Looking back at the 2021 Chengdu Biennale: An Exhibition and the resonance of a city ｜ Red Star Observation

July 15th is the last day of the 2021 Chengdu Biennale, which lasted more than 8 months.

Between the petals -like Tianfu Art Museum and the Bishan -like contemporary art museum, the sparkling lake surface looks quiet and cool in the hot summer. The endless stream of viewing people through the two museums became a landscape flowing on the shore.

On the morning of July 3rd, the audience who came to visit the exhibition exceeded 1 million, setting the highest number of people in the world's biennial exhibitions.

2021 Chengdu Biennale (Photo by Li Guangxin)

Biennale is the world's most influential international large -scale art exhibition form, and the 2021 Chengdu Biennale is one of the largest and most academic art biennial exhibitions in the post -epidemic era: 272 in 35 countries and regions around the world Artists, 8 theme exhibition sections, 1 art gallery peak summit and 17 parallel exhibitions.

From November 6 last year, it was closed on July 15 this year. We need to look back once in these 130 days. Look at this biennial exhibition, what happened to Chengdu, art, and citizens. Impact.

Exhibit

Multi -dimensional, multi -field, multi -level super fusion

Throughout the world's major biennial exhibitions, whether it is Venice or St. Paul, although its themes are constantly updated and the forms are different, they all have a distinctive characteristic: named after their place.

The city and the biennial exhibition are inseparable from the beginning. Fan Dian, chairman of the Chinese Artists Association, Dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and 2021 Chengdu Biennale Exhibition, said at the beginning of the show: I hope that this biennale will take culture and art as a bond to promote more artistic elements with the exhibition. Show the beautiful vision of Chengdu Construction Park City.

As the location of the two new museums of the Chengdu Museum of Art, Tianfu Art Park is a masterpiece of Chengdu to build a "three cities and three capitals" and a world tourist city. Effect.

Landscape in Tianfu Art Park

Under the cultural symbol represented by the Biennale itself, the sound conveyed by the theme of each session is also extremely important -it is not just a program or topic, but the curator The "artistic response" made by the era, social background and the latest movements has strong expression and clear influence.

Take the 34th Sao Paulo Biennale in 2020 as an example. The theme "Although the darkness, I still sing", the verse from the famous poet Thiago de Mello from the Amazon River Basin is not only reminiscent of the green rainforest in the rolling smoke, It will also think of the dilemma faced by Brazil and even the world.

Exhibit

2021 Chengdu Biennale is based on the theme of "Super Integration", which also has a profound meaning -Chengdu, as a city with rich humanities and history traditions and contemporary development, has distinctive and unique urban characteristics: the old city is built with the new district, and the new districts are built in the new district. Leisure and enterprising coexist, tradition and trend intersect, and integrate local and international, showing a variety of cultural states.

Such a city is a multi -dimensional, multi -field, and multi -layered super fusion, which not only provides rich resources for artistic creation, but also provides good soil for large visual art exhibitions.

Before and after the opening last year, 17 parallel exhibitions in the 2021 Chengdu Biennale "bloomed". Regardless of the scale of space and artist invitation, or from the artistic tolerance and cultural universality, it was a strong dose in this year's art world. Heart needle.

Exhibition audience

In the creation of cultural creation, there are "genes" involved and shared by the people

Henry Liefelvol, the founder of the new urban sociology, believes that urbanization requires humanistic care, rational reflection, and timely adjustment and future.

When the material needs of cultural consumption demand are surging, and the cultural construction of many cities cannot keep up with economic construction, Chengdu breaks through this threshold. The reason is that in Chengdu's cultural creation, there has always been a "gene" that people participate in and shared by the people.

For example, the first biennale of Chengdu was sponsored by private entrepreneurs. Civil power promoted the generation and development of the urban cultural form of the two years. Deep understanding and resonance.

If Beijing 798 is a gathering place for literary youth and two -dimensional, visitors of the Chengdu Biennale are more diverse. In addition to the self -thought artists, self -media bloggers who are talking about, they take the opportunity to find inspiration design related practitioners There are also many ordinary citizens who usually "miss" with contemporary art.

Youth with folding stool

If you randomly chat with some audiences in the exhibition hall, you will have new discoveries and surprises.

Two college students who are designed in front of Thai artist Qiu Sak Silki have carefully discussed the materials and tailoring of the works. "Soon after we were all holiday, after hearing this biennale, we came to see it before the closed exhibition." They said, "Usually we often go to various art exhibitions. Every time I look at other people's works, it is also in Give your own creative experience and inspiration. "

There is also a young man with black pants and black pants, carrying a simple folding stool with him, and when he meets his interesting works, he will open the stool to sit down and look at it. He said that this is not the first time he has come.

Grandma at the Photography Club

A 77 -year -old grandmother showed the picture just taken in the camera to Red Star journalist. She is a member of a folk photography club. "They (clubs) often organize activities, and I follow the experience and see how well you want to shoot." She and the club friends hired a live model. "Today our theme is the dancer And architecture, you see, the composition, light and shadow here are very good. "

On the square of the Tianfu Art Museum in Hibiscus petal, three white giant portrait sculptures of 5 meters high, becoming one of the most targeting landmarks in Tianfu Art Park.

This group of sculptures from the hands of the deputy dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the artist Su Xinping has now become the audience's favorite cosplay exhibits. The artist uses an exaggerated, ritualized body language to express a certain social care, and in the various imitations and post -shooting of the audience, the works have been interpreted by various versions.

