In a conversation, chen wenling, whose landowning family went through difficulties during the time of the cultural revolution, says his red series is a reflection of life during that period. Ode to art is a gallery that represents an international spectrum of artists with diverse collections of contemporary. Chen wenling born 16 august 1994 is a taiwanese freestyle wrestler. See more ideas about chen, chinese contemporary art and sculpture. Chen raises the bar extraordinarily high in this reimagining of one of the most famous chinese books ever written. What you see might not be real, by chen wenling depicts the ponzi schemer as a devil, horns and all. Red memory seriesthe use of bright red colour in presenting the boys depicts not only the symbolic and auspicious color considered by chinese traditions but also, a testament of the artists fiery attitude towards life. Chen wenling red memory smile, 2007 art contemporain.
Through a variety of surreal, often grotesque sculpturesmost often executed in a bright monochrome redhe examines the rapid rise of consumerism in modernday china and the fraught relationship with its more austere communist past. Many of his latest works involve pigs, which he finds a perfect metaphor for contemporary people. His collection includes red elongated sculptural figures by chen. Little red men in red memory at the pearl bay beach of xiamen in early january 2002, every day a large number of visitors came to see chen wenling s sculpture exhibition red memory. Murder most foul by wei dong chen and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The bull, which represents wall street, is farting because in chinese fang pi literally means to fart, but in slang means to bluff or lie. The geoff raby collection of contemporary chinese art. See more ideas about chen, chinese contemporary art and small sculptures. These works were presented in exhibition 1, curated by neilsons daughter paris neilson, and remained on show for the first three exhibitions. A custom book for your organization our premier offering. Wonderful photos ceramics sculpture surreal tips chen wenling.
Signing a copy of his book during his solo exhibition. His parents were so poor that he had to make his own toysof which his sculptures are, in a sense, grownup versions. The red boy from wenling chens the red memory is bright red all over the body like a ragging fire. Red memory chen wenling says he was a playful child, always monkeying around. Check out these supremely inventive works that are pushing the boundaries of what art means. Dec 01, 2009 chen wenling red memoryasking god, 2006, bronze, vehicle duco, 77 x 33 x 27 cm red memorysmile, 2007, bronze, vehicle duco, 290 x 120 x 200 cm valiant struggle 11, 2006, bronze, stainless steel, fibreglass, gold leaf, sound, vehicle duco, 550 x 160 x 160 cm. Chen wenling red memoryno big deal yang gallery sculpture.
The chen wenling red memory installation is compelling, creative, and a little bit creepy with astonishingly lifelike statues posed in expressive situations. Jan 05, 2012 china scene, red memory published on jan 5, 2012 following chens first stage of sculptures came series such as happy life, valiant struggle and now more recently, china scene. Fu fu fu, pop characters, fictional characters, japanese monster, visual diary, book images. Chen wenling sculpture exhibition another realm will be held 14th jan. This is a wellcrafted novel full of skill and grace from an author to watch out for. Known for his provoking and interesting twist in his sculptural works, chen wenling shot to artistic fame with his red memory series, showcasing the playful naked boys covered in shiny red paint. Available for sale from contemporary by angela li, chen wenling, red memory smile 2011, painted bronze, 89. His iconic red memory bronze sculptures that showcase playful naked boys in shiny red.
The complete set of chen wenlings red memory series of sculptures. This is a book of selected poems of the author who has continued writing over the years to eulogize this great era with passion. The red memory series of wenling chen has a very strong visual impact, from which we can tell that he is an artist with an extraordinary open creative psychology, and the energy of one of a kind. Chen wenling, born in 1969 from anxi china is recognized as one of the top ten contemporary sculptors in the international art industry. We would love to coauthor your organizations vision narrativefeaturing your vision, thought leadership, personal narratives, and strategy. Set on two different beaches over australia bondi to tamarama coastal walk, sydney, australia and cottesloe beach, perth, western australia, sculpture by the sea welcomes over 20,000 people, every year. What you see might not be real chen wenling, sculpture, 2009.
The red boys represent neither realism nor vanguard sculpture, but selfexpression of chen wenling about the critical state of life. Chen wenling 1969 is an artist born in 1969 the oldest auction result ever registered on the website for an artwork by this artist is a sculpturevolume sold in 2006, at poly international auction co. Although chen wenling first gained fame for his red memory sculptures, a series of oversized, riotously laughing young boys rendered in vibrant red lacquer, hes since moved on to a darker body of work. The book of chen or chen shu chen shu was the official history of the chen dynasty, one of the southern dynasties of china. Chen wen ling ode to art singapore contemporary art. Nov 20, 2010 the chen wenling red memory installation is compelling, creative, and a little bit creepy with astonishingly lifelike statues posed in expressive situations. Chen wenling is a contemporary chinese neorealist artist. The exhibition is a mix of contemporary sculptures and the concept is to place them all over the beach. Red memory, chen wenlings sculpture exhibition, singapore solo.
