03 May 2010

Liao Zhenwu: M O N U M E N T at Sichuan University Art Museum, Chengdu

Liao Zhenwu: MONUMENT is the first solo museum exhibition of the contemporary artist Liao Zhenwu. Comprised of some 40 works being presented to the public for the first time, this exhibition serves as an elegy to those whose lives were lost in the tragic events surrounding the Sichuan (Wenchuan) earthquake that occurred on May 12, 2008. This exhibition has already shown in Beijing to great acclaim and will be in Chengdu, Sichuan to mark the two year anniversary of the largest tragedy in China's recent history. The series includes paintings, sculptures and works on paper that encapsulate the tumultuous aftermath of the quake and serve as a poetic memorial to contemplate the far-reaching impact of the catastrophe. Key works in the exhibition include The Pain of Three Oceans (2008-2010) and Exodus (2008-2010), oversized murals measuring 5×12m each, that convey the gravitas of the of the devastation by their overwhelming physical scale. Also significant is the inclusion of Monument (2008-2010), the artist's first foray into sculpture. Liao is an accomplished watercolorist and a selection of his masterfully painted studies eloquently capture both the energy of the rescue efforts and the scope of the tragic loss inflicted on the survivors.

Liao Zhenwu was born in Qianwei, Sichuan province in 1964. He was trained as a watercolorist before moving to Beijing in 2005 to study oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Art. The artist currently lives and works in Beijing.

The exhibition was organized by Michelle Yun, a curator based in New York and was made possible by the generous support of Kansas City China Art LLC and FLI-TEK Consulting, LLC, and the Museum of China Cultural Arts, Beijing. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition and includes essays by Michelle Yun, Matt Fox, and He Guiyan.

Liao Zhenwu: MONUMENT will travel to the

Today Art Museum, Beijing from April 11 – April 17, 2010
(www.todayartmuseum.com/)

Sichuan University Museum in Chengdu from May 10-15, 2010
(www.scu.edu.cn/)

The Hua Museum of Art in Shenzhen from August 6-13, 2010.
(www.oct-and.com/)