chen zhen retrospective at galleria continua

'l'attraction / l'illusion' (1990)
22 x 90 x 120 cm
sand, metal, glass, typewriter, newspapers, slide projector
image courtesy of hangar 028 paris e galleria continua


born in china but living much of his life in paris until his death at 45 years old, chen zhen is one of the most recognized artists
of the chinese avant-garde, investigating the sites of engagement between east and west even as he explored extremely personal
and spiritual questions through his art. with 'les pas silencieux', galleria continua in the italian city of san gimignano in tuscany
opens a largescale retrospective on zhen's lifework, comprising works produced between 1990 and 2000. the exhibition
meanders through galleria continua, with works throughout the exhibition rooms, the stalls area and stage of the former theatre,
the garden, and the gallery's arco dei becci space.

likewise in content, the pieces are not organized chronologically or thematically, but instead in a way meant to reflect
zhen's own confrontation of the intersections of chinese and western culture. living in post-maoist china for over thirty years
before arriving in france in 1986, chen zhen describes the transcultural thinking model behind his art as 'transexperience',
a transcendent place wherein one can observe and experience the points of both tension and communality across different experiences.
the concept is rooted in the three fundamental notions of 'residence', 'resonance', and 'resistance', and his work draws from the fruits
of his own life experience in china, europe, and abroad.

a later thread in zhen's work, influenced in part by the haemolytic anaemia with which he began to suffer at age 25,
is of the world of medicine and bodies. even here, the influence of both of his cultural experiences is clear,
as his projects take foremost as their foundation the idea not of organs or houses or clothing but rather life itself
and the ways in which it is shaped by organic materials and principles.



'l'attraction / l'illusion' (1990)
22 x 90 x 120 cm
sand, metal, glass, typewriter, newspapers, slide projector
image © chen zhen


a few of the many works in the 'les pas silencieux' include:

'beyond the vulnerability' (1999), a fictional landscape of fragile architectural forms made from candles;
and 'un village sans frontieres' (2000), wherein zhen used birthday candles to construct an imaginary 'universal village' of equality.
the pieces draw from the artist's experience teaching architecture to brazilian children, stirring their own investigations into society
and nurturing their dream of one day owning a home of their own.
see also designboom's previous coverage of 'un village sans frontieres'

two pieces from 'six roots', a 7-installation allegory in six parts that investigates birth, childhood, conflict, suffering, recollection,
and death-rebirth-- the six stages of life according to zhen-- borrowing its name from a buddhist expression describing the six senses
of the body (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, consciousness).
see some of the other pieces of 'six roots' alongside other works in zhen's 2000 exhibition 'a life project - becoming a doctor'

'la désinfection' (1997), about which zhen stated: 'at first sight the work shows a steam cooking system,
but instead of food there are books. this work shows us the extent to which man needs two different forms
of nourishment for his existence: material and spiritual nourishment.'


 
'field of synergy' (2000)
2000 x 1330 x 900 cm
iron children's beds, plastic tubing, wooden chinese bed, lights, fan, motion-sensor, numbered polystyrene balls, fabric
image © attilio maranzano, courtesy of galleria continua, san gimignano / beijing / le moulin


chen zhen, on his work 'the field of synergy' and his artistic process as a whole:

'the word ‘synergy’ is a medical term. It describes the coordinated functions and synthetic capacities
of the various organs of the human body or of different medicines. […] in my view the word ‘synergy’
does not just denote a concrete ‘common capacity’ in the material sense, but also a way of thinking […]
in common language it means considering each thing in the context of its essential factors.
it goes without saying that in my case, this word means above all else a ‘collection of energy.’'



'enfance / childhood' (from 'six roots') (2000)
installation view of 'six roots', museum of contemporary art, zagreb, croatia
bathtub: 184 x 54 x 80 cm
boat: 104 x 375 x 146 cm
courtesy of galleria continua



'jetons divins / caisse démoniaque' (1991)
250 x 150 x 100 cm
iron, wood, objects
image © ela bialkowska, courtesy of galleria continua



detail on 'jetons divins / caisse démoniaque'
image © ela bialkowska, courtesy of galleria continua



'synergie silencieuse' (2000)
250 x 700 x 50 cm
metal, glass, copper tubes, gas circulation system, newspaper ashes, waste of electric and electronic objects
image © daniel moulinet, courtesy of galleria continua



'la voie du sommeil - sleeping tao' (1992)
202 x 250 x 143 cm (each bed)
water, pigment, objects, light box, metal, neon, wood
image © ela bialkowska, courtesy of galleria continua



'le bureau de change' (1996 - 2004)
installation view of 'valeurs', 2004, 11th biennale de pancevo en serbie
350 x 500 x 350 cm
coins, wood, metal, water, ceramics, glass, light
image © igor antic, courtesy of galleria continua



'mémoire / memory' (from 'six roots') (2000)
installation view of 'six roots', museum of contemporary art, zagreb, croatia
300 x 400 x 200 cm
fabric, iron, ink
courtesy of galleria continua



'un village sans frontières' (2000)
54 x 32 x 22 cm
chair, candles
image © sandrine aubry, courtesy of galleria continua