What is it like to be 24 years old and have a well-known art museum of your own?
What is the experience of the first exhibition that gathered more than 40 highly influential artists in the field of Chinese contemporary art?
Chen Danqing, Cao Fei, Chu Yun, Ding Yi, Feng Guodong, Fei Jun, Fang Lijun, Gu Dexin, Gu Xiaoping, Hu Liwei, Liu Gangshun, Li Shan, Liu Wei, Liu Xiaodong, Mao Xuhui, Mao Yan, Nabuqi, Peng Wei, Qin Qi, Qin Siyuan, Qiu Xiaofei, Sui Jianguo, Shang Yang, Sun Yidian, Tan Ping, Wu Didi, Wang Guofeng, Wang Guangyi, Wang Jiazeng, Wang Tuo, Wang Xingwei, Wang Yin, Xu Bing, Xie Nanxing, Yu Hong, Yang Maoyuan, Yao Qingmei, Yuan Yunsheng, Zhou Chunya, Zhang Enli, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhuang Hui, Zhang Peili, Zhang Xiaogang, Outlook (sorted by surname phonetics)
Even if you don't know art, some of them may have familiar names.
Exhibition site
In addition to the artist lineup, the exhibition exhibits nearly 50 works, all of which are artists' masterpieces, half of which are collected by the curator, and more importantly, these works are very "luxurious", such as Zhang Xiaogang's work "Blood: Big Family No. 9" (1997), which sold for 25.45 million Hong Kong dollars in 2021; on the other hand, most of the works on display were created by artists in the 1980s and 1990s, which is also very "mysterious" and rare to see in ordinary times.
His name is Ding Zehua, he is the first post-95s art museum director in China, and on March 18, 2022, he became the director of the Song Art Museum, and is fully responsible for the operation and management of the future Song Art Museum.
Ding Zehua has an extremely strong passion for art, although he is very young, he has nearly ten years of collecting experience, and has his own collection concept and focus: the main direction is the "post-89 period", that is, painting in the 1990s, along the vein of the history of Chinese contemporary art, especially works that have an important impact on society and occupy an important node in the history of art.
Exhibition site
After taking over as the director of the Song Art Museum, Ding Zehua also had his own artistic ideals, that is, to strive to establish a display sequence of modern and contemporary art in China's private art museums.
The future Song Art Museum will be based on Ding Zehua's personal collection, through in-depth research, form an exhibition with vertical thinking, enhance the academic and professional construction of Song Art Museum, and actively participate in and promote the development process of Chinese contemporary art.
Rhythm and Overlap: What was the first exhibition of the curator of "Post-95s"?
"Rhythm and Overlap" is the first exhibition held after Ding Zehua became the director of the Song Art Museum, with Wang Min'an as the curator, in addition to the above-mentioned points, the exhibition has many interesting places, such as works that are rare in the artist's graduation period, works that are presented in China for the first time, artists who have retired at the peak of the circle, and an artist who was once a cleaner, there are works created by artists with ink buckets, etc. It is advisable to pay more attention to watching the exhibition.
Cao Fei - Derivative, courtesy of the artist, Vitamin Space and Spüth Magers
Mask Series No. 3 of 1997, Zeng Fanzhi, oil on canvas, 1997, 150×129.9cm
For example, we followed the exhibition route, in the first exhibition hall, artist Cao Fei's work "Derivation" was exhibited in China for the first time, even in her large solo exhibition last year, it was not presented; in this exhibition hall, we can also see Zeng Fanzhi's "Mask Series No. 3 of 1997" (sold for 17.825 million yuan at the Yongle 2021 Autumn Auction), Sui Jianguo's "Handwriting a Moment", Xu Bing's "Art for the People" and Mao Yan's "Thomas".
Art for the People, Xu Bing, Calligraphy, 1999, 57×136cm
Sui Jianguo - A moment of handwriting, picture courtesy of the artist and the Sui Jianguo Art Foundation
The second exhibition hall of the exhibition needs to pay attention to the work of Zhang Peili's "Water Sports" created in 1984 (Yongle 2021 Autumn Auction Zhang Peili's "Water Sports" sold for 7.475 million yuan), which is the artist's graduation work, which inspired the famous "Water Series" that followed it from the theme, and is a rare large-scale painting in the artist's extremely rare early paintings.
Water Sports, Zhang Enli, oil on canvas, 1984, 83×130cm
Green Dog No. 3, Zhou Chunya, 250×200cm Oil on canvas, 1997
The third exhibition hall exhibits artist Shang Yang's "95 Landscapes-1" (Beijing Poly 2016 Spring Auction sold for 5.98 million), opposite the work is the artist Yuan Yunsheng's 80-year-old huge-scale work "Wind and Waves", occupying the entire exhibition wall, the artist can create such a huge work at such an advanced age, very shocking; next is an independent small exhibition hall, only showing one work Zhang Xiaogang's "Bloodline: Big Family No. 9" created in 1997, and the exhibition hall after that is divided into two, On the right-hand side, only artist Fei Jun's work "The Form of Time: Peking Opera" is displayed, and the presentation on the left-hand side is still dominated by paintings, among which artist Ding Yi's "Ten Shows 93-18" (2017 Sotheby's Hong Kong auctioned HK$1.75 million), which is also his work in the early stage of exploration, and the only print in this exhibition, Fang Lijun's "1997B Series No. 3".
