Max Protetch Gallery is pleased to announce a exhibition of new sculpture, video and
photography by Chen Qiulin. Based in Chengdu, China, Chen’s work addresses the
changing landscape of her homeland, and she often orchestrates elaborate
performances in both post-industrial and natural settings. The body of work in the
current exhibition was made in the wake of the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan
Province in May of 2008.
On view for the first time will be a series of new figurative papier mache sculptures that
Chen has been developing over the past two years. Several of the sculptures are
suspended from the ceiling, their attenuated limbs thrown back, calling to mind both
the natural force of an earthquake and the freedom of flight.
The photographs and videos in the exhibition document rituals being carried out by two
couples, one dressed in traditional Chinese garb and the other in Western-style
wedding clothes. The couples are photographed in moody, mountainous Chinese
landscapes and ruined buildings. Despite the sense of ruin, the landscapes themselves
are lush, and the marriage scenes seem to suggest the possibility of renewed life
among the wreckage.
Over the course of her career thus far, Chen Qiulin has used her work to explore the
transformation of the urban environment. The Wen-chuan earthquake not only requires
meditation on rebuilding architecture and urban infrastructures, but a rethinking of the
artist’s relationship to them, and thus a more introspective take on both societal and
personal development.
Chen Qiulin’s work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions, including
the Asia Pacific Triennale; Gwangju Biennale; Displacement at the Smart Museum,
Chicago (curated by Wu Hung); and China Power Station at the Astrup Fearnley
Museum of Modern Art, Oslo. She recently created videos for a new production of
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring initiated by the French and Chinese consulates. In the fall
she will be the subject of a one-person project exhibition at the Hammer Museum in Los
Angeles. This is her second exhibition at Max Protetch.