2008.4.19-2008.5.15<\/p>\n
ShanghART Gallery H Space<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zhou Zixi\u2019s new compelling series of paintings 1946-1949 (created in 2007\/2008) evoke complex metaphors of history and nostalgia. In these, Zhou Zixi exploits the power of nostalgia to create images that reflect the artist\u2019s memory of a childhood flooded by depictions of China\u2019s civil war between the nationalists and the victorious communists (1946-1949). His work moves with startling ease between contemporary interpretations of these past classic icons in bright primary colors to dark scenes that allude to the menacing weight of history.<\/p>\n
The common strand that runs through these two extremes is a powerful ideology that equalizes all subjects. His aim is to trigger an unframed, unexpected visual encounter. The effect is not imposed on the spectator; on the contrary, the work offers a willfully ambivalent approach, open to a variety of interpretations.<\/p>\n
Zhou Zixi\u2019s recent paintings oscillate between high art and kitsch, integrating a visual language that is particularly crude due to the banality of nostalgia. What we see in these pictures are spaces filled with anachronistic images of distant historical realities. Rather than a calming notion of history, these paintings depict the external manifestation of China\u2019s chaotic development. While his paintings might be a serious take on many of society\u2019s less attractive features, some images also pay surprising tribute to the power and fascination of history, a practice that also underscores the sentiment that contemporary art is integral to the logic of the past.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":2198,"template":"","exhibitions_type":[4],"class_list":["post-2186","exhibition","type-exhibition","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","exhibitions_type-solo-exhibitions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhouzixi.art\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibition\/2186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhouzixi.art\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibition"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhouzixi.art\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/exhibition"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zhouzixi.art\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zhouzixi.art\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"exhibitions_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zhouzixi.art\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibitions_type?post=2186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}