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Liu Zheng
1972 Born in Hebei, China
1992 Graduted from Hebei Normal College
Currently lives and works in Beijing, China
Solo Exhibitions
2007 'In our opnion' , Willem Kerseboom Gallery , Amsterdam , the Netherlands
2006 Liu Zheng works, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Beads On Silk, Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, Tokyo, Japan
2002 Yuan, Galerie Loft, Paris, France
Group Exhibitions
2006 A ticket to Beijing, Willem Kerseboom Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2004 On the Edge, Jakarta, IndonesiaPropaganda de Mao a Coca-Cola, Paris, France
2002 Chinese Modernity, FAAP, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Paris - Pekin, Espace Cardin, Paris, France
Money and value/ The last taboo, Basel, Switzerland
2001 Next Generation/ Art Contemporain D'Asie, Passage de Retz, Paris, France
1999 Ouh, la, la Kitsch!, TEDA Contemporary Art Museum, Tianjin, China
Contemporary Chinese Art, Zurich, Switzerland
1998 Corruptionists, Beijing, China
1996 Gaudi Life, Beijing, China
February 1, 2006:
| Liu Zheng at Tokyo Gallery The Japan Times, Jan. 26, 2006 Tokyo Gallery: Liu Zheng shows 'Gaudy Art' embroidery By MONTY DiPIETRO Several of my recent columns have dealt with new art spaces and centers in Tokyo. Today I want to wrap that up with a look at a gallery that has shunned the relocation trend by remaining in the city's original contemporary art district -- Ginza.Twelve years ago, Ginza was the start and finish point for any Tokyogallery tour -- almost all the best spaces were there. But back then theMuseum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and the Mori Art Museum didn't exist.Now, galleries in Kiyosumi and Roppongi cluster round those big spaces.It makes sense, as they can harvest the bling of a major exhibition byshowing and selling a participating artist.But Ginza is still very much on the art map. It has some of the onlyworthwhile rental spaces for exhibitions, such as Gallery K, a respectedcorporate gallery in Shiseido, and everal smallish but excellentcommercial spaces, such as the Koyanagi and the Nakamura -- and the onewith the name that makes it clear it was there first: the Tokyo Gallery.Established in 1950, the Tokyo combines a family-run atmosphere and aproud history of avant-garde activities. This is exemplified in theirinterest in performance art, their support of groups such as Mono-ha,and their presention of emerging Korean artists at a time when Pan-Asianhad yet to become trendy. Last year, the gallery moved down the streetto a new space that is almost exactly the same size, at about 50 sq. meters.Says the gallery's Yukihito Tabata, "For us, Ginza is an area in whichnew and old can cross over, a place that can combine the trends andtraditions. We believe philosophy and action correspond here; Ginza justfeels like home."The current show at the Tokyo features new and recent selections fromLiu Zheng, a 33-year-old Beijing-based artist best known for a series,spanning almost a decade now, of images built by stringing togetheracrylic beads. This is his first solo show in Japan.The theme is money -- eight of the 10 works are large representations ofcurrency notes. Some are fairly accurate replicas of Chinese andAmerican bills, except for the subtle substitution of the artist's namefor the treasurer's and the changing of serial numbers to the date ofthe work. Other bills are outright fabrications, the design made up bythe artist. One has been rather cleverly treated -- an American $100bill features a portrait of Mao Zedong in place of Benjamin Franklin,and, under the seal of the Federal Reserve, the words "Made in China."[image] Liu Zheng's "Imitation Calendar"The works show a brash and bold use of color, composition and materials-- appropriate for Zheng's so-called "Gaudy Art" movement. The beads arestitched onto traditional Chinese fabric, and while these are obviouslynot the product of a master embroiderer, the whole is greater than thesum of the parts. As far as capitalism-lampooning contemporary Chineseart is concerned, Zheng is top of the class with a playful style thatresonates well.The appeal of the works is best evidenced in the prices -- the pieceshere (all one-offs) are set at $8,000 to $30,000.The Tokyo Gallery says that some 70 percent of its sales areinternational, and the gallery has intensified its activities in Asiawith its Beijing Tokyo Art Project (BTAP), a 300-sq.-meter space thatopened two years ago in central Beijing. Business has been good -- mostbuyers are Westerners, while most artists shown are Chinese or Korean.The gallery has had no problems with censorship and has become afavorite drop-in spot for art students.And so, even as the Tokyo Gallery sticks with a small space in Ginza, itis expanding internationally in ways that few Japanese galleries woulddare attempt.However, with an eye on completing the circle between artists,gallerists and collectors, Tokyo Gallery is currently looking intoopening a space in New York to promote Chinese artists. It's ambitious,especially as some critics have suggested that interest in Chinesecontemporary may have played out. But the Tokyo remains upbeat."Without the influence of China and Korea, Japanese culture would neverhave developed as it did, and we initially went into China to connectwith our origins," says Tabata. "History is very important, but so isthe future. Soon, Beijing will be the center of Asia, both culturallyand economically. We are also there because we have a desire to find,develop and introduce quality artists."Liu Zheng is showing till Feb. 10 at the Tokyo Gallery, 7F, 8-10-5Ginza; open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (till 5 p.m. on Saturday, closed Sunday); |