Chen Zhen: Without going to New York and Paris, life could be internationalized (Sternberg Press)

Description

Chen Zhen (1955 2000) is largely recognized as one of the most important international Chinese-born, Paris-based conceptual artists from the global art scene. A member of the Chinese avant-garde, Chen chose exile over political repression, leaving home for Paris in 1986. After some years in seclusion, he began showing his pioneering 'open sculptures,' which swiftly found international acclaim. Chen s pieces present utopias of multicultural dialogue, poetic landscapes of unusual material alliances, hybrids and new connections between Eastern traditions and Western artistic vocabulary. Packaged in a raw, pressed-cardboard binding, this simple but elegant catalog documents the eponymous exhibition at the Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2015) covering his massive installations, personal notebooks and sketches of existing and unrealized projects from 1997 to 2000. A thoughtful essay by curator Hou Hanru contextualizes and personalizes the artist s ideas and methods. Chen s work has been featured internationally including solo shows at ICA, Boston and P.S. 1, NY.