Super Space SunXiaochen’s Sculpture Solo Exhibition
Exhibition Dates: 2010.6.5 ------2010.6.30(10:00am-19:00pm)
Opening Reception: 2010.6.5 16:00pm
Curator: Zhang Siyong
Academic Director: Gao Ling
Academic Support：Lv Pinchang Zhao Li Peng Feng
Exhibition Director：Zhang Xuezhao
Organizer: New Millennium Gallery
Co- Organizer: New Millennium Museum Contemporary Art NanChang
798 Taking Time Art Center
Two-way Transcending- Reading on Sun Xiaochen’s Sculpture Art
Feng Peng
Art practice of 20th century is constantly challenging the boundary of art and non-art. However, as long as art retains its own identity, the boundary is impassable. In fact, the contemporary art experiments do not blur the boundary of art and non-art, but strengthen it in a different way. Contemporary artists make art transcend the real life in a different way.
Sun Xiaochen's sculptures keep the identity of art in two different ways: one is hyperrealism; the other is surrealism. Although these two approaches are very different, they are all beyond reality, and intensify the boundary of art and reality. Hyperrealism, which is also called super-realism, extreme-realism, or photo-realism, is transcending the reality in a more veritable way. Yet, surrealism is transcending the reality in a method that is imaginative, fantastic, and unconscious.
In the "Kacha" series of sculptures, Sun Xiaochen transfigures the camera, which is used as daily item, into an artwork with super-realism way. No matter in terms of technology, materials, or concepts, "Kacha" series stand out from China’s contemporary ultra-realistic sculptures.
As we all know, super-realism, as a form of art practice, is based on such a philosophy: in daily life, the objects we see are not real things, because our utilitarianism, concepts, and purposes have shielded the thing itself, and we are accustomed to regarding things as something else, so that we can not see the thing itself. When an artist equally reveals all the details of things in a hyperrealism way, then unexpectedly, we are not accustomed to this reality, or even take the thing itself as a false appearance. Just as what Plato's "Cave Analogy” informs: the prisoner who is accustomed to regarding the shadow as the thing itself would think that the real thing he sees is illusion in the dreams. Only after getting used to the surrounding environment and external sun, the prisoner would understand that what he saw before was only shadows, and what he sees at present is the thing itself. Besides, the prisoner would feel glad and grateful about his changes of cognition. When an artist presents daily life things to us in a hyperrealism way, we would be promoted to develop this change of understanding. And the aesthetic value of ultra-realistic art is reflected on the joy this change would bring.
According to the above-mentioned philosophy, anything could be an object of hyperrealism. Artists can “transfigure” everything into an art work with hyperrealism. However, this does not mean that any object could be "transfigured" into an interesting or profound work of art. The "Kacha" series is meaningful, not only because that Sun Xiaochen has transfigured antique camera into artwork with hyperrealism, but more importantly, the subject matter he chose can trigger a profound implied meaning. From the view of art history, Hyperrealism art is a product of the era of camera, and a kind of artistic approach and style formed under the concepts and technologies of camera. Usually, artists hyperrealisticly transfigure the daily things into art works with the help of camera, nevertheless, Sun Xiaochen transfigures the camera itself into art work in hyperrealism way ingeniously. If we say that ordinary artists are those "standing on the bridge to see the scenery," and then Sun Xiaochen is the one "standing upstairs to see the scenery," and those people who see the scenery became part of the scenery in Sun Xiaochen’s eyes. Sun Xiaochen's "Kacha" series, based on cameras, has caused people to think about seeing and being seen, recording and being recorded. Camera, which is used to record something, can record everything except itself. The record of recording and view of viewing constitute the introspective temperament of Sun Xiaochen’s "Kacha" series. If we take into account that Sun Xiaochen’s old camera was made of traditional ceramic materials, we would not only just look back from the contemporary conceptual art to the display art of the era of mechanical reproduction, but further back into the cult art of hand-craft times. It’s a great surprise to people that Sun Xiaochen, who was just born in 1980s, could create such a series of art works that make people think profoundly.
What’s more surprising is that Sun Xiaochen can switch freely between the hyperrealism and surrealism. In addition to "Kacha" series, Sun Xiaochen has also created a number of surreal art works, which could release his imagination adequately. The imagining world of Sun Xiaochen has obvious features of this era. Artists born in 1980s are inevitably influenced by the virtual world and the science fiction world, and the impacts are manifestly reflected in Sun Xiaochen’s imagination of future world. Different from ultra-realistic "Kacha" series, which transcend the reality with heavy introspection, these ultra-realistic works transcend the reality with light imagination. If the former is inward transcendence, the latter can be said to be outward transcendence. This is the common approach of contemporary art to maintain boundary of art and non-art, and to keep the identity of art. We have become accustomed to them。However, it’s rare to see an artist who can roll these two methods into one. Sun Xiaochen, born in 1980s, is expert both inside and outside of art, and collects and discharges freely. We can see his maturity from youth, and feel his smartness from seriousness.
Yuxiu Garden, Beijing University
Jan 28th, 2010