Ai Weiwei, 2016
Magazines
14 5/8 x 10 5/8 inches (37 x 27 cm)
Portrait 3, 2015
Magazines
62 5/8 x 43 1/4 inches (156 x 110 cm)
Head Portrait, 2015
Magazines
38 5/8 x 32 7/8 inches (98 x 83.5 cm)
Library Plan Series No.2, 2016
Magazines
74 3/4 x 43 1/4 inches (190 x 110 cm)
Klein Sun Gallery is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in the U.S. by Beijing-based artist Li Qiang, on view from August 4 through September 3, 2016.
Contrary to other traditional techniques such as paintings, Li Qiang’s works come into being through dematerialization. In his practice, the artist often shreds popular books and magazines from mainstream and official presses, piecing the scraps together into a new collage image. As a dissenter and rebel against the orthodox, Li Qiang often conveys a skeptical outlook in his works by constantly confronting mass production and consumerist issues prompted by today’s media.
This solo exhibition presents selected works from the artist which were created in 2015 and 2016. In these recent works, Li Qiang focuses on images of political figures, activists, and books. Through breaking up image and text from different magazines, Li Qiang uncovers the figure of several political activists. In another work, Ocean (2015), the artist stacks layers of magazine fragments, creating an image of ocean waves, dissolving the original information and meaning from the magazine.
In the process of tearing, Li Qiang reveals to us that information, knowledge, and the truth can always be reconstructed and distorted, and therefore may have exacerbated the confusion inherent in today’s information age.
Li Qiang was born in 1966 in Jiangsu, China. His solo exhibitions include “God’s Debris,” 798 Enjoy Museum of Art, Beijing, China (2014); “Wild Path –Li Qiang Print Works Exhibition,” Xishen Art Space, Beijing, China (2009); “Cell Phone Diary,” Shanghai Zendai MoMA, Shanghai, China (2008). His work has also been include in museum exhibitions internationally, such as “Fusion Convergence,” T Museum, Hangzhou, China (2014); “Voice of the Unseen – Chinese Independent Art 1979 –Today,” a Collateral Event of Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2013); “’Le Deluge, après Mao’ China’s Surging Creative Tide,” University of Tennessee Cress Gallery of Art, Chattanooga, TN (2010); and “Morbid: Our Arts Today,” Nanjing Art Museum, Nanjing, China (2005).
For press inquiries, please contact Nicole Aiello at the gallery (212.255.4388) or via email at nicole@kleinsungallery.com. For all other inquiries, please contact Eli Klein at the gallery (212.255.4388) or via email at eli@kleinsungallery.com.
