song dong retrospective at pace gallery, new york

installation view of song dong’s work at pace gallery in new york
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

presented by pace gallery in new york is a two-venue exposé documenting 20 years of artwork by renowned chinese conceptual artist song dong,
celebrated for an eclectic opus that intersects the worlds of performance, video, photography, painting, installation, and sculpture.

song dong has been at the forefront of chinese contemporary art for over two decades, known for often using modest, everyday materials to
create sculptures and installations that provoke ideas surrounding temporality, the reality of living in modern-day china, ideas of waste and
consumption and the value of identity and self-expression, even when it may not be noticed. the title of the exhibition – ‘doing nothing’ –
references the taoist ideas of ‘non-action’ and ‘non-intention’, demanding a respect for natural order and a self-effacing, humble way of leading life.
both ideas percolate song’s work and give depth to his mantra: ‘that left undone goes undone in vain; that which is done is done still in vain;
that done in vain must still be done’.

an eclectic array of pieces on display include ‘facing the wall (1999)’, for which he traveled to india and imitated the indian zen monk dharma,
quietly sitting on a bed, facing a wall for ten days; ‘a blot on the landscape (2010)’, for which he constructed ‘landscapes’ out of food;
or other works which communicate the quotidian and routine elements of daily life, including ‘eating drinking shitting pissing sleeping (1999)’
and ‘a pot of boiling water (1996)’ – which depicts song’s daily walk from his home to his mother’s house with water for her tea.

the work is on view at two separate locations – now through to february 16th, 2013 at 510 west 25th street, new york which will focus
on song’s recent work, including a new installation related to his projects for documenta 13 and the kiev biennial. and also now till
february 23rd, 2013 at 534 west 25th street, new york – this gallery featuring eighteen of song’s performances, photographs, videos,
and installations made between 1994 and 2012.

installation view
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

‘facing the wall’, 1999
photograph and wallpaper
31-1/2″ x 47-1/4″ (80 cm x 120 cm)
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

installation view
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

‘a pot of boiling water’, 1995
set of 12 black and white prints
13-1/8″ x 19-11/16″ (33.3 cm x 50 cm), 12 prints, each
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

‘a blot on the landscape – cut stroke (jian dao cun)’, 2010
video projection
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

‘eating drinking shitting pissing sleeping’, 1999
set of 5 color photographs
30-5/16″ (77 cm), diameter, each
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

‘calligraphy model books’, 1995-2012
set of 9 books
3-15/16″ x 10-1/4″ x 14-9/16″ (10 cm x 26 cm x 37 cm), nine books, each
image © 2013 pace gallery, all rights reserved
unless otherwise specified, all artworks © the artist; all images © pace gallery

song dong retrospective at pace gallery, new york

PACE GALLERY (14)

SONG DONG (3)

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