"95 Landscapes-1", Shang Yang, oil on canvas, acrylic, 1995, 175×202cm
Yuan Yunsheng - Calm Wind and Waves, image courtesy of the artist and Platform China
Blood: Big Family No. 9, Zhang Xiaogang, oil on canvas, 1997, 149×189cm
"Ten Shows 93-18", Ding Yi, charcoal on canvas, 1993, 119.8×139.5cm
Fang Lijun 1997B series No. 3
In addition, in the exhibition hall on the first floor, you can also see the artist Wang Xingwei's "Sorghum Land and Paintings" (China Guardian 2020 Spring Auction price of 5.6925 million yuan) and Wang Yin's "Unnamed - I Walk on the Road" (Beijing Yongle 2021 Spring Auction 4.6 million transactions), from the pictures of the two works, we can see that the appearance of the two artists' works has undergone great changes.
Sorghum Fields and Drawings, Wang Xingwei, oil on canvas, 1991, 140×172cm; 15×19cm
"Unnamed - I Walk on the Road", Wang Yin, 180×140cm, oil on canvas, 1993
Then came to the exhibition hall located in the underground, where you can see the artist Gu Dexin's work "A03", he is the artist who retired from the circle at the peak of his artistic career, no longer engaged in any artistic creation, how many people can do this kind of boldness; the artist Feng Guodong, who is adjacent to him, is the cleaner, who has not attended the Academy of Fine Arts, but with his own efforts to become a pioneer of China's avant-garde art, this time exhibiting his work "Piety and Brokenness" created in 1978. The artist who created with the ink bucket is Gu Xiaoping, whose works take a lot of time and accumulate little by little; in this exhibition hall, you can also see Chen Danqing's work "Khampa Hanzi" (sold for HK$6.73 million in Hong Kong in 2021) when he arrived in New York in early 1983, in addition to Peng Wei's video animation "Summer Will End" and Hu Liwei's video work "Elevator".
A03, Gu Dexin, oil on canvas, 141×77.5cm, 1982
Piety and Brokenness, Feng Guodong, oil on canvas, 93.5×68cm, 1978
Gu Xiaoping - Viewing objects, pictures provided by the artist
Of course, there are many ways to view an exhibition, we can cut in from a variety of different perspectives, for curators, this exhibition is not based on the time and the age of the artist to show, but based on the relationship between the works to set up the exhibition, the public came here, can understand the basic features of the development of Chinese contemporary art in recent decades and what is worth paying attention to.
Half of the works in this exhibition are Ding Zehua's collection, but he does not want the exhibition to become a pure collection exhibition to show others what he has, but wants to maintain an open attitude and dabble in different forms and media, so in addition to painting, the exhibition can also see sculpture, video, installation and other rich art forms.
Nearly 10 years of collecting experience, focusing on Chinese contemporary art
As the exhibition presents, Ding Zehua's other identity is a collector, and in an interview with the media, he said that he entered the field of collecting in 2013 at the age of 15 and began to collect Chinese contemporary art in 2015, and has nearly a decade of collecting experience.
The reason why I got involved in art collection is influenced by my family on the one hand, and out of interest on the other hand.
His collection focuses on Chinese contemporary art, with the main direction being the "Post-89 Period", that is, painting in the 1990s. The collection route is mainly through auctions, as the 1990s paintings were beyond the time of the gallery's agency.
Khampa Hanzi, Chen Danqing, oil on canvas, 1983, 102×76.5cm
Coarse and Thin, Zhang Enli, oil on canvas, 2015, 180×200cm
"Big Flower Bed", Qiu Xiaofei, oil on canvas, 2004, 200×179cm
"I think that the contemporary era is more in line with our living environment, and my own feelings about contemporary art will be deeper; these works are very reflective of the overall mental state of the society at that time, although they are all artistic expressions from the perspective of personal subjectivity, but they are all profoundly ideological." Ding Zehua said.
Of course, there will also be some works by young artists, such as Xie Nanxing, Qiu Xiaofei, Qin Qi, etc., and the future collection will be extended forward to the "85 New Wave" and backwards after the millennium.
Let the Song Museum become an open platform
As the director of the art museum, Ding Zehua is undoubtedly very young, but when it comes to artistic experience, he is not lacking, in addition to ten years of collection experience, from 2019 to 2021, Ding Zehua planned and held the "1515 Young Artists Creation Plan - Delong Cup Steel Sculpture Creation Camp" and large-scale activities such as the Delong Steel Sculpture Festival for three consecutive years, which played a very big role in promoting the development of steel sculpture.
He also has his own thinking when he takes over the Song Art Museum this time, and more importantly, he hopes to play a role in the public's appreciation of art or the development of Chinese contemporary art.
Qin Siyuan - Warm, image courtesy of the artist
Sun Yidian, "Fire Without Temperature", 183×183cm, Acrylic on canvas, 2016, image courtesy of the artist.
In the development of the art museum, he hopes to make the Song Art Museum an open platform, connecting with different subjects such as enterprises, schools, and the general public, focusing on the direction of his own collection in terms of exhibition content, continuous research, and continuous expansion of its concept, rather than focusing on the museum itself.
Of course, for the attention of young artists, Ding Zehua has not fallen behind, Song Art Museum now has a young artist platform "Easy Plan", the future East District Conference of young artists mainly display, and the art museum academic combing research complements.
Conclusion: When the keywords such as "post-95" and the youngest curator are combined, people's impression and focus on Ding Zehua will stay above his age, and the first exhibition after he took office at the Song Art Museum this time allows us to see that the courage and artistic concept of this young collector and curator have been relatively mature, and it also indicates that the younger generation of artists have taken the stage, looking forward to the future development of the Song Art Museum, which can bring us more and better exhibitions and art.