ARTISTS
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Huang Xu
Huang Xu was born in Beijing in 1968. He established the Substratum Art Studio in 1989, the Migrant Bird Art Studio in 1991 and the Big Basin Studio in 2003. He has exhibited in China, Australia and the United Kingdom and works as a professional photographer in Beijing.
In his London exhibition, 2009, Huang Xu presented a series of ethereal oversize C-prints exploring the fragile nature of the contemporary global economy. The tattered remains of plastic bags from rubbish heaps in China were collected and digitally remodelled in 3D scanners normally used by archaeologists to produce images of haunting luminosity. Evoking the aesthetic of the sublime, Huang Xu’s vast prints capture freeze-frame shots of decay in a maelstrom of economic change.
Huang Xu elevates this detritus to inspirational heights. Far from resembling waste, his densely textured, luminous prints suggest the fine silk textiles of Imperial China, evoking an age of decadence and wealth, recalling the historic trade links between China and the West. These histories ironically foreshadow the current balance of economic power, and give a wry commentary on the trade in materials; whilst China once shipped silk to the West, the West now ships used plastic bags back to China.
Exhibitions
Huang Xu
Transvangarde Illuminations
Huang Xu
Beijing, China, 1968.
1991 Graduated at Beijing Academy of Fine Arts
| Selected solo exhibitions |
| 2008 |
| Fragments, Arc 1 Gallery, Melbourne, Australia |
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| Artists Residence Program - Huang Xu: Untitled (Mixed Media on Canvas), ColorElefante C, Valencià, Spain
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| Huang Xu’s Photograph, Mulpa Space, Beijing, China |
| 2007 |
| Huang Xu’s Photograph, La Case Art Spaces, Beijing, China |
| Selected group exhibitions |
| 2008 |
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Luminous Dark, Bleibtreau Galerie, Berlin, Germany |
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Luminous Dark, King on William Gallery, Sydney, Australia |
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| Huang Xu: Plastic Bags, “Art Beijing 2008”, China |
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Dancing with the Dragon: Contemporary Art From Beijing, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, North Carolina, USA |
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“Meaning-Less” Photo Exhibition, VIS A VIS Artlab, Beijing, China |
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“P.O.P.” (Painting/Print/Photography) Exhibition from Beijing & New York Artists, Pickled art center, Beijing, China |
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| Act First and Report Afterwards, 3 space, Beijing, China |
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| In Lens, Out of Lens, Duke Art Space, Beijing, China |
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| C.A.P. Launch, Two Lines Gallery, Beijing, China |
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| 2007 |
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| 2007 Visual Arts Archivess, Open Contemporary Art Centre, Beijing, China |
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| Warm up, Hot Sun Space, Beijing, China |
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| Associated Exhibition In September, Pickled Art Centre, Beijing, China |
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| The Ways, Ke Contemporary Art Centre, Shanghai, China |
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| 2006 |
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| Paper View,Two Lines Gallery, Beijing, China |
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| Allocate, Beijing International Art Campus (BIAC), China |
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| 2005 |
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| Demolish, Demolish, Demolish,BIAC, Beijing, China |
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| The First and Second Open Exhibitions, BIAC, Beijing, China |
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| 2003 |
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| Going to Market, Shangri-la Community Art Center, Beijing, China |
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