GUAN WEI REFLECTION
GUAN WEI
REFLECTION 2 - 26 March 2017
MARTIN BROWNE CONTEMPORARY 15 HAMPDEN STREET PADDINGTON NSW 2021 TEL: 02 9331 7997 FAX: 02 9331 7050 info@martinbrownecontemporary.com www.martinbrownecontemporary.com GALLERY HOURS: TUESDAY - SUNDAY 10:30AM - 6PM
LIST OF WORKS Reflection 1, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm Reflection 2, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm Reflection 3, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm Reflection 4, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm Reflection 5, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych) Reflection 6, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych) Reflection 7, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych) Reflection 8, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych) Reflection 9, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 106 cm (diptych) Reflection 10, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 159 cm (triptych) Reflection 11, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 162 cm (triptych) Reflection 12, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 162 cm (triptych) Fish God, 2017, bronze, 62 x 56 x 42 cm, Ed. 1/3 Sky Pig, 2017, bronze, 80 x 35 x 40 cm, Ed. 1/3 Power Dragon, 2017, bronze, 45 x 35 x 75 cm, Ed. 1/3 Time Tunnel 1, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 2, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 3, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 4, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 5, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm © Martin Browne Contemporary © All images copyright Guan Wei This catalogue is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. COMPILER: Dean Andersen PHOTOGRAPHER: Jenni Carter COLOUR SEPARATIONS: Spitting Image, Sydney PRINTING: Blue Star, Sydney Cover Image: Reflection 10, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 159 cm (triptych)
Time Tunnel 6, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 7, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 8, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 9, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 10, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 11, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm Time Tunnel 12, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
REFLECTION
Last year I participated in an artist residency program in London, England for three months, during which time I visited many galleries, museums, castles and palaces. I even went to Captain Cook’s hometown and visited the museum dedicated to him. I was especially intrigued by 17th and 18th-century British navy adventures and the discovery of Australia. I searched through large collections of historical pictures, maps, ceramics, textiles and assortments of artefacts, compiled together all the experiences and reflections and finally made two series of works: Reflection and Time Tunnel. It’s characteristic of human memories that the farther back a moment is, the more beautiful and pure that moment seems; and thanks to our ability to evaluate in hindsight, the more ancient something is, the easier to comprehend it becomes. As people, we have a tendency to forget the negative and let the positive be preserved more permanently in our memory. Reflection and Time Tunnel are inspired by the images of 17th and 18th-century ceramics and textiles related to explorations, discovering new lands and utopia. Reflection and Time Tunnel are set within the premises of post-modern historical and social frameworks. Using historical pictures and appropriating historically famous Australian images and paintings, the works build and communicate human perceptions and knowledge, and develop new relationships between daily life, society, history, and cultural changes. The works attempt to establish new forms of thinking and perception within the newly created relationships. The landscapes are realistic but filter out human details on purpose so they become black and white or mere silhouettes. This draws a mystical yet poetic and melancholic quality to the works. The blue in Reflection and the maroon in Time Tunnel are both colours commonly found in 17th and 18th-century ceramics and textiles. These pure colours enhance the sense of history in the works.
镜花园 The usage of classical frames in Reflection creates paintings within paintings — it is both a mark and a limit. Like a hand, it points out what we want to see while preventing the content in the frames from falling on to unstable and chaotic grounds. As well, the classical frames provide a clearer and elevated form of expression to the works. The little elves, angels and demons in varying postures and expressions outside the frames enlighten the images. This out-and-in, in-and-out gives the works ironic, complicated and fictional qualities, floating between true and false, dark and light. Therein lies a special symbol, taking you somewhere far away, extending into the equally far away future. A mysterious fate. The two series use transplantation, grafting and elimination so that I inject my thoughts and opinions into these historical events as I build them. My goal is to regain passion for routines, to create realistic situations and demolish the banality brought forth by daily life.
