Nonfigurative, le mouvement de narration

Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum, also known as M21, unveiled « Nonfigurative » Exhibition on November 20 to welcome its first anniversary. Showing 67 pieces of painting, video and photograph works created by 58 Chinese artists around the world, the exhibition involved creations spanning over 30 years, hence a feast of art that collects masterpieces of different periods.
According to Deputy Director Li Feng of M21, they spent nearly a year in preparing for the exhibition, including early masterpieces of established artists and new creations of young ones. In the way of expression, a nonfigurative exhibition is aimed at deconstructing the traditional narrative mode and encouraging artists to break through the constraints of form and content, thus fully exerting their imagination for creation.

As for paintings, there’s an oil painting « Camellia amid the War » showing a female soldier holding a camellia during Sino-Vietnamese War to limelight the humanity despite the warring environment. The paintings Fission, Ultimate State and The Cross, respectively created by Xu Lei, Meng Luding and Gu Liming during 1980s, not only explore abstract painting for visual expression but try different types painting materials, such as tea, rice paper and medicinal materials, thus enlarging the overall scope of painting. And among many new-media works, the video artwork « The Face » by Li Yongbin revolves around showing one’s own appearance to seek the possible forms of self-reflection.
Reports say that the exhibition will last till February 28 next year, opened free to the public.