Chen Zhiguang
Portrait
| 1963 | in Xiamen, Provinz Fujian, China geboren born in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China |
| 1988 | graduated from Art Department, Fuijan Normal University |
| 2001 | Advanced study in Germany |
biografie
Ausstellungen – Exhibitions
| 2008 | Group Show: chinese artists I, Galerie von Braunbehrens, Munich, Germany |
| 2007 | Wild beasts, Mook Gallery, Beijing, China The2 nd Today’s Chinese Fine Arts, National Art Museum |
| 2006 | The 1st China Contemporary Annals Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing Endless Rivers & Moutains-NOrth & South Painter’s works Exhibition, Beijing,China Chen Zhiguang’s Works Exhibition, International Art Camp, Beijing The 2nd Songzhuang Art Festival, SongZhuang, Beijing Sino-Korean Exchange Exhibition, Seoul, Korea Documentary exhibition of contemporary, China Millenium Monument, Beijing |
| 2005 | Chendu Biyearly Exhibition, Chengdu, China Yellow Sky & Thick Earth Sculpture Exhibition, China mIllenium Monument, Beijing The 3rd International Sculpture & Art Festival, Quyang, China Hundred Years of Sculptures-Shanghai City Sculpture Exhibition, Shanghai, China |
| 2004 | China.imagination, Contemporary Sculpture, Sino-France Cultural Year, Paris, France The 10th National Fine Arts Exhibition Changchun, Xiamen The 1st National Mural Contest, Beijing China-Belgium Sculpture Nomination Exhibition, Brussels, Beigium |
| 2003 | Grand Exhibition of Chinese Fine Arts, Beijing China-Germany. Silk Road Nomination Exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany |
| 2002 | Dongyang International Wood Sculpture Contest, Dongyang, zhejiang International Sculpture Contest, Huian, Fuijan International Well-kown Artist Nomination Exhibition, Austria |
Wild Beasts
It’s easy to ignore ants on earth, but it is hard to ignore the metal ant sculptures created by Chen Zhiguang.
Chen’s ants usually appear in groups with various postures, even in swarms.
“I never compare ants to human beings, but human beings to ants,” Chen says.
“I admire the team spirit of ants: Team spirit is the basis of ants’ survival for hundreds of millions of years on earth,” he explains. “I also want to use the ant symbol to remind human beings to respect tiny creatures on the globe.”
Some of his ants, each around half-a-meter, swarm over the ground, on stairways and walls. His stainless steel army is formidable. Others take human poses and play traditional instruments.
He recently exhibited the “Tao of Ants” at the Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art.
Many people think ants are identical, indistinguishable, anonymous. But in Chen’s eyes, each ant is an independent individual with its own special characteristics. That’s why some ants take a cat-like shape (with a few extra limbs), quite individual, some male, some female.
“To capture the daily activities of ants, I often study them closely to capture their different movements,” Chen says.
The hunting, patrolling, migrating and breeding of ants is a repeated cycle, which the artist says is akin to the Chinese Zen.
“It is the real nature behind the ant’s survival,” he explains. “Just think, ants are so tiny, but the ant army sticks strictly to its daily routine. As a result, they extend their territory and the species’ vitality is carried on.”
Chen also portrays his ant army in photographs and in oil on canvas. He poses his troops in different famous settings, marching on the Great Wall and in the Beijing Olympic Stadium.
“I am now planning to shoot them in front of the Jin Mao Tower,” he says. “I think the ant army would be very compelling when they show up at this piece of cold armored concrete.”
Before Jin Mao Tower, Chen’s ants have already crawled along the Bund and visited the Oriental Pearl Broadcasting and Television Tower.
“Art should be an interesting career, and it really demands an exuberant creativity,” he concludes.
(Shanghai Daily October 24, 2007)
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