Sure enough, as some art critics say- "Chengdu Restaurant is happy and has rich aesthetic experience" "Similar to Venice, the Chengdu people have turned the entire city into a huge art activity field."

In an interview, Su Xinping said: "Chengdu used to be the hometown of fish and rice. The city itself has an open mind. The 20121 Chengdu Biennale is a new beginning. It can play a great role in improving the urban cultural environment and quality. "

Three Su Xinping giant sculptures "walking people" (Photo by Tao Yan)

The children who walked into the biennial exhibition will almost go to the "Tower" of Reandro Elich for a while. This giant subtitum is designed by the artist like a small apartment building, and its interior has an entrance to different spaces. After entering this "tower", people standing at the bottom will see the top -level people seem to be suspended in the air -this is because they are standing on a large glass board.

This work reflects the artist's strong interest in the coexistence of the shared experience and the "hidden" space, while the children only care about the fantasy experience brought by this "suspended maze".

Children in the "Tower" of Reandro Elich

The well -known artist Olaville Elia pine used halogen lamps and yellow, green, and blue filter glass to create an interactive curtain wall called "You are happening, it has already happened, and it is about to happen".

As one of the most famous installation artists in contemporary contemporary, Eliason is good at using optical skills and geometric laws to create perceptual works with nature, dreams and ideas. (Art) yourself ".

An audience improvised a modern dance in front of the curtain wall, and the color shadow stacked on the seven layers suddenly filled the stage effect. After dancing, applause rang among the onlookers.

Zhang Xiaogang's exhibition "Dialogue" at this year's biennial exhibition

In the Chengdu Biennale, audiences such as "art re -creation" abound. Through short video and other channels, people extend the cultural and artistic education and popularization of the exhibition. In fact, the two innovations of the audience are the essence of the active cultural ecology. It can arouse people's desire to think, enthusiasm and express themselves, which is what art historian and critic Lu Peng said: Ripple engine ".

The famous artist Zhang Xiaogang said at the beginning of the opening of Chengdu Biennale: For the local artists and audiences of Chengdu, the biggest impact of the biennial exhibition is to provide a feeling of the scene.

"The holding of the Chengdu Biennale has allowed many young artists and citizens to love art without running too far, and they can see the works of many artists they like." He said, "There is a very important in contemporary art. The element is the scene, especially some devices and interactive works. You do not experience its charm at the scene. And the artist who participated in the exhibition, his ideas and his final (works) achievement will only be in Only the scene can be felt. "

Exhibition audience

Art strong magnetic field change the city's "gas field"

With urban renewal globally, the biennial exhibition has played a huge role in stimulating the vitality of urban vitality, improving the image of the city, improving the people's livelihood index, and shaping the city's cultural brand and the transformation and quality of the city, bringing a new new urban cultural ecology around the world The appearance has become a common cultural symbol in the world.

Zhou Chunya, a well -known artist who has taken root in Chengdu for many years, believes that the 2021 Biennale shows the temperament of Chengdu's free tolerance and encouragement. "Chengdu Biennale is not only an activity involved in many artists, but more importantly to connect with this city. Biennale reflects the spirit, civilization, and culture of a city, and the overall sense of participation in a city. ","

Three oil paintings brought by Zhou Chunya for the 2021 Chengdu Biennale Exhibition

Zhang Wenji, co -founder of the Special Academy of Art, believes that compared with certain artists and theoretical biennial models, the most important feature of the Chengdu model is the universality and interaction of culture. Being able to enjoy the feast of art in Chengdu with sufficient and broad space and space. You don't have to worry about the cramped of the space, and you don't have to worry about academic pressure. The perfect blend of art and the citizens' lives, public landscapes, art events and social festivals have penetrated. "

"When we all share a common place in the existence, the identity memory of being closed in ideological imprisonment can be unloaded in Chengdu and has a deeper blending." Zhang Wenji believes that this is a prerequisite for the active cultural ecology. Essence Exhibit

Art critic Zhao Mo believes that Chengdu has become one of the artistic highlands of the western and even the country. From the "Sichuan School" to the "Painting Sichuan Army" prosperity, from Linli's art museum, gallery to high -level art education institutions, are all this. The foundation of the second year exhibition.

The Tianfu Art Museum and Contemporary Art Museum with a total area of ​​nearly 70,000 square meters not only solve the long -term needs of future art collection and display. The center of the center of art has created the living room of Chengdu's international art meeting.

From the perspective of the general strategy exhibition, Fan Dian, the Tianfu Art Museum and the Contemporary Art Museum "double sword combined" form a Range Rover painting volume that integrates ecological, landscape, functionality, and culture, and builds a new form of future parks. Highlights in urban culture construction nationwide. The old town is coexisting with the new district, leisure and progress, tradition and trend, and the integration of local and international integration, showing a variety of cultural states, which can be traveled and lived.

Exhibit

Standing at the end of the exhibition, looking back at this "super -fusion" biennale, you can clearly see that in this "super -fusion" city, it has found its own position freely, and is constantly In the process of welcoming the exhibition, it continued to output the huge artistic energy it contained, as if it was a strong magnetic field of art, while attracting people, it also changed the "gas field" of the city.

It is foreseeable that the Chengdu Biennale will continue to provide continuous physical fields and spiritual atmosphere for the survival and development of Chengdu contemporary art in the future. He and Chengdu experience extended from the biennial exhibition to the construction and construction of the entire city's art and culture.

Red Star News reporter Qiao Xueyang Photography Wu Yizheng

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