“White” is Zhao Zhao’s first solo show of 2020 and a continuation of his “Green” exhibition at Song Art Museum. In contrast to his western trilogy (“Taklamakan,” “Desert Camel,” and “In Extremis”), this new sequence or story, which begins with a change in color, is no longer limited by place or time; the issues of vision and direction become broader and more majestic, and the sense of time and place in the work are elongated. If “Green” was the preface, then “White” is the most important introduction to Zhao Zhao’s new action. The color itself symbolizes the first ray of white light after the end of the primal chaos—it is the pure beginning to all things.
“White” only has one work, one element. From cotton, the piece extends into an earth-shaking period in history, and all past events and symbols recede and disappear into the artistic form. Here, white encompasses everything and nothing. The exhibition, curated by Cui Cancan, will open on May 20, 2020.
Artist
Zhao Zhao
b.1982, Xinjiang, China
Zhao Zhao graduated from the Xinjiang Institute of the Arts in 2003 and later attended the Beijing Film Academy. Now he is regarded a significant figure among the young Post-80s generation of contemporary Chinese artists – Zhao Zhao’s work is often associated with anti-authoritarian or non-conformist tendencies, renowned for confronting existing ideological structures and exercising the power of individual free will in his work.
His recent solo exhibitions includes: Green, Song Art Museum, Beijing, 2019; In Extremis – Art Basel Hong Kong Encounters Project, Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 2019; Project Taklamakan in Xinjiang – Art Basel Hong Kong Project, Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 2017.
His recent group exhibitions include: A Fairy Tale in Red Times: Works from the White Rabbit Collection, NGV, Melbourne, Australia, 2019; The Street. Where The World Is Made, MAXXI, Rome, Italy, 2018 ; Islands, Constellations and Galapagos ,The Sixth Edition of the Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama, 2017; The Exhibition of Annual of Contemporary Art of China 2016, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, Beijing, 2017; Post-sense Sensibility: Trepidation and Will, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, Beijing, 2016; Everyday Legend, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, 2016; Spirit, PAC PADIGLIONE D‘ARTE CONTEMPORANEA, Milan, 2015; ZERO TOLERANCE , MoMA-The Museum of Modern Art PS1, New York, 2014.
His provocative, multidisciplinary artistic practice has garnered him international attention in recent years with critically-acclaimed exhibitions across China, North America and Europe as an ‘artist to watch’. In 2017, artist was nominated “Young Artist of the Year” of AAC (Award of Art China). In 2019, he won “Artist of the Year” of AAC (Award of Art China).
Curator
Cui Cancan
Cui Cancan is an independent curator in China, he has won Chinese Contemporary Art Award Critic Award, Yi Shu Award for Critical Writing etc., curated main exhibitions like Hei Qiao Night Way (2013), Xiang Cun Xi jian Chui (2013), FUCKOFF II (2013), Unlived by What is Seen (2014), Between the 5th and 6th Ring Road in Beijing (2015), The Decameron (2016), Curated solo exhibitions like Ai Weiwei, Xia Xiaowan, Shen Shaomin, Wang Qingsong, He Yunchang, Xiao Yu, Qin Ga, Xie Nanxing, Shi Jinsong, Li Zhanyang, Xu Zhongmin, Ma Ke, Xia xing, Zhao Zhao, Li Qing, Chen Yufan, Chen Yujun, Li Binyuan, Feng Lin, Zhang Yue, Zong Ning, Jiang Bo etc.