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4 forthcoming exhibitions Sweden Romania Hong Kong Indian Conference HIV/Aids in China Huge mural Research Dental Work Tansitional Era Liverpool & Shanghai Wiseman Village Lectures Redesign Resurrection Liverpool & Shanghai Artist book Dream & Reality Chun Qunjie Sensory Material Shanghai Biennial Contagious Love Gallery Director/Curator WAVE exhibition, London & Seoul seven Colour Play, Shanghai |  | Chen Qunjie retrospective exhibition Oct. 2006 - Chen Qunjie is Vice President of Yunnan University, Kunming the leading university of Yunnan Province in South West China. Jonathan has curated a retrospective exhibition of his work covering the last 27 years. Chen Qunjie has lived through soem dramatic changes in China. The earliest work in the exhition was made when he was sent to work on a farm during the cultrual revolution. There are paintings inspired by Rembrandt whose work was not seen in China until the early 1980s and lots of heavily symbolic images inspired by the tradional Chinese funeral. Here is part of the speech Jonathan gave at the opening of the exhibition: 'I am very happy to have been asked to curate this exhibition. Today we present to you some of Chen Qunjie's work from the last 27 years. He is a man of great skill and knowledge mixed with humility and deep thinking and it has been a pleasure to work with him on this exhibition. There are many things I could say about this work but there are others more knowledgeable who will speak later, so I will just mention 2 things. Firstly, it is important you note the dates when each of these images were created. This will give you important information about the historical context in which the art was created. Chen Laoshi told me a story from the time of his early work. Even though he had very little money he would visit a cinema simply to look at the posters and learn how to create powerful images with simple brush strokes. This speaks of the passion and commitment of an artist whose work now covers a long period of time. Secondly, Chen Laoshi's work is the work of an artist who pays attention to small details and loves to shine the light on those areas we so often miss. This is obvious in the large wall of photographs, where the 'accidental art' is shown to us in glorious detail. However I also see this in his other work, for example the white figures. Here he is concerned about the lack of connection between people, the lack of conversation and the hiding under modern white veils of death. However, I feel that these images are not simply reflecting the negative he perceives but by highlighting his concerns, Chen Laoshi actually reaches out in hope, a hope that we will all lift our white veils and look out at the wonderful details around us and maybe even start talking again. Thank you again Chen Qunjie for bringing your art to TCG Nordica. |  | |||||
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