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China is transforming rapidly, opening its doors and absorbing everything foreign. The field of contemporary art is catching up quickly in the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but in a second tier city like Nanjing the scope of contemporary art work is comparatively limited. With my own interests and background; being fluent in both Chinese and English and understanding the dynamics of Chinese and Western culture, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to try to build bridges between East and West. My goal in curating this exhibition is to give foreign artists the opportunity to exhibit in China. |
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Working on Common Differences – Curator Jaia Chen
China is transforming rapidly, opening its doors and absorbing everything foreign. The field of contemporary art is catching up quickly in the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but in a second tier city like Nanjing the scope of contemporary art work is comparatively limited. With my own interests and background; being fluent in both Chinese and English and understanding the dynamics of Chinese and Western culture, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to try to build bridges between East and West.
My goal in curating this exhibition is to give foreign artists the opportunity to exhibit in China. Simultaneously Chinese audiences will gain new international perspectives that may fuel discourse for framing future artistic development for the local community. I would like both Chinese artists and participating foreign artists to recognize the specific differences in their practices, while acknowledging the commonalities that can be established through visual language and culture.
After living in Nanjing, China, for almost three years, I still feel a sense of distance. Distance expresses my view of the world at large. I want to comment on the universal through the exploration and investigation of the personal. The works in this exhibition examine the notion of distance as it can pertain to the urban condition, chronological passage, physical place, psychological space and emotional identity. This show also presents the engrossing effects of political, economic and religious conflicts. While singular experience may be isolated and separate, the collective voice is a powerful vehicle by which to share, reconnect and establish a confluence that celebrates the richness of diversity.
