ESLITE GALLERY is pleased to participate in this year’s Art Basel in Hong Kong. Zhan Wang’s recent work 45 Degrees Artificial Rock will be unveiled for the first time at ESLITE GALLERY’s booth and Michael Lin will bring Point, also a new piece, to the Encounters Sector of the art fair.
Zhan Wang started making the so-called ‘Artificial Rocks’ during the 1990’s which soon became one of the most important themes of the artist’s creativity. ‘Artificial Rock’ brings the aesthetics of both the East and West traditions together in a contemporary way while challenges the ideas about real and mirrored images, self and the surrounding. Various projects has since derived from the concept such as “Mount Everest Project to the Summit” and Floating Island of Immortals. 45 Degrees Artificial Rock is a large stone of stainless steel raising up at the angle of 45 degrees. The piece is also a tribute to the group exhibition “45 Degrees as a Reason” curated by Geng Jianyi in 1995. Zhan has commented, “In today’s view, 45 degrees is still the most reasonable and powerful arising angle. A giant rock situating at this dangerous angle means it is constantly on the verge of crashing or rising.”
The impact a space could bring upon the interaction between people has always interested Michael Lin. His recent installation Point is an inverted theater on which the sitting visitors would face out instead of looking inwards to a stage. Visitors are invited to orientate themselves, rest, or meet others here. The resting spectator becomes the spectacle. Lin said “Like a large tree full of birds resting from their long migration, Point is a pause in the long parcours of the art fair.” By reversing the orientation of this relationship between viewer and viewed, the spectator and performer, and the audience and the artwork, Point proposes a coming together of the two on equal par.
*image (left)
© Zhan Wang
courtesy of ESLITE Gallery