Guan Wei, 2017
去年我在英国伦敦做了三个月的访问艺术家，在此期间访问了大量的美术馆、博物馆、城堡、皇宫。 还去了库克船长的故乡，并访问了他的纪念馆。这里我特别对17、18世纪英国的大航海，以及发现澳 大利亚这段历史非常的感兴趣。查看了大量的历史图片、地图、陶瓷、纺织品和各种文物。汇总了这 些经历及感受，最终使我创造出两个系列的作品：“镜花园”(Reflection)和“时间洞”(Time Tunnel)。 人类的记忆具有一些有趣的特征，越是距今遥远的时刻，就显得越美好而单纯，并且，受益于我们的 后见之明，越古老的事情看起来就越容易理解。一个总体的倾向是更快的忘记负面的事物，而正面的 事物则会更久地保存在记忆之中。“镜花园”，“时间洞”创作灵感正是来自于这些17、18世纪陶瓷、纺 织品等图案中，关于探险、发现新大陆和乌托邦等内容。 “镜花园”，“时间洞”的切入点是在后现代的历史和社会状态下，利用历史的图片，同时还对澳大利亚历 史上著名的图像及绘画进行了再处理，目的是使我们人的感知或知识的产生和传递，以及和我们的日 常生活、社会、历史、文化的变迁产生出一种新的关系。作品试图在这种新的相互关联中营造一种新 的感受与思考。作品的风景是写实的，但有意过滤掉人物的细节，变成了黑或白的剪影。使作品平地 起了一种梦幻般并带有诗意与伤感的情境。“镜花园”中的蓝色，“时间洞”中的土红色，都是17、18世 纪在陶瓷和纺织品中最长见的颜色，这种单纯的颜色也增强了作品中的历史感！ “镜花园”中古典镜框的再现，使画中有画，它既是一个标记，也是一个界限。它象一只手指出了我们 要看的东西，防止框架内物象倒向不稳定和混乱的境地。同时古典框架，也使作品有了一种清晰和高 层次的表达。框架外各种姿态各异的小精灵、天使、小妖等等也增添了画面的情趣。从里到外，从外 到里，相互关联使作品弥漫着一种矛盾、复杂、又虚幻的情绪来，如影随形在真实与假象，黑暗与 光明之间飘荡。这种蕴藏着某种特别的象征符号，会带你回到遥远的过去，也会延伸到同样遥远的未 来。似乎在冥冥之中有一种神秘的命运之感。 两组作品运用了移植、嫁接、抽离等方法，当自己在建构这些历史事件中，也加入了自己的思考与观 念，目的是使日常生活重新获得激情，优先建构一些活生生的情境，摧毁日常生活中带来的平庸之 感。 关伟 2017
Reflection Like a mirror, these works superimpose, reflect and mix the history and reality, culture and society of the United Kingdom and its colonial empire, together with my personal imagination and my home country’s history, traveling through time. Beyond the narrative of history, Reflection discusses the sensitive, fragile, yet deep and serene psychological world of humans. Where we are from, where we are going.
镜花园 将异地的历史与现实，文化与社会，与我个人的想象，原住国的历史意象，象镜子式的相互映照叠加、反 射，在时空的穿越中，融合在了一起。“镜花园”在历史的叙述中背后探讨的是人类敏感，脆弱而又幽深的精 神世界。我们从哪里来，我们又向哪里去。
Reflection 1, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm
Reflection 2, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm
Reflection 3, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm
Reflection 4, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 50 cm
Reflection 5, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych)
Reflection 6, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych)
Reflection 7, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych)
Reflection 8, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 104 cm (diptych)
Reflection 9, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 106 cm (diptych)
Reflection 10, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 159 cm (triptych)
Reflection 11, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 162 cm (triptych)
Reflection 12, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 162 cm (triptych)
Mascot The relationship between humans and animals goes way back. People across all societies attribute different human characteristics to animals, and vice versa: the mystery of dragons, the agility of eagles, the power of lions, and the fear and cunningness of snakes. Based on these traits, I have used human qualities in their opposite to create three “mascots”: Fish God, Sky Pig and Power Dragon. They have delicate details and uniquely humorous appearances. I hope that they can bring you joy and luck in life.
吉祥物 人和动物的关系源远流长，人们从动物身上升华出了许多正反两个方面的品质来。龙的神 秘，鹰的矫健，狮子的威猛和蛇的狡猾与恐惧等等。在此基础上，我反向用人的特征去创 作了三个可爱的“吉祥物”：天猪，威龙，鱼神。精致的细节和具有独特幽默感的形象。希 望在生活中能够给你带来些许的快意和好运！
Fish God, 2017, bronze, 62 x 56 x 42 cm, Ed. 1/3
Sky Pig, 2017, bronze, 80 x 35 x 40 cm, Ed. 1/3
Power Dragon, 2017, bronze, 45 x 35 x 75 cm, Ed. 1/3
Time Tunnel The works use images recorded by Western mercenaries in the 17th and 18th centuries. They collide with images from video games made by contemporary technology. The main imagery is the cross section of a tunnel that can penetrate the deepest reaches of history. The amalgamation of the two gives the image a subtle yet complicated inter-reference, constructing a confusing but intriguing Time Tunnel.
