FourYears：XiaXing 2009 to 2012
2013/10/26 — 12/8
开幕式：2013年10月26日（周六）下午3: 00 - 6: 00
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 26, 3 – 6 pm
北京前波画廊将于2013年10月26日起举办展览《四年：夏星2009至2012》。自2004年起，夏星便开始系统化地每年创作六十件绘画作品，每件作品尺寸相同，创作题材均来源于2003年创刊的《新京报》。艺术家在前波画廊的首次展览将展出他2009至2012年之间所创作的所有作品。
在当代艺术家中，夏星以其在主题上和风格上程序化的创作方式著称。首先他决定通过《新京报》刊登的新闻来反映中国政治和社会生活中所发生的大小事件。每过几天他就会选择一个图片作为其绘画作品的主题，于是画作之间的关系就如同新闻本身一样不可预测。事实上，他本人并不掌控每件作品的内容，而是通过六十张画布来全年跟踪某一特定主题。
在其艺术生涯初期，夏星做了第二个决定，那就是限定每年创作的作品量并且统一作品的尺寸。除非刊登在《新京报》上的原图是竖版的，否则他也不对构图做任何改动。虽然从悲伤的主题到幽默的题材，每件作品大相径庭，但系统化的展示将重点放在了发生这些事件的一年中的365天上。
夏星艺术创作中展现的矛盾性使他成为了一名独特的艺术家。作为一名画家，前辈艺术大师们在创作风格上所取得的成就对他来说却是无足轻重的。限定每年创作的作品量并且统一作品的尺寸，这样的决定本身就体现了一种强烈的观念性。与此同时，夏星广泛的兴趣使得此系列作品的主题森罗万象。他的作品中记录了许多重大的社会和政治事件，然而作品简洁有序的呈现方式却从某种程度上模糊了艺术家对时政和社会动态的关心和热忱。
无疑，来画廊参观《四年：夏星2009至2012》的观者们，对这些油画作品中所反映的一些新闻事件非常熟悉。夏星的成就则在于，为更深层地理解历史的进程和时间的推移创建了一个新的平台。
Chambers Fine Art ispleased to announce the opening on October 26 of Four Years: Xia Xing 2009to 2012. Since 2004 Xia Xing has systematically produced about sixtypaintings a year, identical in format, based on photographs from the front pageof Xin Jing Bao, the widely read newspaper which was established in2003. For his first exhibition at the gallery, Xia Xing will present theentirety of his production between 2009 and 2012.
Among contemporarypainters Xia Xing is notable for the programmatic nature of his approach, bothin terms of choice of subject matter and style. The first decision was to dealwith daily events in the political and social life of China through the pagesof Xin Jing Bao. Every few days he selects an image that will become thesubject matter of his painting, with the result that the relationship betweenthe individual canvases is as unpredictable as the news itself. In effect hehas no control over the thematic content of his paintings although particularsituations might lead to a more sustained development of certain issuesthroughout the year.
Right at the beginningof his career, the second decision was to make each unit in the year’sproduction identical in size and horizontal format, and not to make any changesin the composition of the photographs he uses as source material except in sofar as a vertical composition required minor adjustments. Although thecontent of the individual canvases ranges from tragic to humorous, thesystematic presentation places the emphasis on the period of 365 days in whichthey all took place.
It is the paradoxicalnature of Xia Xing’s achievement that makes him such a distinctive artist.Although he is a painter, the stylistic achievements of the great masters ofthe past are largely a matter of indifference. There is a strong conceptualunderpinning to his practice, the decision to limit his painting activity to acertain number of identically sized canvases each year, but this is modified bythe unpredictable nature of his subject matter. To the extent that his worksfrequently document events with major social and political ramifications, hewould appear to be deeply engaged politically but the orderly presentationobscures this aspect to a considerable degree.
Visitors to thegallery will undoubtedly be familiar with many of the news events convertedfrom newsprint to oil on canvas in Four Years: Xia Xing 2009 to 2012. Itis Xia Xing’s great accomplishment to create a new context in which thisawareness leads to a deeper understanding of historical processes and thepassage of time.
09.12.22, 2009
Oilon canvas 布面油画
133/4 x 19 5/8 in (35 x 50cm)
11.04.21, 2011
Oilon canvas 布面油画
133/4 x 19 5/8 in (35 x 50cm)
