Solo Exhibition ShanghART Beijing, Beijing
Opening: Saturday, June 18, 4 pm, 2011
Shanghart Gallery Beijing Space is pleased to present Zhu Jia’s new art project – The Face of Facebook. As Zhu Jia’s first solo exhibition in Shanghart Beijing, the project aims to renew the audience’s interpretation on Zhu Jia’s artistic practice.
This classic side angle portrait was an illustration found on the September 20 issue of the New Yorker in a text titled, “The Face of Facebook”, in which the protagonist of the story was the founder of the global networking website Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg – world’s youngest entrepreneurial billionaire. The distinct silhouette of the side portrait infectiously let one to associate it with the legendary figures engraved on coins.
To Re-enact this side portraiture of Zuckerberg was Zhu Jia’s initial inspiration. More interesting, the artist has invited over 50 friends from different professions to participate. Among them, acclaimed contemporary Chinese artists and personages from different professions such as, Bai Yinan, Bi Jianfeng, Cao Yuxi, Chen Shaoxiong, Chen Tong, Dong Fangyue, Duan Yanling, Gao Feng, Liu Qing, Liu Xiaodong, Liu Wei, Liu Ye, Lin Yilin, Li Zhaojun, Lu Yi, Ni Haifeng, Rong Kang , Shi Miaomiao, Shi Yong, Sun Xun, Wang Di, Wang Guangyi, Wang Ruoxi, Wang Youshen, Xie Dongming, Xu Jia, Yang Fudong, Yang Fengyu, Yang Shaobin, Yang Yongsheng, Yan Peiming, Ye Le, Yin Xiaozhou, Yin Qi, Zeng Hao, Zhan Ying, Zhan Wang, Zhang Fan, Zhang Peili, Zhao Gang, Zheng Lin, Zhou Qingan, Zhu Shuangqing, Zhu Ziqian etc. (listed in alphabetical order) are among the many. They will contribute a portrait in his own artistic style, or in completely novel representations. Without any signatures on these artworks, it will be difficult to identify the creator of the artwork. Much like the status updates and photo albums posted by Facebook users, the real and the illusory are often intertwined. Zhu Jia’s choice of Zuckerberg’s portrait was a coincidence, largely affected by the aesthetics of the photograph itself, or perhaps even the ubiquitous social network of Facebook? Its inherent ambivalence and its tumultuous fate in China have been dramatic. By appropriating the irony of “The Face of Facebook”, Zhu weaved a complex network of visual art, by which to initiate an unspeakably ambiguity in a struggle of power. In its course, the concept, execution, proprietorship of the artwork, or even the friendship between the artists will be tested a challenged by the art market, enacting a play of black humor.
Zhu Jia, born on 1963, Beijing, graduated from China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Living and Works in Beijing. Selected exhibitions include Trans Local Motion—7th Shanghai Biennale 2008, Shanghai Art Musuem, Shanghai,2008; 10th International Istanbul Biennial-Not only Possible, But also Necessary-Optimism in the Age of Global War, Istanbul, Turkey, 2007; Zooming into Focus (NAMOC)-Contemporary Chinese Photography and Video from the Haudenschild Collection, National Art Museum Of China, Beijing, 2005; 50th International Art Exhibition Venice Biennale-Dreams and Conflicts. The Dictatorship of the Viewer, Venice, Italy, 2003; Tempo, the Works Show of Contemporary Art in 20th, The Museum of Moden Art (MOMA), New York, U.S.A. 2002; Living in Time-29 Contemporary Artists from China, National galerie im Hamburger Bahnhof Museum fuer Gegenwartskunst, Berlin, Germany, 2001; Every Day-11th Biennale of Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art etc., Sydney, Australia, 1998; Another Long March-Chinese Conceptual Art in the nineties, Chasse Kazerne, Fundament Foundation, Breda, The Netherlands, 1997.
List of artists (in alphabetical order): Bai Yinan, Bi Jianfeng, Cao Yuxi, Chen Shaoxiong, Chen Tong, Dong Fangyue, Duan Yanling, Gao Feng, Liu Qing, Liu Xiaodong, Liu Wei, Liu Ye, Lin Yilin, Li Zhaojun, Lu Yi, Ni Haifeng, Rong Kang , Shi Miaomiao, Shi Yong, Sun Xun, Wang Di, Wang Guangyi, Wang Ruoxi, Wang Youshen, Xie Dongming, Xu Jia, Yang Fudong, Yang Fengyu, Yang Shaobin, Yang Yongsheng, Yan Peiming, Ye Le, Yin Xiaozhou, Yin Qi, Zeng Hao, Zhan Ying, Zhan Wang, Zhang Fan, Zhang Peili, Zhao Gang, Zheng Lin, Zhou Qingan, Zhu Shuangqing, Zhu Ziqian etc.
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