By Anthea Passmore
Buffalo, NY – A major Chinese contemporary art exhibition opens this week in Buffalo after its debut in Beijing. "The Wall" is an ambitious collaborative effort among the Albright-Knox, UB Art Galleries and the China Millennium Monument Gallery.
The Great Wall of China is iconic -- a symbol recognized globally. It seems fitting that the title of the largest Chinese contemporary art exhibition to be held both in China and outside of China is called "The Wall." The exhibition examines "The Wall" from three perspectives. It looks at the historical memory of the wall, the influences the wall has had shaping Chinese modernity and the wall as a concept. Exhibition Curator Professor Gao MingLu explains how these perspectives relate to the artwork on display.
"By showing several works by each artist and by arranging the exhibition in three separate venues, the works will communicate with the viewer on several different levels," Minglu said.
Contemporary pieces displayed at the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts include 12 gold elongated traditional Chinese dresses hanging from the ceiling. In a dark room, a film is projected onto a screen while a rectangular pool on the floor surrounded by stones reflects the projected image.
"The Wall" is installed in three venues at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and at two University at Buffalo galleries. The exhibition opens this Friday and runs until late January.