How to "return to nature" in reinforced concrete? View the answers from 26 international artists Landscape | Art | International
On July 1st, the international art group exhibition with the theme of "Returning to Nature" was unveiled at the Mingzhu Art Museum in Shanghai. 26 artists from 10 countries and regions around the world have brought over 100 natural themed creations, including painting, installation, sculpture, imaging, photography, performance art, and other diverse media, to answer the questions of how to "return to nature" in reinforced concrete for urban audiences.
The exhibition is divided into four chapters: "People and Scenery", "Travel", "Picture Stories", and "Questions and Explorations". It not only presents personalized artistic representation and creation of natural themes, but also questions and reflections on environmental issues, and unique expressions of "non anthropocentric views on nature".
The Pearl Art Museum has always been concerned about sustainable development, the connection between nature and art, and other issues. The "In the Name of Flowers" exhibition launched in 2020 has become an art and cultural brand project that continues to grow and emerge from the museum. In the view of Li Dandan, the director and curator of the Shanghai Pearl Art Museum, in 2022, the "long-term present, represented by artificial intelligence, explosive development of technology." At this moment, not only in the art field, but also in various industries, people from all walks of life unconsciously feel their love, longing, and concern for nature. We also see ourselves and society from nature, constantly receiving comfort, inspiration, admiration, awakening, and enlightenment... "
The "Returning to Nature" exhibition has selected 26 artists worldwide, including Jean Marie Aprillo and Leno Estev from France, Eli Davis from the UK, Inca&Nicholas from Sweden, Kwa Yula from Italy, Ivan Yagott from Colombia, Gabriel Ricco from Mexico, Kim Zongxue from South Korea, Cao Xiaoyang, Chen Xiaoyi, Chen Yujun, Ding Yi, Dong Xiaochi, Liu Yi, Long Pan, Luo Dan, Qu Fengguo, Shi Zhiying, Tong Wenmin, Fu Bailin, Hu Xiangcheng from Hong Kong, Zheng Yi from Hong Kong, and Yuan Yi from Macau, China. Shaoshan, Wang Huangsheng, and Yu Youhan.
The first chapter "People and Scenery" explores the relationship between people and scenery, showcasing the "Follow Me" series by British artist Ellie Davis and the "4K Ultra HD" series by Swedish artist duo Inca&Nicholas. These are two unique sets of earth art and photography creations, not simply reproducing nature, but elevating nature into a landscape of aesthetic significance through observation, thinking, action, reproduction, and creation, leaving human traces in the landscape.
The word "travel" in the second chapter is borrowed from the "travel map" in ancient Chinese art history. The graceful figures in the magnificent landscape always evoke imagination, and this chapter combines 11 sets of works by four artists. Luo Dan traveled throughout western China, using his camera to capture the vast and desolate "uninhabited land" that seemed deserted but left traces of human presence everywhere. Chen Xiaoyi focuses on the mining and mining relics in the Hengduan Mountains region, attempting to "image scan" the western mountains through a broader narrative. Yuan Shaoshan went to an art village in the Arctic Circle to explore the relationship between non local, public spaces, urban ruins, and nature through cross media creation using space as the theme, combined with imaging, photography, and other means. Wang Huangsheng has deeply experienced and reconsidered "life" since 2020, awakened the life and emotional memory of collecting plant specimens from the the Pearl River, and created a series of works using plants as an element medium to explore time, process, growth, life, emotion, memory and other topics.
The name "Picture Matters" in the third chapter is taken from "The Analects of Confucius: Eight Elements". "Confucius said:" Picture Matters After Su. "This chapter is the exhibition area with the largest number of artists, the largest age span, and the richest cultural background in the entire exhibition. Faced with blank canvas, artists ask common themes, from concrete to abstract, from ink to colorful, from flat to three-dimensional, different artists draw their own unique natural paintings.
The fourth chapter "Questioning and Exploration" refers to questioning and exploration. Artists directly collage and stick materials that still have temperature, reconstructing a new life map - using thick bronze to shape the "Tree of Life"; Using poetic means to warn humanity of excessive intervention and destruction of nature; Using cutting-edge technology to infinitely approach and capture lively and lively life; Showcasing human limitations and the infinite nature in a lighthearted manner; Calling for public participation to call for a return to nature... Among them, artist Liu Yi's "Bird's Song Radio" can be heard not only at the Pearl Art Museum, but also occasionally at the Xinhua Cultural and Creative · Light Space Bookstore.
During the "Return to Nature" exhibition, the Pearl Art Museum will hold relevant thematic lectures and forums, discussing art, nature, science, and philosophy. Art workshops for children and adults that collaborate deeply with participating artists will also gradually meet with the audience.
