Art Basel Hong Kong: the dead cats and bullet holes inspiring modern Chinese art

Mar 28 , 2019

Zhao Zhao, ‘Constellations’, oil on canvas, 2018. Zhao’s experiments with gunshots and glass are a stand-out, considering that China makes very few exceptions to the outlawing of gun ownership. Photo: Tang Contemporary

Sought-after Chinese artists like Zhao Zhao, Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, Qin Qi and Huang Yongping are in the spotlight at this year’s fair

Chinese contemporary art’s depth and variety is being showcased at this year’s Art Basel. A highlight is Tang Contemporary Art, presenting a blend of classic and up-and-coming Chinese artists including Zhao Zhao, Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, Qin Qi and Huang Yongping.

Qin Qi came to prominence after his 2017 solo exhibition at Tang Contemporary Art, offering a diversity of styles inspired by travels to destinations such as Tibet and Southeast Asian countries, where the arts are often presented in vibrancy and exoticism, from paintings to sculpture. Altfield Gallery is one such space exhibiting a selection of Southeast Asian 18th- and 19th-century Buddhist sculpture and carvings, with figures from Myanmar and Thailand.

Qin Qi makes exaggerated use of colour and illustrates minorities and political figures. An oil painting, Untitled, depicts the life of refugees in Myanmar’s Kokang region, a geopolitical hotspot bordering China.

Seated crown Buddha with royal attire, 19th century, an example of Southeast Asian exoticism. Photo: Altfield Gallery

Zhao is always full of surprises. His experiments with gunshots and glass are a stand-out, considering that China makes very few exceptions to the outlawing of gun ownership. The resulting series of oil paintings, titled Constellations, depicts the cracking patterns formed by bullet holes on shattered glass, speaking intriguingly to aesthetic and political motifs.

A new installation, Cat, part of his “In Extremis” series, was inspired by spotting traces of a dead cat’s body flattened into the asphalt by passing vehicles outside his studio.

Film is also a feature of the gallery’s work. Yuan Gong’s video, Scented Air • The Stroll, shows the artist carrying fog-making devices outside prominent locations, including Prague Contemporary Art Festival, Berlin’s Reichstag building and Milan railway station. This attracts attention, making the statement that performance art is alive and well.

“The 5th Collectors’ Contemporary Collaboration” is on at the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC). If Tang Contemporary is more “now”, this mix of distinctive collections and Chinese contemporary art archives helps audiences understand the art scene’s development over the years.