Here Be Dragons: Arthub Asia at Venice Biennale
Arthub Asia brings “Here Be Dragons,” an ambitious effort by Asia’s breakthrough contemporary artists, on June 1st for the 54th Venice Biennale. The program features an exhibition by Xijing Men (Chen Shaoxiong, Gimhongsok, and Tsuyoshi Ozawa); a solo project by Jompet Kuswidananto; a content partnership with Neville Wakefieldand from Garage Moscow for Commercial Break; along with dedicated public programs, two publications, as well as a related iPad application.
Developed in collaboration with the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation and Gervasuti Foundation, and spearheaded by Davide Quadrio and Defne Ayas of Arthub Asia, a non-profit initiative devoted to contemporary art creation in China and throughout Asia, “Here Be Dragons” consists of:
XIJING
The Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation and Arthub Asia proudly present “Xijing,” the first institutional exhibition dedicated to the work of the Xijing Men collective, the unique collaborative team composed of artists Chen Shaoxiong (China), Tsuyoshi Ozawa (Japan) and Gimhongsok (South Korea). Xijing–the capital of the West–exists upon a fictitious geopolitical axis created in correspondence to the real cities of Beijing (capital of the North), Nanjing (capital of the South) and Dongjing/Tokyo (capital of the East). Hosted at the Foundation’s main site in Piazza San Marco, the show is a quixotic journey through the creative universe of Xijing–a life-world of encounters, places and compounded narratives awakened by the named collective since 2007. This exhibition starts a program of residencies by Bevilacqua La Masa centered on Asian artists called “Silk Road” and inspired by the ancient link between Venice and the East. Curator: Beatrice Leanza.
Dates: 2nd of June to 25th of September, 2011
Hours of Operation: Wednesday through Sunday 10:30 am to 5:30 pm
Opening: Wednesday, June 1st 2011 at 6:30 pm
Artist talk: Wednesday, June 1st 2011 at 4:00 pm, with exhibition curator Beatrice Leanza
Location: Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation St. Mark’s Square Gallery, Piazza San Marco 71/c, Venice
Third Realm
How much further to the East do we have to venture in order to understand and re-decipher the West? How much more attention should we pay to a nation’s degrees of colonial coding with a view to revealing its democratization process? What if an artist were to employ a historian’s research strategy in search of a ‘third reality’? Arthub Asia and the Gervasuti Foundation proudly present “Third Realm,” a new site-specific project by Indonesian artist Jompet (Kuswidananto) in Venice. The artist is renowned for his delicate kinetic installations, which investigate the complex, colonial history of Indonesia and Java. Curators: Defne Ayas and Davide Quadrio.
The Third Realm project is made possible through the support of FarEastFarWest Collection.
Dates: 5th of June to 29th of September 2011
Hours of Operation: Tuesday through Sunday 10:30 am to 6:00 pm
Opening: Saturday, June 4th 2011 from 2:00 to 9:00 pm
Saturday, June 4th 2011 at 3:00 pm: Arthub Asia, Gervasuti Foundation and Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation jointly host drinks and informal talks by friends and colleagues including Defne Ayas, Davide Quadrio, Charles Esche, Ho Tzu Nyen, Kim Hyunjin, Prince Claus Fund’s representatives, Tayeba Lipi, Sabina Santarossa and many others.
Location: Fondamenta S. Ana (Via Garibaldi) Castello 993
Commercial Break
Arthub Asia also welcomes the mobile installation “Commercial Break,” by Garage Moscow to Venice. Curated by Nevlle Wakefield, the project will be presented during the opening week of the Venice Biennale from the 1st to 5th of June 2011 and is available to view on POST from June 1st through November 27th, 2011. Artists invited by Arthub Asia to this program include: Heman Chong, Jennifer Wen Ma, Lu Yang, The Propeller Group, Ruangrupa, Yi Zhou, Zhou Xiaohu, Xu Tan, Tintin Wulia, Cevdet Erek, Huang Kui, Hu Jieming. Content consultants: Arthub Asia’s Defne Ayas and Davide Quadrio.
