Centre A is pleased to lead the exhibition presentations with artists Wang Jianwei and Kan Xuan, guest curated by Shengtian Zheng. Based in Beijing, Wang Jianwei is an internationally acclaimed artist and pioneer of video and multimedia art. He is known for his conceptually complex, multi-faceted explorations of contemporary Chinese life. Kan Xuan is a mid-career woman artist working primarily with video, photography and installation. She uses simple, clear images to express her desire for a more direct and unique understanding of life. Her works are always characterized with humour, deep irony as well as lightness and grace.
At Centre A, Wang Jianwei presents “Go to the Conference Room on the 13th Floor for Free Films” – chapter four of his epic video work Yellow Signal, originally presented at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2011). For Centre A, the artist has re-conceived the original work as a four-channel. Using elements of theatre, philosophical inquiry, artistic methodology and “scripted accident”, the artist presents us with an obscure and complex world that simulates everyday life.
Kan Xuan presents two video works, One by One (2005) and Nothing! (2004). One by One is a single channel video work using a rotating camera to capture a group of security guards under the sun. The surrounding sounds are common and recognizable ambient sounds of the city. Nothing is another single channel video in which an unseen female protagonist responds to its surroundings in a gleeful voice. Using a camera lens as a stand-in for her acutely tuned eye, Kan is creating works with a precise attention to detail, inverting the significance of an object’s scale to give tiny things great attention.
Yellow Signal: New Media in China is the first presentation of these critically-acclaimed works by Wang Jianwei and Kan Xuan in Canada. Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art will launch a special issue on Yellow Signal in May 2012 featuring an in-depth interview with Wang Jianwei by Shengtian Zheng.
Artists: Wang Jianwei & Kan Xuan
Guest Curator: Shengtian Zheng
On View: March 17 – April 28, 2012
Opening: Friday, March 16, 2012 8:00 pm
Curator’s Talk: Saturday, March 17, 1:00- 3:00 pm at Centre A
With Shengtian Zheng
co-presented with the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver
Lead Donor: Yu Yu, Urbanova Centre of Art & Design
Support Circle: Jack and Maryon Adelaar, Karen Coflin, Karen Gelmon, Roger Holland, Richard Mew, Michael O’Brian Family Foundation, Bernard Wolfe
For more information, please visit: http://centrea.org/
