of the package so much that they have till now never wanted to open it.

For the exhibition in CEAC, Lam de Wolf shows again alot of elements together: textiles and printings, traditional hand works near abstract art, inspired by the pixels of the computer. She herself chooses the name “Hand computer” for these works. Special for this show and for China are made:
A) .“For You” in which every visitor becomes part of the work by writing his/her wish into the work
itself;
B) .“Roses for China from Holland”. Roses are in Holland symbols of love,
but roses are sharp things, on which one can get hurt, beauty that can hurt;
without lamb no wolf.

Gallery

Arvid Pettersen

root — Fri, 27 Apr 2001 13:33:08 +0000

Opening

April 27 at 5 PM, 2001

Duration

April 27 till May 20, 2001

Location

CEAC, Xiamen, China

Artist

Arvid Pettersen

On April 27th the Chinese European Art Center opens three different exhibitions at the same time. The artists are Arvid Pettersen (Norway), Li Gang (China) and Wang Suhua (China).

The Norwegian painter Arvid Pettersen is showing his paintings. Arvid Pettersen is amongst the best-known painter in the Nordic countries. He has made exhibitions all over the world such as in the Guggenheim Museum New York, Venice Biennial and in many museums in Europe, but this is the first time that his works are shown in the Chinese European Art Center. The Art Center is especially honored that these works of the exhibition which have been made in New York have never been exhibited in the world before. Arvid Pettersen did come to Xiamen for his exhibition and he will give a lecture about his art at the Art College on Saturday 28 of April at 19.30. The exhibition will be opend by Rigmor Kristin Johnssen, the Cultural Attache from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing.

Gallery

Arvid Pettersen, Li Gang and Wang Suhua

root — Thu, 12 Apr 2001 10:42:48 +0000

Opening

April 27 at 5 PM, 2001

Duration

April 27 till May 6, 2001

Location

CEAC, Xiamen, China

Artist

Li Gang and Wang Suhua

Arvid Pettersen

On April 27th the Chinese European Art Center opens three different exhibitions at the same time. The artists are Arvid Pettersen (Norway), Li Gang (China) and Wang Suhua (China).

Li Gang from Beijing shows his installation sculptures made of bronze. Li Gang studied in Australia where he stayed for 6year sand since 4 years he lives in Being. He has made several exhibtions before and the last one was in the Redgate Gallery in Beijing. Li Gang couldn’t be here for the opening because
he is at this moment putting up an exhibition of 35 Chinese artists in Oslo in Norway.

Wang Suhua is exhibting his watercolours. Wang Shuha studied art at the Art College,
Xiamen University and is teaching at Gu Lang yu. He has exhibited before in Xiamen,
but this is his first exhibition at the art center.

Gallery

SHE

root — Thu, 12 Apr 2001 10:15:19 +0000

Opening

April 6 at 5 PM, 2001

Duration

April 6 till 23, 2001

Location

CEAC, Xiamen, China

Artist

Group exhibition

Participating artists: Kan Xuan 阚萱, Li Xiuqin 李秀勤, Liu Manwen 刘曼文, Chen Qingqing 陈庆庆, Wu Yanping 吴燕平, Hu Mingzhe 胡明哲, Dieuwke Spaans, Hannelore Houdijk, Lisse Haller Baggesen, Lon Robbe, Machteld van Buren, Marleen Dumas, Runa Thorkelsdottir, The Icelandic Love Corporation.

Undoubtedly, there are all kinds of differences between the female artists and the male artists in the way of deep emotions and feelings, which are easily found. However, when we look at the art history, there is little occasion for us to compare and investigate these differences. The reason is very simple because most of the artworks were made by male artists in the art history, unfortunately.

It became a fashion in the recent years to hold group exhibitions for female artists and with this topic to discuss art and exceed the domain of the arts. In a sense, this is a revision of the extremism formed for along time ago in history. The meaning of this intensive way of planning the exhibition, is not only to show a new range of appreciating art, but also to make something understood which is very important in the spiritual lives of women. In another word, if this kind of exhibitions emphasize on the spiritual world of
women, its meaning is not just forgiving one or several answers for the gender characteristic.

Through their art, the spiritual lives of human beings will avoid losing their balance. We can find the spiritual values and the cultural features which are irreplaceable and keep changing as the time changes.Wed on’t accept only simple conclusions formed once in history, and wed on’t examine and look for meanings only standing at one side of the gender. This is very important for us to remember.

The exhibition “SHE” is held for the purpose mentioned above. In this exhibition, you can see that there are differences and similarities of focused topics and ways by the female artists who are living in different cultural backgrounds. They transform some shallow phenomena into a certain sense of percep tivity. They directly transform their personal experiences and the consequent psychological activities into all kinds of surprising visual images, which brings a new view for the art and the life and a new way to look at women
in art.

Gallery

Paul Termos Ensemble

root — Mon, 12 Mar 2001 09:49:25 +0000

Opening

March 3 at 7:30 PM, 2001

Duration

March 3 at 7:30 PM, 2001

Location

Concert hall of Senior Activity Center, Xiamen, China

Artist

The Paul Termos Ensemble consists of 4 musicians from the Netherlands who are very active in contemporary music and improvised music. The ensemble brings a programme with works by Dutch and European composers in different instrumentations from solo to quartet, but also improvised music for saxophone and/or guitar solo and duo. The programme gives a good view into the current music life of the Netherlands, which is very internationally orientated and open to many influences from abroad. Typical of this music life is the cross over between composed and improvised music. Composers such as Guus Janssen, Peter van Bergen, Maarten Altena and Paul Termos are also musicians themselves, performing in improvised music groups.

The ensemble can play in concert, but they can also give workshops as soloists for composers, singers, guitarists, saxophonists and pianists, or for any student who wants to know more about improvised music Composer Paul Termos can also lecture about contemporary music in Europe and especially in the Netherlands.

Paul Termos will be in Xiamen, China, on 23 February 2001, when the DVD-project “Flash” is presented there in the Chinese European Art Center.
“Flash” is a project in which 9 composers from the Netherlands and
9 visual artists have worked together on 9 video/DVD-productions with new music.

Gallery

Jaap Kroneman and the Flash-DVD project

root — Sat, 03 Feb 2001 08:52:24 +0000

Opening

February 23 at 3 PM, 2001

Duration

February 23 till March 18, 2001

Location

CEAC, Xiamen, China

Artist

Jaap Kroneman

The first exhibition in this new year at the Chinese European Art Center is an installation by the Dutch artist Jaap Kroneman and at the same time the CEAC presents the Flash-DVD project which is a co-operation between modem composers and visual artists in Europe.

Jaap Kroneman is born in1968 in Holland. After his study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amhem he started as a painter. Later he began to do all kind of different things at the same time. In the Art Center Kroneman makes an installation where he includes the music presentation which he himself is also participating in. Kroneman is highly appreciated by the young artists in Holland. He has already made many exhibitions in many prominenf places. What is significant for Kroneman’s work is that he uses many ways of expressing his ideas. He is a skilful draftsman and makes beautiful drawings, he is a bookmaker and makes interesting artist’s books, he
makes video, he makes installations, as can now been seen at the Art Center and he is interested and involved into music and literature as well. All together he can be called a multi-media artist.

Jaap Kroneman will be present at the opening and will also during his stay in Xiamen give a lecture at the Fine Art Department of Xiamen University.