On September 22, the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art opens its fourth edition. Titled “Rewriting Worlds,’’ it is going to run until October 30th and feature 64 artists and 14 groups of artists from more than 33 countries. The Moscow Biennale is curated by Peter Weibel, Director of ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The Main project will feature renowned artists from the international art scene such as Martin Walde (Australia), Ai Weiwei (China), Richard Hamilton (UK), Manabu Ikeda (Japan), Ken Lum (Canada), Zheng Shengtian (China/Canada), Fabián Marcaccio (Argentina/USA), Walid Ra’ad (Lebanon/USA), Neo Rauch (Germany), Claire Fontaine (France), Susan Hiller (UK/USA), Rebecca Horn (Germany), Christoph Schlingensief (Germany), Olafur Eliasson (Denmark/Germany), Michael Elmgreen (Denmark) Ingar Dragset (Norway) and many others.

Commenting on the final list of artists of the Main project, Peter Weibel said: “As you can see, we have made a selection of artists ranging from Chile to China, from Ukraine to the USA, from Austria to Indonesia. That means a real global selection of contemporary art. The list includes artists who are partially famous as well as established artists like Richard Hamilton or Gerhard Richter. Even though some of these artists are not as renowned (like Nadezhda Anfalova or Ruth Schnell), they are making important contribution to the transformation of contemporary art. The exhibition includes all the media, i.e.: classical media like painting and sculpture, as well as computer-assisted media installations and sound art.”

Works by Russian artists will also be featured at the Biennale, including the Blue Soup, Electroboutique, Learning Film, Valery Chtak, Alina Gutkina, Olga Kisseleva, Taisiya Korotkova, Taus Makhacheva, Yelena Yelagina, and Igor Makarevich.

On View: September 23 – October 30, 2011

Visit: http://4th.moscowbiennale.ru

Editor’s Note:

The first three texts in Yishu 46 address issues of history in mainland China. Hou Hanru has contributed a reflection on the contemporary moment and the exhilarating and devastating events, man-made or natural, that have affected the world during the past few months. He deliberates upon how art can make a relevant political statement within such compelling times. Gao Minglu champions a re-examination of the complexity of China’s contemporary art history, proposing a reconsideration of it in light of distinct social and political conditions rather than confining it to the customary comparison with the West. Shanghai is the city in mainland China that is perhaps the most attentive to its history, although the discussion among Defne Ayas, Xhingyu Chen, Biljana Ciric, and Zhao Chuan, three of whom have published books on various aspects of Shanghai art history, share a concern about the inconsistent ways in which this history is documented and then constructed.

We also present features on Xu Bing, Wang Qingsong, and Polit-Sheer-Form-Office, each of them well-established artists who tackle the social and the political—exploring the cross-cultural rather than the national, exposing social polarization, and participating in communal discourse rather than market preoccupations—in subtle yet provocative ways. In contrast are texts on two artists, Jin Shan and Yam Lau, representing a younger generation, who are perhaps less political, turning inward within an era of social uncertainty, taking an approach that is intimate and personal, and exploring ways that art and life co-mingle.

The final three texts are reviews of exhibitions in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York that discuss the work of Zhou Tao, Liu Wei, and Zhang Dali, the last of which resonates with sentiments expressed by Hou Hanru and questions how the political can demand a genuine and meaningful presence in contemporary Chinese art.

In conclusion, Yishu is pleased to announce two new projects. One is our partnership with the Russian art magazine Iskusstvo on their special issue featuring contemporary Chinese art, which will be launched at the Moscow Biennale on September 25, 2010. The other is a Chinese-language edition of Yishu that will be published in September and will include a selection of articles published in the English-language version.

Keith Wallace

Image (top): PSFO, Polit–Sheer–Form 3, 2007, oil on canvas, 157 x 200 cm. Photo: Justin Jin. Courtesy of the artists and Shanghai Gallery of Art, Shanghai.

Editor’s Note:

While we have provided coverage of ink painting in past issues, Yishu 45 is the first time we have devoted a complete issue to the subject. Ink painting is centuries old, and possesses a complex and highly developed role within the history of Chinese art, but in recent years it has been situated in an often awkward position relative to contemporary art, especially contemporary art that is considered international in its appearance and intent.

