The artists on display came of age after the Cultural Revolution and during the gradual opening up of China, but they are still products of a complex system of political and social rules. The work on display at the National Portrait Gallery naturally focuses on portraiture.įigure painting has a rich traditional history in China and even in the country's elite art schools, rendering the human figure remains a critical part of the syllabus. Much of the art in 'Go Figure!' uses black humour and sardonic wit to make a point. "There's an old Chinese saying that 'even a dog can understand humans'," Mr Lijun said. "The meaning can be similar to writing a diary or going to a hospital to see a doctor," he said.īut he said much of the outpouring is about universal problems that anyone can relate to. He suggested that the act of making art can be cathartic.
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Their preoccupations are expressed through individual stories, but many of the experiences are so universal as to come full circle and become collective once again.īeijing-based artist Fang Lijun deals with the disillusionment of youth in his work. Many modern artists are concerned with how consumerism and urban development affect their lives. ( National Portrait Gallery) Collective voiceĬollective culture once reigned supreme in China, but individuality is a rising force in the Middle Kingdom. Show curator Claire Roberts said Dr Sigg 'did his time' by working and living in China for many years, and it paid off. Now, elements of his collection are loaned worldwide and it forms the basis of a new gallery in Hong Kong. "So I changed my focus and started collecting like an institution would." "I thought, 'that's very strange, in the biggest culture space in the world!'," he said. Initially he collected according to his own tastes, but over time he realised no one else was collecting modern Chinese art. "I visited far more than a thousand artists over time," he said.ĭr Sigg did his own research and collected Chinese art well before it was popular. "Actually at that time I could not move in China - always accompanied by somebody, always surveyed by somebody," he said.Ī collector of art since his student days, Dr Sigg found it natural to be curious about what Chinese artists were producing at the time. The works come from one of the biggest collections of contemporary Chinese art in the world.įormer Swiss businessman and diplomat Uli Sigg has collected more than 2000 works of modern Chinese art since he started living in China in the 1970s.Īfter the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, China embraced an 'open-door' policy, encouraging business and cultural engagement.īut as Dr Sigg discovered, walking through that door was easier said than done. 'Go Figure!' is jointly hosted by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and Sydney's Sherman Gallery, and is on show in both cities simultaneously. Inside Valentino Caravan's Château de Wideville , Chinese ancestor portraits from the early 19th century line the curving staircase.A new exhibition of Chinese art on show in Canberra gives a colourful insight into the psyches at work in the Chinese art world. The textiles show the history of the ancestor, where he came from and his rank. Most of these portraits were painted from verbal descriptions therefore they all take a similar look to them, only the fabric of their clothing an the textiles that change. They should be respected and displayed prominently. I personally believe that displaying these portraits gives the ancestor, in the painting, importance and honour. Some people might feel that hanging these portraits up as decoration shouldn't be done as the ancient Chinese believed that theere is a strict connection between the painting and the soul of the person. I have always had a love for these paintings, they hold a form of mystery to them and they have a regal awe to them. The most impressive home to date is Valentino Caravan's Château de Wideville, it is stunning to say the least. It was not until the 20th century that foreigners started collecting them to use as decoration in their home. Most of these portraits are dated from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1944), nowadays we have a lot of replicas floating around. Chinese believed that in doing so their ancestors are not tempted to become a ghost to bother them. These paintings are believed to hold the spirt of their ancestors and would bring them good health, prosperity and long life. You might of already noticed these beautiful Ancestor Portraits throughout Asia, originally committed by deceased and were privately displayed and worshipped, nowadays they are used as decoration.