They may relate the works to the red boy of one of chinese great novels. Professor chen was the first chinese scholar to be granted tenure at usc, where he taught for 35 years and revived the asian studies department. Sep 10, 2012 these unconventional sculptures in public areas bring surrealism to individuals everyday lives. This challenges people to be more creative, to question what is and is not possible and to think outside of the box. Here are the instructions how to enable javascript in your web browser. We could say that little red men is the starting point of chen wenling s artistic style and also the meta point of his works thereafter. Boy, 3, goes viral in china after his mum dresses him like a. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable javascript. On the occasion of describing this artwork, the word magnificent often came to my ears. See more ideas about chen, sculpture and chinese contemporary art. Chens current sculptural practice centers on a cast of grotesque, perverse figures who cavort in sexual deviance and moral depravity. Chen wenling sculpture exhibition another realm the. Chinese contemporary art sculpture chen wenling red memory smile, 2007 paper book paper art art design book design altered books altered art brian dettmer book art book sculpture complete and authoritative book of games detail. Jan 03, 2019 with a shaved head, a beaming smile and a clumsy walk, chen zhaoyu from wenling city in east chinas zhejiang province has been gaining fans by the hundreds on social media.
Chen wen ling rose to fame with his sculptures of the red memory collection, which features a slim, red naked boy, usually in a jovial. His iconic red memory bronze sculptures that showcase playful naked boys in shiny red paint have gained him international recognition. Oct 21, 2019 walking into the former warehouse space, it is only fitting to face chen wenlings valiant struggle 11 2006 with red memory smile 2007 dominating the threestorey void. Chen wen ling china scene, red memory following chens first stage of sculptures came series such as happy life, valiant struggle and now more recently, china scene. She competed in the womens freestyle 69 kg event at the 2016 summer olympics, in which she was eliminated in the round of 16 by ochirbatyn nasanburmaa.
Chen s academic, literary, humanitarian, and public speaking accomplishments are interspersed with the moving story of the chens long marriage and family life. Available for sale from ode to art, chen wen ling, symbiosis 2017, stainless steel, 1. His family was poor and could not afford to buy him new toys, so he used clay that was readily available in his surroundings to make small sculptures to play with. Chen wen ling rose to fame with his sculptures of the red memory collection, which features a slim, red naked boy, usually in a jovial position. Discover interesting facts about chen wenling on artnet. The journey to the west xi you ji, but without the feeling of an evil spirit. His sculpture entitled statue of liberty and the gold bull featured the iconic united states monument with a book that had liberal economics. Like choi xooang, chen wenlings sculptures are surreal and often grotesque.
In a sense his sculptures are grownup versions of his early creations. These macabre mannequins are dyed fire engine red, adding an element of surrealism. It ranks among the official twentyfour histories of imperial china, and was compiled by the tang dynasty historian yao silian, completed in 636. Chinese contemporary art sculpture chen wenling red memory smile, 2007. Red is the color of 2003, from the red devils cheer squad of korean to the red team shirts in european football, which were very rarely seen in past years, and then not. Mar 15, 2011 im not sure what it is, but ive been mesmerized by this piece by chinese artist chen wenling, entitled what you see might not be real. Red memory series, c 20052015 using cast aluminium and car duco by chen wenling. Chen wen ling symbiosis 2017 available for sale artsy. I have no idea how the title relates, but the piece is meant to depict a horned bernie madoff being pinned to the wall by a bull representing wall street. Nov 04, 2014 chen wenling was a playful child whose parents were so poor, he had to make his own toys. Chen wenling red memory smile 2011 available for sale artsy. The red memory series of wenling chen has a very strong visual impact, from which we can tell that he is an artist with an extraordinary open creative psychology. Chen wenling uses his sculpture to present his view on the global financial crisis. The strong and farting bull represents wall street.
Sculpture by the sea cottesloe perth by jessica valls. Selected poems of chen wenling chinese edition chen wenling on. For chen wenling, little red men constitute his path of inward thinking. Chen wenling is a sculptor who was born in 1969, in anxi, a tiny village in the fujian province of china.