There is, nevertheless, an ongoing interest in exploring this important genre as evidenced by events such as Asia Art Archive’s recent panel discussion, Is Ink Painting Dead? Is It Contemporary, at ART HK11, as well as a growing number of exhibitions featuring artists who, in some way, explore and even push the parameters of what ink painting should represent. There is a concerted effort by historians, curators, and critics not to let ink painting slip into the abyss of historical dinosaurs, but to encourage ways in which its practice can continue to contribute to contemporary art. The texts in Yishu 45 offer reflections on some of the issues that are now pertinent to the evolution of ink painting—its connection to history, its inherent link to landscape and nature, its increasing hybridity in an era of globalization, its contemporaneity, and experimentation through new techniques and materials. One aspect that arises in a number of the texts in Yishu 45 is the relationship between ink painting and abstraction, and, in particular, abstract expressionism. Another is a philosophical convergence between traditional Daoist philosophy that is grounded within the Chinese psyche and a Western existentialist philiosophy that was enthusiastically embraced by artists working in various disciplines during the 1980s; this is a provocative relationship that might be considered a case of unexpected affiliation rather than influence.

Our thanks are extended to the writers and authors who have contributed to this discussion and who understand the importance of respecting this legacy while nurturing it into the twenty-first century. Yishu is committed to keeping such discussions alive.

Keith Wallace

Image (top): Bomu, Jiazhi de tuoluo (Values Falling Down)[detail], 2009, silver gelatin emulsion and Chinese ink on canvas, neon, triptych, 210 x 443 cm (each panel). Courtesy of the artist.

In 1991, the Chinese Art Seminar/Workshop convened at the San Diego State University, which marked the first occasion where Chinese artists were brought together in North America to exchange ideas and create new works. This historic event has provided valuable records for this significant moment in the development of Chinese contemporary art. What has changed since that time? How have the issues and concerns of a group of young artists been challenged and verified over the last two decades? What symbolic meanings can be learned from the lives of the individual artists who have been working under such drastically changing domestic and international social circumstances?

A reunion of the participants from the 1991 event will be held at the Xi’an Art Museum on July 10th, 2011. Drawing inspiration from the previous seminar, the 2011 reunion will review current social and cultural transitions in China and discuss issues concerning personal artistic experience and national fate. By revisiting the structure and discussion of the past conference, our goal is to examine the current state of Chinese contemporary art through broader social and cultural contexts in hopes of initiating a new chapter in Chinese contemporary art development.

In concurrence with the conference, the Xi’an Art Museum will host an exhibition of documentation from the 1991 Seminar/Workshop and of the art works that were created in different periods by the participating artists. This presentation will provide significant visual references for the current discussion. The exhibition will open at 3 pm, on July 9th, 2011.



Date: July 10th, 2011

Location: Xi’an Art Museum

1991年的圣地亚哥 “中国艺术创作研讨会”（The First Chinese Art Seminar／Workshop），是在北美第一次举行的中国艺术创作和讨论的集会。不仅为当时海内外的中国艺术家提供了一个相互交流、专心创作的平台；也为中国当代艺术发展史上的这一关键时刻留下了珍贵的记录，具有不寻常的意义。当初一群青年艺术家在异国他乡所关注、讨论的问题，在经历了整整二十年之后，如何在中国当代艺术发展的足迹中得到检验和印证？艺术家个人的人生历程，在国内外社会沧海桑田的变化中，又具有着怎样的象征意义？

这次我们邀请当年参与活动的艺术家和学者重聚一堂，在目前中国社会转型期的大环境下，对1991年会议涉及的问题，从具体到宏观、从个人经历到民族命运等进行一次再讨论。艺术家历来是社会中最敏感和活跃的一群。在东西文化交汇碰撞的时代背景下，他们亲身的体验过程，折射了艺术家们对文化独特的审视角度，以及自觉自省的力量。我们希望藉由这次活动，将中国当代代艺术放到更宽泛的社会学环境中进行研究，回顾过去，继往开来。

