Chen Qiulin
Chen Qiulin | China b. 1975 | Garden No. 1 2007 | Photograph | 127 x 152cm, ed of 8 | Image courtesy: The artist and Max Protetch Gallery, New York
b.1975, Hubei, China
Lives and works in Chengdu, China
Chen Qiulin creates evocative video works that comment on the scale and pace of change in contemporary China. With a focus on daily life in rural and village communities, her work has recently been concerned with the people living along the Yangtze River — a vast population whose livelihoods have been affected by the Three Gorges Dam hydro-electric project. Thousands of communities have been displaced by this massive development, including Chen’s hometown, and this personal encounter led her to reflect on the disappearance of historical sites and the displacement of village life. For APT6, Chen will present Xinsheng Town no. 275–277 2009, a reconstructed traditional house that was demolished for urban development, as well as the video Garden 2007. In this work, Chen combines a theatrical aesthetic with a studied documentation of flower sellers, who negotiate their existence amid exploding urban developments in the Three Gorges region. Flowers have an iconic place in Chinese culture, symbolising the fragility of life and its potential for renewal. Within the grand narrative of China’s social and economic transformation, Chen’s work considers concepts of place, memory and individual experience.
Exhibitions (solo): University Art Museum, Albany, New York, United States, 2007; Long March Space, Beijing, China, 2006. Exhibitions (group): Gwangju Biennale, Korea, 2008; ‘China Power Station’, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway, 2008; ‘The Wall’, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, United States/China Millennium Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2005.
Installation photography
APT6 | Chen Qiulin | Xinsheng Town no. 275–277 2009
Video
View Chen Qiulin's artist talk from the APT6 Opening weekend (part 1 of 2) (part 2 of 2)
APT6 exhibiting artists and projects are: Minam Apang | Isabel & Alfredo Aquilizan | Chen Chieh-Jen | Chen Qiulin | Cheo Chai-Hiang | DAMP | Solomon Enos | Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian | Subodh Gupta | Gonkar Gyatso | Kyungah Ham | Ho Tzu Nyen | Emre Hüner | Raafat Ishak | Runa Islam | Ayaz Jokhio | Takeshi Kitano | Ang Lee | Mansudae Art Studio | Rudi Mantofani | Mataso Printers | The Mekong: Bùi Công Khánh, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Sopheap Pich, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Svay Ken, Tun Win Aung & Wah Nu, Vandy Rattana | Tracey Moffatt | Farhad Moshiri | Kohei Nawa | Shinji Ohmaki | The One Year Drawing Project | Pacific Reggae: Roots Beyond the Reef | Rithy Panh | Reuben Paterson | Campbell Patterson | Wit Pimkanchanapong | Qiu Anxiong | Kibong Rhee | Hiraki Sawa | Shirana Shahbazi | Shooshie Sulaiman | Thukral & Tagra | Charwei Tsai | Vanuatu Sculptors | Rohan Wealleans | Leba Toki, Bale Jione & Robin White | Yang Shaobin | Yao Jui-Chung | YNG | Zhu Weibing & Ji Wenyu
