By Christopher Trela & Catherine Del Casale | NB Indy
Orange County Museum of Art exhibits of the past several years have focused primarily on contemporary, modern and avant-garde American artists.
That focus shifts with the current exhibition, “My Generation: Young Chinese Artists,” running through Oct. 11, described as “an extended look at the new generation of artists emerging in mainland China since 2000.”
The artists represented in the exhibition were all born after 1976, when the Cultural Revolution ended. Most are products of China’s one child policy. They share several traits: they’re ambitious, determined, and technically sophisticated.
“‘My Generation’ allows us to explore the role these emerging Chinese contemporary artists have in a globalized art world,” said OCMA Director Todd D. Smith. “With its breadth and scope of artists, media, and approaches to art making, the exhibition provides a look inside one of the most fascinating developments in the art world today: Chinese art of our time. This exhibition continues OCMA’s efforts to share with our audiences the art of the Pacific Rim.”
Barbara Pollack is the exhibition’s curator, an arts journalist who has covered the Chinese art scene for more than two decades.
‘Fearless’ by Xu Zhen
“Young Chinese artists are breaking out in ways that challenge and defy the styles of an older generation of Chinese artists already known in the west,” said Pollack, who interviewed more than 100 young artists from throughout China to prepare for the exhibition.
The younger generation of artists represented in “My Generation” grew up in relative freedom, and thanks to the Internet and a liberalized arts education, have been exposed to global art movements, says a museum statement.
The exhibit includes painters, video artists, installation artists, photographers, and artist collectives. The topics and issues they address include alienation, self-definition, cynicism, and rebellion.
The exhibition is accompanied by a free iPad app that includes in-depth interviews with many of the artists in the exhibition.
Each room depicted a different theme. The large canvas “Fearless,” by Xu Zhen, stands out for its mix of media that represents political cartoons, large serpents and feathered beasts, challenging the viewer’s perception of traditional Chinese art.
“The Animal Regulation” collection by Liu Di uses large images of animals within a cityscape, suggesting the destructive relationship between the explosion of urbanism and the surrounding natural environment.
“My Generation: Young Chinese Artists” has been organized by the Tampa Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg.
OCMA is open Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (until 8 p.m. on Fridays). Adult admission is $10, seniors and students $7.50, children 12 and under are free. Fridays are free to the public.
Orange County Museum of Art is located at 850 San Clemente Dr. in Newport Beach. Call (949)
759-1122 or visit ocma.net.
