Hidden bodies in silent sceneries

HIDDEN BODIES IN SILENT SCENERIES

JIWU Art Space - Nanjing, China

October 7 - November 6, 2016

Adriaan Rees

In 2016 a new gallery in Nanjing with the name JIWU Art Space, China opened its doors. For their opening exhibition they searched for an international artist who is based in China and found me with the help of my dear friend Huang Zaiyun. A team from the gallery visited my studio and my home in Jingdezhen, interviewed me and took an intense video. When I visited the gallery in Nanjing, I was convinced and accepted their invitation. I was very motivated because the gallery is located in the centre of the town next to the old city wall. The building itself is a big traditional Ming house, with yards and impressive classical spaces with pillars and a beautiful roof. It was the first time to have the chance to show my work in a typical and traditional surrounding, a wonderful opportunity to see this combination.

In 4 different spaces I could install my work: Space 1, the inner yard, with The Acrobat (Chinese version). Space 2, the U-shaped room, with a selection of different kind of works, such as: the big green polyester Screaming in a Bucket, some torsos, vases, The Warriors and glass boxes with fragile white porcelain sculptures. Space 3, the central room, with the long installation This is my Land II (China/China version). It was the first time I could show this work, not in its full length of 25 meters, but a nice selection of 32 pieces with the length of 12 meters. In this separated room with closed windows everything was focused on this installation, with traditional Chinese music about landscapes and mountains… Space 4, a large room at the end of the gallery, showed the torso The Road Home/Tall ships and at the walls were photographs about my outdoor sculptures and big installations.

A grand opening was supported by The Netherlands Consulate Shanghai with speeches and the première of the video they made in Jingdezhen and during the setting of the show. Besides the exhibition, I gave a lecture (Mud and Fire) in the gallery and a hard cover catalogue was published with special pictures showing my work in connection with the architecture of the Ming building and with a touching text by professor Yu Li.