The exhibition Pure Views - Transformations of Chinese Contemporary Art, curated by Lu Peng, the prestigious Chinese art historian and director of the Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art, is an attractive and comprehensive survey of Chinese contemporary art on display at Barcelona’s Arts Santa Mònica. Back in 1995, under the title From the Country of the Centre. Artistic Avant-gardes in China, this same art centre mounted a seminal display of key, innovative Chinese artworks of the day, one of the first exhibitions of its kind in Europe. Since then, Chinese art has evolved significantly. Pure Views corroborates the developments experienced by Chinese art in the last thirty years. Starting from the final days of Socialist Realism, it charts the trend towards a diversity of techniques and styles, responding to the expectations of a new society that, at the same time, is reflecting profoundly on its tradition.

The exhibition will include various mediums of work: painting, sculpture, video, multimedia, photography and installations.

Featured artists: Cao Jingping, Fang Lijun, He Sen, Hong Lei, Jin Jiangbo, Li Chao, Li Qing, Li Rui, Mao Tongqiang, Mao Xuhui, Na Wei, Qiu Anxiong, Shao Wenhuan, Shen Na, Shi Jinsong, They, Tu Hongtao, Wang Guangyi, Xie Fan, Yang Mian, Yang Qian, Yang Xun, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun, Zhan Wang, Zhang Jian, Zhang Peili, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Xiaotao, Zhang Ya, Zhou Chunya.

Image: © Zhang Xiaogang, Red Plum and Sofa, 2013, Oil on canvas, 73 x 91cm, Arts Santa Monica