在研讨会的同时，将举办一次展览会，内容包括1991年活动的文献资料。参加活动艺术家当年或近年的作品。展览会在7月9日下午开幕。

时间：2011年7月10日

地点：西安美术馆

Curators: Shengtian Zheng, Chao Yang, Yifan Wang

策划团队：郑胜天，杨超，王一凡

Artists and scholars | 参加艺术家和学者（按姓氏字母）：

陈丹青 Mr. Chen, Danqing

杜柏贞 Ms. DeBevoise, Jane

韩辛 Mr. Han, Xin

黄雅莉 Ms. Huang, Yali

李默 Mr. Li, Mo

刘小东 Mr. Liu, Xiaodong

阮杰 Mr. Ruan, Jie

孙人 Mr. Sun, Ren

盛姗姗 Ms. Sheng, Shanshan

唐庆年 Mr. Tang, qingnian

杨千 Mr. Yang, Qian

翁子健 Mr. Yung, Anthony

王冬龄 Mr. Wang, Dongling

张建君 Mr. Zhang, Jianjun

徐冰 Mr. Xu, Bing

Organizer: Xi’an Art Museum, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art

主办：西安美术馆，Yishu当代中国艺术学刊（典藏中文版）

Image (top): Symposium in San Diego, 1991

Image (middle): Exibition in San Diego, 1991

Yishu is pleased to announce its continued participation in the 42nd edition of Art Basel, which opens from June 15-19, 2010. Please come visit us at Stand Z22.

ABOUT ART BASEL

The world’s premier international art show for Modern and contemporary works, Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. More than 2,500 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars, are represented in the show’s multiple sections. The exhibition includes the highest-quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, video and editioned works.

Open to Public: June 15-19, 2011

Venue: Halls 1 and 2 of Messe Basel,

Messeplatz, 4005 Basel, Switzerland

http://www.artbasel.com

Yishu is pleased to announce its continued participation in the 4th edition of Art HK, which opens from May 26-29, 2011. Please come to say hello at MED13. See you there!

About Art HK

ART HK 11, Asia’s leading international art fair, returns to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where 260 galleries from 38 countries will come together to offer the largest display of contemporary art ever seen in Hong Kong.

From May 26th – 29th, ART HK 11 will present works from modern masters such as Picasso through to important contemporary artists such as Takashi Murakami and Damien Hirst, offering visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the very best and most extensive showcase of modern and contemporary art in Asia.

Open to Public: May 26-29, 2011

Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

http://www.hongkongartfair.com

As Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art enters its 10th year of publishing, we have launched our most recent project—Yishu for Students—that donates a complete set of Yishu back issues (2002-2011) to libraries of major universities and art schools around the world. Our goal is to provide a valuable resource to library users who are interested in contemporary Chinese art.

The response to Yishu‘s initiative is positive. Thanks to our sponsors’ generous support, we have been able to send gift sets of Yishu to the following universities and schools:

Stanford University, Palo Alto

University of California, Berkeley

University of Washington, Seattle

California College of the Arts, San Francisco

San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco

Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

China Academy of Art, Hangzhou

Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, Xi’an

Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang

Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Chongqing

Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou

Shanghai University, Shanghai

Fudan University, Shanghai

We are looking for further sponsorship to support us in continuing the Yishu for Students project. One gift package is $700 USD which includes 43 issues of Yishu Journal plus shipping cost.

If you are interested in participating please fill in the following information online or contact us:

Name of the sponsor:

We will contact you as soon as we receive your form.

Thank you for the support!

For more information, please email us at support@yishujournal.com.

We thank Mr. Eric and Mrs. Li for their generous contribution to the publication and distribution of this magazine.

Editor’s Note:

With Yishu 44, we are entering our tenth year as one of the most important English language publications devoted to contemporary Chinese art. Over the past decade, we have published more than 500 essays, interviews, conference proceedings, and reviews that together track the evolution of artists, events, and issues that are central to China’s singular and complex contemporary art history. The staff at Yishu extends its thanks to all—artists, writers, subscribers, and sponsors—who have supported us and contributed to our success. Special thanks goes to Katy Hsiu-chih Chien, who has been unwavering in her belief in the importance of disseminating writing on Chinese art to all corners of the world.

Yishu 44 opens with a panel discussion on critical art writing that was part of the conference component of the First Yishu Awards for Critical Writing on Contemporary Chinese Art. This panel addresses art writing from a Chinese perspective and explores a number of crucial issues such as critical autonomy, the difficulty of translating Western terminology, and the lack of writing on contemporary art that is accessible to readers.

Beatrice Leanza offers a text about her own curatorial practice in which she explores ways to maintain independence from market forces and institutionalization, as well as foster a creative space for critique, issues not unrelated to the panel discussion on writing. Sophia Kidd takes us to southwest China and identifies the distinct qualities that make the performance art scene there, especially in Chengdu, so strong.

