Famous for his sculpted busts that surprisingly unfold, Li Hongbo presents a selection of artworks especially produced for the exhibition. Originally from Beijing, the artist’s works are made of paper and as delicate as puzzling.
Li Hongbo’s sculptures are entirely made of paper: twisted, stretched, shrunk thanks to the artist’s technical prowess. Li Hongbo likes to reproduce everyday objects such as ancient Chinese toys, but he is also inspired by classical art, depicting traditional Chinese vases or bust portraits inspired by Roman art. "A human body cannot stretch, neither its representation. But I want to change this perception" shares Li Hongbo.
Li Hongbo artworks are made of so many layers that they become magical. Upcycling old newspapers Li Hongbo gives these paper sheets a new life, turning them into a classical sculpture. The artist's work is tedious and meticulous: he stacks thousands of sheets and glues them. His largest sculptures ca, be made of dozens of thousands of paper sheets and take up to several months to complete.
In parallel, the female artist Shi Ningfang presented on this show also plays on the distortion between what we see and what really constitutes the artwork. This Chinese artist shares a very feminine perspective on the world. Shi Ningfang was born in Jilin in China in 1979 and is a graduate in Fine Arts in Beijing (Central Academy of Fine Arts). She is also an art scholar and researcher.
True to her research field (about the link between traditional Chinese art and contemporary art) Shi Ningfang focuses on paradoxes and distortions. In her art a bronze bell, supposedly a solid object, becomes squashy. In this particular way, she explores the relationship between masculine and feminine. Shi Ningfang likes to express herself through art about the world’s duality.
Li Hongbo & Shi Ningfang : « Truth »
exhibition from September 10 to October 29, 2016
Opening:
On Saturday 10th of September 2016 from 4pm to 7pm
Address:
Magda Danysz Gallery, 188 Linqing Road, Shanghai
Website:
http://magdagallery.com
Press contact:
Clémence Wolff +33 (0)1 43 57 79 78
clemence@mnacommunication.com
