The first event at 51㎡ Art Project will be a series of recent works from the artist Zhao Zhao.
Zhao Zhao is born in Xinjiang in 1982 and he currently lives and works in Beijing. Zhao Zhao’s new series is inspired by an inadvertent discovery of scattered rat droppings on the floor when he was moving. They were incorporated into his work after he examined it through socio-capitalistic market perspective and through anti-corrosion treatment. Unlike Manzoni’s containment of excrement, the droppings are open and visible and one of them is carefully framed on the mirror. The rest, 5113 pieces, can be sold. Due to the influence offengshuion the Chinese, the excrement has been combined according to a unique numerical logic – the price of each piece is determined by good luck or bad omen numbers. Here the animal’s waste and production are associated with human’s desire of sustainable productivity. Moreover, there are two series of paintings that stem from the unchanging interest in rats. Even though the form adheres to the actual object, however, they’ve eventually become abstract works with complex aesthetic style.
51㎡ Art Project:
Since the early founding of Taikang Space, Taikang Top Space in Fuxingmen (2001-2007) to the location in 798 (2006-2008), we have always supported and encouraged young artists. Continuing this tradition, we will initiate the new art project “51 Square Meters” in our new venue at Caochangdi. The project invites artists to exhibit one or a series of their recent works in a space of 51 square meters. Projects can also be made specifically for this space. As a space of freedom with certain limits, we will work with the artists, through exhibitions, discussions and printed materials, to revise and develop our views on experimental art of young and mid-career artists in the Chinese contemporary art context.
“51 Square Meter” aims to provide a platform for artists, particularly young artists, to review their recent works through a series of consecutive or non-consecutive exhibitions and activities. As an exploration outside of the exhibition system, the project hopes to provide support for artists to create subjectively and independently, thereby enriching and broadening our experiences in artistic practice. In the future, we will be able to summarize the artistic reality from this period of accumulation.