时间洞 作品选用了一些17、18世纪西方的传教士，在中国及东方记录下的图象。与当代高科技中的电子游戏机图 像，使之对冲、碰撞！主体的画面像是一个隧道的切面，可直接穿越到历史的最深处。二者的结合，使画面 充满了微妙而复杂的相互指涉，营造出令人迷惑，同时又引人入胜的“时间洞”。
Time Tunnel 1, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 2, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 3, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 4, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 5, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 6, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 7, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 8, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 9, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 10, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 11, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
Time Tunnel 12, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 46 cm
GUAN WEI
GUAN WEI BIOGRAPHY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 2017 2016 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014 2013 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011
Reflection, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney Cosmotheoria, White Box Art Center, Beijing Guan Wei - Perspective, Scene Sense Art Gallery, Beijing Bird, Map, Shadow, Heiser Gallery, Brisbane Salvation, Arc One Gallery, Melbourne From Stars To Soul, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney The Great Southern World, Nancy Sever Gallery, Canberra Guan Wei and Wayne Warren - Crossing Lines, ACME Project Space, London Panorama, Art of Guan Wei, Jia Pingwa Cultural Museum of Art, Xi’an, China How Far, Heiser Gallery, Brisbane Archaeology, ARC One Gallery, Melbourne From The Water To The Sky, Glasshouse - Port Macquarie Regional Gallery, Port Macquarie Twinkling Galaxies, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney The Enchantment, Arc One Gallery, Melbourne Spellbound, He Xiang Ning Art Museum, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen, China Bird Island, Chan Hampe Galleries, Singapore Play on the Beach, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney The New Classic of the Mountains and Seas, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2016-2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015
Contemporary Australian Drawing #6, Bury Art Museum, Bury, UK L’Ceil du Collectionneur, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg, France Borders, Barriers, Walls, Monash University Art Museum, Melbourne Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Essence: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Mongolian National Art Gallery, Ulan Bator, Mongolia Wen She Tao Yuan, 1st Sanya International Coast Art Xiang Shui Wan, Hainan, China Review and Prospect, NSW Parliament House, Sydney On the Beach, Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Mornington Peninsula Inspired by Buddhism, Nan Tien Institute Gallery, Wollongong Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, Perth Guarding the Homefront, Casula Powerhouse Art Centre, Casula Yuan Vision - Seven Biographies with Unique Languages, Rainbow Wall Art Gallery, Beijing Original Home: A Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, EXPO 2015, Milan National Self-Portrait Prize, The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
Born 1957, Beijing, China. In 1989, three years after graduating from the Department of Fine Arts at Beijing Capital University, Guan Wei came to Australia to take up an artist-in-residence position at the Tasmanian School of Art. He was invited to undertake two further residencies: one at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (1992), the other at the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University (1993). Since then he has been awarded many grants and residencies, including the Australia Council’s Greene St studio in New York (2003), the Cite International des Art, Paris studio in 2007 and Fellowship in 2008-2009. In 2010 he was an artist-in-residence at The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, USA, in 2011 he was artist-inresidence at He Xiang Ning Art Museum, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen, and in 2012 he was artist-in-residence at the Ah Ming studio in the Jing De Zhen Ceramic city. In 2014 he took part in the Artists’ Camp, “Looking for Spirits” in Lipo Guizhou. The most recent survey exhibition of Guan Wei’s work, Panorama: The Art of Guan Wei, was shown from January to March 2015 at Jia Pingwa Cultural Museum of Art, Xi’an, China. Guan Wei lives and works in both Beijing and Sydney.
Guan Wei’s work has a profoundly felt, if implicitly ironic, moral dimension. In their complex symbolic forms, his subjects potently embody current social and environmental dilemmas. They are equally the product of his rich cultural repertory of symbols and his informed socio-political awareness and art-historical knowledge.
Guan Wei has held more than 55 solo exhibitions world-wide. He has also been included in numerous important international contemporary exhibitions, including the Shanghai Biennial, 2010; 10th Havana Biennial, Cuba, 2009; Handle with Care, 2008 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia; Face Up: Contemporary Art from Australia, Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, Berlin, 2003; Osaka Triennial Contemporary Art, Osaka, 2001; Man and Space, Kwangju Biennale, 2000 and the 3rd Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1999.
In 2006 Craftsman House published a monograph on Guan Wei. He has won several awards, including the 2002 Sir John Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales. He has also completed several commissions in Australia including a mural for the foyer of the Folkestone Leighton Joint Venture at 700 Collins Street Melbourne in 2004 and a mural featured in the foyer of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s new building in Sydney, 2013. His works are held in major public collections and numerous university, corporate and private collections throughout Australia and internationally.