“Pale Fire”, means a fire that is about to die or dim, it’s the flames of the fire can’t be seen by our naked eyes. Using “Pale Fire” as the name of Wang Jiazeng’s solo exhibition at Shanghai Shun Art Gallery, intended to explore a more three-dimensional and diversified linguistic appearance which he through convert and use different materials and media to present ; Another meaning of “Pale Fire” is express the artist’s life force latent in multi-dimensional space, it’s the relics of industrial civilization looming and rebirth under the social process change; It is also the inner reflection and life experience of the individual look at themselves on the reality of the times.
In the context of tracing and watching the growth of life, Wang Jiazeng keenly captures the objects—-iron, which is closely related to his life. The historical temperature of this object: taking its solid physical properties as the basis for modeling and sculpture, folding and squeezing its shape; The pattern of the immersive color gamut presents a poetic language with personal spirits. From the perspective of artistic language expression. these static, heavy, and even tending to be concreted instantaneous image of objects, totally contain the diverse posture in a close or open field, like biological specimens be labeled in an unknown place, they are quiet and solemn, drifting in a mystical unknown universe.
“The Fold of Objects” and “Drifting” are the themes that the artist has been creating. He extends the easel painting to installation art, from sculpture to painting, they are all telling the social semantics of their real existence at different stages. As the artist stated: “Painting is visual art; A conscious, enlightened mind combined with mystery. The literal discussion may only refer to the ripples on the undercurrent. Installation is earnestly practice of spirit. As for me, it’s present naturally.”
From the perspective of social landscape and image text, the formation of “The Fold of Objects”, not only implies a strong personal language, but also record artist extended the texture of “iron “itself to soft and delicate curve figure. Just like the trace which is wiped off the surface by a living thing, retreat from the previous gloss, flashing a shallow and deep gray, in the central and visual space of the arts, eventually gather to the edge line of the prism refraction, and then slowly enter our visual and auditory area. The natural image and schema of “The Fold of Objects”，is a new humanities landscape that was formed after he continued to repair, recombine and restructure, the reality of the fold landscape transform into a real image under the realistic context, he isolates the representational form from the daily life in modern world, and blends the growth memory, turning of time, rapid development of technology and the unique industrial atmosphere and social characteristics produced under the background of an era.
Meanwhile, with the daily changes of technology, digital code and symbol signifier have also become a reference system for us to see things. Although the original symbol of “iron “continue to be used by people, but when we transfer to Wang Jiazeng’s artistic creation, apparently, these symbols become ambiguous, and even creates a digital” barrier” and sense of mystery when audience reading it. Indeed, in the current real environment, the marked codes have not lost their functional meaning, but it also provides us a historical clue to see the prosperity and decline of China’s Northeast industry before the 1990s.
Realistic landscape metaphors in the “pale fire”, is our nostalgia in the face of the new social structure transformation, just like a hard-to-touch, but empathetic thing constructed in a virtual world, a pure seclude inlet, link the future and the present space-time field, deep insight and very personal glamour.
– HUI Shuwen
About curator
Hui Shuwen, current director of Shanghai YOUNG Art Museum. Independent curator, art writer. Brand founder of COUNTER-FEIT Contemporary Art Biennale, chief curator of COUNTER-FEIT Contemporary Art Exhibition. Founder of Rainbow box project, curator of An Art Space. Mainly engaged in the research and writing of Chinese contemporary art history, contemporary art criticism practice, exhibition curating, creation and operation of independent art spaces.
Main lectures and art projects include: Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (Hui Shuwen: Counter-Feit in action–youth curation’ practice and thinking); Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts (Hui Shuwen: Curation Yearbook–about the growth and self-modeling of artists); The School of Fine Arts in Southwest University (Counter-Feit in action—curatorial practice and thinking); The School of Fine Arts in Geely University of China, Academic Lecture (Hui Shuwen: A good medicine for curators); Chinese contemporary art power capital and market ,Academic Forum (Forum host: Hui Shuwen); Chief curator of Art project <How do we face today’s art？>; Co-curator of China Shangqiu Abstract International Invitational Exhibition; Academic observation of the first Yelanggu Art Week.
Artists who have curated and collaborated with solo exhibitions include: Wang Jiazeng, Sun Ce, Huang Qiyou, Chen Yu, Huang Lu, Yang Jiayong, Zeng Pu, Liu Tinjun, Bao Xianjie, Luo TIanzhi, Cao Liang, Chen Qingyong, Chen Shu, Don BingQing, Huang Lingyun, Jiang Yousheng, Jia Yuhao, Li Hao, Li Yong, Lin Huixing, Liu Qiang, Mi Xiaoxi, Qiu Xingjian, Shi Dongxu, Shi Yonghua, Sun Xiaochuan, Wang Chao, Wang Lin, Wang Wei, Wang Wenran, Wang Xu, Wu Jiangtao, Xie Bei, Xie Zhenliang, Yang Tao, Zeng Zhen, Zhang Dan, Zhang Shuli, Zhang Haijun, Zheng Dagong, Zheng Longyihai, Zhu Feng, etc.
