UP THE REVOLUTION!
I am not one to turn down a freebie. So when my wife informed me that the Saatchi Galleries had invited us for a free guided tour, I was on the train before you could say 'the last time I had been there was to see Damian'. Packed with our email from the Saatchi's I went along hoping that maybe Nigella would be there, serving canapes to the guests, unfortunately this was not the case so I had to make do with to the new exhibition China The Revolution Continues.
The Exhibition
Stunning! Thats not a word I'd normally use for many contempary exhibitions, I often find the ideas themselves are the focus of attention and that art pratice ends up a poor second. This is simply not the case with 'The Revolution Continues' The attention to detail and use of materials seems to be a real driving force from Zhang Huan's whole body of work (he has quite a few varied pieces on display) to Sun Yuan and Peng Yu's brilliant 'Old Persons Home'
With most of these young artists you get a feeling of a real dedication to display and the visual arts. Craft, skill and even beauty are words often lost in modern fine art pratice, especially in relation to contempary sculpture and instulation. But here the refreshing use of skill (learnt under the old Chinese schools of social realisum) really makes this exhibition stand out. The exhibits marry these sadly dying crafts with overt political statements and a sense of fun and humour, making this the most inviting display of modern art I have seen for many years.
The highlights are many and the exhibition itself is huge, taking up the entire Saatchi galleries maze of spaces. I think you need go to the Saachi gallery for at least 3 hours to fully take it in, but visit the website to take a look.
My fav would have to be 'Old Persons Home' I felt that this breathtaking piece of work typified the whole exhibition. Basically it consists of old men in wheelchairs. Their dress alludes to World leaders in their dying days and as their chairs move around the room electronically they interact, bump into and dual with each other. The sad old men, in the last moments of their lives still battling over their piece of ground. The old men themselves are intricately made, life size models, hand crafted, painted and concived by the artists and team of staff. Without gowing too deep into the piece (I don't want to bore you) I felt haunted and troubled by the way in which they follow you around the room, not touching you, crashing into each other in the process. But it is seriously funny as well, ok you question why are you laughing, but you do and laughter here makes the whole piece even darker I feel.
I say you must go, if Nigella is there with her cup cakes then even better!
The Revolution Continues – UP THE REVOLUTION!
