Weihai (China), Peninsula Art Museum, 6 – 26 August 2016
IGAV and CAEG take the “Painting the Present” exhibition to China
From traditional forms to the most advanced modern-‐day technologies: as part of a prestigious, multi-‐year partnership agreement, the Istituto Garuzzo per le Arti Visive (Garuzzo Institute for the Visual Arts) and the China Arts and Entertainment Group are comparing and contrasting Italian and Chinese contemporary artists
July 2016 – Art as the meeting point for China and Italy; a cultural bridge that, through dialogue, eliminates the geographical distances between two countries that are so totally divergent in terms of their traditions and histories, while offering artists an opportunity for visibility and comparison. This summer sees the arrival of the ambitious exhibition of contemporary painting entitled “Painting the Present”, which will be staged from 6 to 26 August, 2016, at the brand-‐new Peninsula Art Museum in Weihai, a city with a population of three million that also attracts a large number of international tourists, facing out over the eastern coast of China, in the gulf of the peninsula of Shandong (a province downstream of the Yellow River, with almost 100 million inhabitants). On show will be the works of 16 pre-‐eminent Italian artists and the same number of Chinese artists, in the context of the cultural exchanges envisaged by a high-‐profile four-‐year agreement signed in 2015 by IGAV and CAEG. As part of the agreement, the exhibition was staged in September 2015 at the Certosa di San Giacomo on Capri with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture & Tourism (Polo Museale Regionale della Campania) and Capri City Council, as part of the 2nd edition of the annual review entitled “Contemporary Visions at the Certosa”, where it achieved great success; it will subsequently be taken to other leading venues across China. The exhibition presents an image of painting that extends from traditional forms to the most advanced modern-‐day technologies. The Chinese curator Fang Zhenning, who is very well-‐known internationally, also curated the staging of the Chinese Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012, amongst many other exhibitions.
As the Italian curator, Alessandro Demma, puts it: “Taking its cue from the long, shared visual history of Italy and China, the exhibition aims to analyse the problems and demands of contemporary life and the tools that may be used to de-‐codify it from the inside of the pictorial space, interpreted as a place both physical and mental – one of the most important and complex themes of today’s art.” Italian artists on show: Andrea Aquilanti; Franko B; Fabrizio Cotognini; Alberto Di Fabio; Massimiliano Galliani; Daniele Galliano; Paolo Gonzato; Corinna Gosmaro; Silvia Hell; Paolo Leonardo; Mariangela Levita; Pierpaolo Lista; Marco Neri; Pierluigi Pusole; Alessandro Sarra; Giancarlo Scagnolari. Chinese artists on show: Cang Xin; Chen Haoyang; Chen Wenling; Han Yansong; He Wenjue; Huang Ying; Li Di; Li Lei; Liu Jianfeng; Meng Luding; Tao Na & Cong Xiao; Wang Yun; Zhang Xinyu; Zhang Yanzi; Zhang Zhaohui; Zhou Yangming. IGAV, a non-‐profit body funded for the most part through contributions from its founders, with the support of public and private partners, has been working since 2005 to raise the international profile of Italian artists and to promote cultural exchanges among different nations, and has so far organised more than 50 exhibitions across 12 countries. “Painting the Present” in Weihai is the 16th event to make the most of IGAV’s relationship with China. CAEG, controlled by the Chinese Ministry of Finance & Culture, is the leading agency in China for the organisation of exhibitions both in China and overseas, for the production of shows and for international cultural tourism. Under the patronage of: the Italian Ministry of Culture & Tourism; the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-‐operation; the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China; the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Italy; Campania Region; the Metropolitan City of Naples; Capri City Council; Anacapri Municipal Council; GAI – the Association for the Circuit of Young Italian Artists; the Confucius Institute at the “Orientale” University of Naples. Partner: Flyren Technical Sponsors: Art Home International Fine Arts Logistics Co. Ltd Peninsula Art Museum, Weihai 278 Wenhua East Road, 264200 Weihai Tel: +86 0631 5983666 For information: IGAV – Istituto Garuzzo per le Arti visive Tel. +39 011 8124456 info@igav-‐art.org www.igav-‐art.org Press Office IGAV, Elettra Pr: Mauro Perego, Tel: +39 393 8188596; mauro.perego@elettrapr.it