We have three texts on women artists—Cui Xiuwen, Wen Fang, and O Zhang—who endeavour to make their work more than just critical, and to actually have impact upon the ways we think and perceive by provocatively questioning the function of art each in her own way. Stephanie Bailey brings us four interviews with Hong Kong artists who have emerged from the alternative gallery system and who offer personal insights into the current Hong Kong art scene. We end with three texts discussing two

of Taiwan’s most significant artists, two texts examine the films of Chen Chieh-jen, and one text that explores Michael Lin’s recent survey in Prato, Italy.

As I write this, the arrest of artist Ai Weiwei on April 3 in Beijing has been met with shock and deep concern around the world. Our thoughts are with him, and we hope that before you read this issue of Yishu 44, he will have been exonerated and able to return to his multifaceted art making. There are numerous petitions in circulation demanding his release, and we encourage you to add your voice to them.

Keith Wallace

Image (top): O Zhang, Always Ready, 2008, C-type print, 119.38 x 149.86 cm. Courtesy of the artist and CRG Gallery, New York.

On April 3, internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was detained at the Beijing airport while en route to Hong Kong, and his papers and computers were seized from his studio compound.

Please sign this online petition in hope that we, as members of the international arts community, could together hasten the release of our visionary friend.

Visit: http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei

Vancouver-based conceptual artist Ken Lum (whose work can currently be seen in a major retrospective at the Vancouver Art Gallery) presents the first film in his Summer series at Day for Night:

“Vengeance is Mine: Reality takes Vengeance on All, including the Innocent”

Series begins May 1st at 3pm with what is considered by many to be one of the greatest Korean films of all time, The Housemaid (1960).

An utterly unpredictable work…The shocking nature of the film is both disturbing and pleasurable – Cahiers du Cinéma

Dong-sik teaches music at a textile factory and shows particular interest in an article about a murder that occurred in Geumcheon. One day, Dong-sik receives a love letter from a female factory worker named Seon-yeong. He reports this fact to the factory dormitory supervisor, and Seon-yeong is forced to leave her job. Meanwhile, her friend Gyeong-hui begins frequenting Dong-sik’s new house on the pretext of receiving piano lessons. When his wife’s health begins to decline, Dong-sik asks Gyeong-hui to recommend a good housemaid. While Dong-sik’s wife is away visiting her family, Gyeong-hui confesses to him that she is in love with him, only to be run out of the house. The housemaid, who had been watching secretly from outside the window, seduces Dong-sik. Three months later, she is pregnant. A maelstrom of psychological manipulation, self-destruction and sexual predation has been unleashed on the household. – Mi-jeong Lee

Directed by Kim Ki-Young | Starring Lee Eunshim, Kim Jin-kyu

In Korean with English subtitles | 110 minutes

The Housemaid is the first in a series of revenge films that Ken Lum will be presenting all summer long

July: Vengeance is Mine (1979, Japan)

August: The Story of Qiu Ju (1992, China)

September: Killer (1998, Kazakhstan)

About Ken Lum

From 2000 to 2006 Ken Lum was head of the graduate program in studio art at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, where he taught from 1990 until 2006. Lum joined the faculty of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, in 2005 and worked there until 2007. He has been an invited professor at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, the Akademie der Bildenden Kunst, Munich, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, and the China Art Academy, Hangzhou. Lum is co-founder and founding editor of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art. He has published extensively, and a book of Lum’s writings, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist, is forthcoming from Walter Koenig Books. In addition he recently completed an artists’ book project with philosopher Hubert Damisch that was launched with Three Star Press, Paris. Lum was Project Manager for Okwui Enwezor’s The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945 – 1994 (2001). He was also co-curator of the 7th Sharjah Biennial (2005), and Shanghai Modern: 1919 – 1945 (2005). Lum has exhibited widely, including São Paulo Biennial (1998), Shanghai Biennale (2000), Documenta 11 (2002), the Istanbul Biennial (2007), and the Gwangju Biennale (2008). He recently completed a public art commission in Utrecht and is working on one for Toronto. His work will be seen in the Moscow Biennale later this year.

Co-presented by Vancouver is Awesome.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.waldorfhotel.com/2011/04/may-1st-ken-lum-presents-the-housemaid/