Artists:
Jiang Zhi
Li Qing
Sun Huiyuan
Sun Xun
Tu Hongtao
Wang Ke
Wu Junyong
Ye Nan
Yuan Yuan
Zhou Yilun

An intriguing collection of works from ten artists born in the 1970ies and onwards are on show at F2 Gallery in Caochangdi from September 5 to November 9 2009.

The group exhibition features ten young artists who all graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou from as early as 1995 to as recent as 2008. In these fourteen years, and especially in the last decade, the China Academy of Art has built a strong reputation on its innovative New Media program. “Generation Hangzhou 2.0” is a highly selective survey exhibition of the young alumni who have been actively working in the Chinese contemporary art field.

“Generation Hangzhou 2.0” includes painting, photography, video and Installation works. Along with the diverse array of media presented in this exhibition, the contents of the works also reflect the various directions of each artist’s praxis. The exhibition attempts to act as an indicator of the undercurrent of the next generation of contemporary art in China.

Painting

Hangzhou based artist Li Qing is presenting two new oil paintings. Li has been working with the “Spot the Differences” series since 2005. The artist draws the inspiration from a popular game that people look for differences from two similar pictures. The choices of scenes in these diptyches and the significance lies underneath are far beyond their “playful” appearances.
The work of Tu Hongtao, who was originally born in Chengdu, draws inspiration from traditional Chinese ink-wash paintings, and from photography and images seen on TV. The resulting works evoke a world both in the realms of reality and fantasy.
Hangzhou based female artist Wang Ke’s work is largely influenced by cartoon culture. Despite the cartoon appearances of her characters, their different attitudes truly reflect every bit of the characteristics of the Chinese younger generation in the today’s world.
Wu Junyong’s practice involves drawings, paintings and animated video work. Wu has always been interested in the hybrid of body and politics. His paintings are social portraits wavering between reality and fantasy, creating some of the most hunting and disturbing images from his generation.
Yuan Yuan’s large-scale paintings are usually full of hidden meanings and metaphors waiting for audiences to dive in and discover.
Zhou Yilun has a reputation for his edgy large-size paintings and their provocative contents, often exploring with several media such as oil paint, collage and graffiti.

Video and Photography

Hailing from Fuxin, Liaoning Province, Sun Xun is an artist who primarily works with drawings and videos. While often working with dated newspapers and magazines pages, Sun brings us a sense of nostalgia and takes us back down to the history and ideals that cannot be found again. 
Beijing based Jiang Zhi primarily works with video and photography. Jiang is fascinated with the factor of light, which has become a crucial part of his work and can be seen in the ten-minute looping video titled “Five Ray of Light” from 2008.
Ye Nan, who recently had a solo exhibition at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, is rapidly establishing a reputation for his photography, painting and installations. The exhibit features three photographs, each from a separate photography series “The City With No Starry Sky,” “Theatre at Day-Time” and “An Exercise of Death.”

Installation

Sun Huiyuan, a new media artist who has been working in all different genres, established himself through various live performative interventions inside and outside of the “white cubes,” as well as performance-inspired installations and photography works in gallery settings. Sun often utilizes daily found objects that are considered mundane and turns them around his installation works with a surprise twist. In some cases audiences’ participations are crucial to his interactive installation pieces.