Wu Chen: March 32nd

Curator: Yang Zi

Date: 2023.3.10-7.16

Venue: Qiao Space

Qiao Space and Magician Space are pleased to present Wu Chen’s solo exhibition ‘March 32nd’. The exhibition that curated by independent curator Yang Zi will showcase 27 works completed from 2014 to 2022.

Wu Chen’s paintings refer to the image structure in art history and absorb the extended parts connected from broader visual materials, whether caricatures, new year pictures, advertisements, or even games. Those visual representations of contemporary popular culture, weaken the sense of solidity and depth in the art from the late Middle Ages to Renaissance referenced by Wu and flatten the image. Even though they incorporate image archives from varied sources, Wu’s paintings do not attempt to emphasize impressive monumentality, religious significance, or dazzling humanism. His paintings do not set lofty goals but cynical clumsiness which suggest a shocking point: clumsiness already exists in great and exquisite classical paintings but has been long overlooked by people. Flowing and stray lines sprinkle his paintings, like children’s naïve graffiti, dividing the edge of things and supplementing the dimension of the image. These lines resemble the winding traces of writing, embodying rhythm changes that are sometimes smooth and sometimes stagnant; they sculpt the virtual space behind the canvas, toward or away from the viewer. The temporal dimension in art is also revealed by these seductive lines. Gazing at those lines, we seem to be able to revolve around them and indulge in the joy of weightlessness. The awareness of the scale of time and its tension are thus forgotten.

Read More