Tang Contemporary Art Bangkok is proud to present “Mount Gui: Mao Xuhui and His Students,” a group exhibition by an iconic artist in Chinese contemporary art history. Curated by Dai Zhuoqun, the exhibition features a range of works created over the span of more than a decade, all of which were inspired by Mount Gui (Guishan) and the Nuohei village, located on the Yunnan Plateau.
Mao Xuhui has earned a crucial position in Chinese contemporary art history, recognized as the leader of the avant-garde community in southwest China in the 1980s, and is also one of the figures in China Art Power 100. Often experimenting with the use of symbolism and metaphor, Mao Xuhui reflects on the social reality and the existential value of an individual’s life. He uses everyday objects, such as scissors and chairs, as recurring motifs, which originally was a metaphor for the central authority or paternal power, in response to the historical and cultural context in the 1980's.
Due to its artistic value and unique atmosphere, Nuohei village, at the foot of Mount Gui, comprised of stone houses built by the Sani people, is often visited by many artists. Art professionals have ventured to these rural communities as early as the 1970’s, and Mao Xuhui, as a young student, also made his way to Mount Gui for this reason in the late 1970’s. On Mount Gui, Mao Xuhui savored their reverence for a simple life, surrounded by nature, which greatly impacted him as an artist in the years to come. Mao Xuhui continued to bring his students from Yunnan University to Mount Gui year after year to allow his students to explore their creative voices and artistic processes, and these trips to Mount Gui have become an integral part of his teaching method.
Artist
Mao Xuhui
B.1956, Chongqing, China
Graduated in 1982 from the Yunnan Art Academy, Mao Xuhui is an iconic artist in Chinese contemporary art history. He is one of the figures in China Art Power 100 and the leader of the avant-garde community in southwest China in the 1980s. He also formed the Southwest Art Research Group with several artists in 1986. These achievements have earned him a crucial position in Chinese contemporary art history.
Mao Xuhui has widely exhibited in Euro-pan-Asian cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, Bologne, Paris, and London. His artworks are included in many influential exhibitions, for example, the milestone exhibition in Chinese contemporary art history, Inside Out: New Chinese Art (1998) co-organized by Asia Society New York, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco and Hong Kong Museum of Art.
Curator
Dai Zhuoqun
Currently lives and works in Beijing, China
Dai Zhuoqun is an independent curator and art critic. In 2007, he founded Contemporary Art magazine, where he served as chief editor and art director. He was also the executive director of White Box Museum of Art. In 2009, he launched and jointly curated the “Warm Winter” protest project in Beijing, one of the most important art events in recent years. He has since planned exhibitions and lectures with numerous art institutions, art academies, and museums.
He has also published articles in international art magazines and other publications. He has curated exhibitions such as “Games” and “The Awakening of Things” (White Box Museum of Art, Beijing, 2011), “Superfluous Things” (Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2013), “Old Bloke” (Gallery Yang, Beijing, 2013), “Conscious: Twelve Views on Painting” (Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2014), and “Civilization” (White Box Museum of Art, Beijing, 2013; OCAT, Xi’an, 2014; Hubei Institute of Fine Arts Museum, Wuhan, 2015).