A diverse spectrum of Chinese contemporary art can be seen at an art exhibition devoted to new Chinese art starting this week in Seoul.

The “New Contemporary Art from China” exhibition, organized in celebration of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China, offers a fresh look at contemporary art in China and insight into the current state and future of Chinese art.

“I hope the exhibition gives new inspiration to the Korean audience and artists. There are two points to keep in mind while viewing the exhibition: One is transformation of art in the time of globalization and the evolution of the Internet, and the other is how artists should reflect such trends in their artworks,” said Fan Di’an, director of the National Art Museum of China, at a press conference on Tuesday.

To represent diverse characteristics of China’s contemporary art, the exhibition features different generations of artists, including internationally acclaimed established artists Xu Bing and Miao Xiachun.

Others include Wang Wei and Li Hui, artists in their mid-30s to 40s, whose interests lie in academic and conceptual art, which was a popular art movement from 1979-1984. It also features young artists Yuan Yuan, Wen Ling, Song Yige and Chen Wei, who were born after 1980. 

“Each artist expresses different responses to the Chinese society of today,” said Liu Chungfeng, curator from the NAMOC, at a guided tour.

“I hope the Korean audience will not just look at the artwork, but think about today’s challenges that both countries share,” said Liu.

The artists take a fresh approach to depicting a rapidly changing China, setting themselves apart from the signature styles of some of the big-name artists in the global auction market.

Miao Xiaochun, one of the most representative artists of media art in China, takes the cube as the medium of the video, featuring different images and symbols of history. The diverse images converge at some points, linking the past and the future of China.

The mass of laser beams from Li Hui’s installation “V” captures viewers’ attention in a dark corner of the exhibition hall. The laser beams form the shape of a “V” as they are reflected on the mirror. The mirror then shoots the rays back to the ceiling. The red laser beams cluster as little dots as they are shot back to the ground.

The strong, yet complicated image of laser beams depicts one of the most serious problems China faces ― rapid urbanization and other related problems, according to the curator.

Yuan Yuan presents pictures of her friends in bubbles attached to a white wall, taking up one side of the exhibition hall.

“It seems to me I get tired of the formality and inflexibility of painting, so I drew close friends, beautiful young girls, onto the transparent acrylic bubble,” said the artist.

The exhibition “New Contemporary Art from China,” organized by the National Art Museum of China and Arko Museum Center, continues through March 31 at Arko Art Center in Daehangno, Seoul.

For more information, call (02) 760-4850.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)