Irina Kulik will devote her lecture to contemporary Chinese artists whose coming of age coincided with the political ban of free creativity following mass protests on June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square.
Contemporary Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen (b. 1963) grew up in Beijing in the time of political turmoil, that eventually led to radical changes in her country and the world. In her practice she concentrates on the themes of cultural memory and identity, tradition and globalization, work ethics and freedom of creativity, ecology and state control. Yin’s main mediums are sculpture and installation, while her favorite materials are concrete and fabric, the latter being a reference to her mother’s work at a sewing factory. In 2016, Garage commissioned her to create an artwork for the Atrium space: the resulting twelve-meter architectural piece Slow Release was made entirely from used clothes donated by the Museum’s visitors.
Liu Wei (b. 1965) is a contemporary painter, uses watercolors, oil paints and ink in his works. He also creates complex installations utilizing found objects and materials from his everyday urban environment, such as old things and furniture, metal and wood, plastics and textiles.
