“Wu Se Tu,” a solo project by artist Liang Yuanwei, will open on November 17.
Over the past month, Liang Yuanwei has gradually transformed the ceiling and walls of the living room at DRC No. 12, covering them entirely with carbon paper in five basic colors, as well as four combs and a number of circular pieces of paper. The title of her exhibition, “Wu Se Tu, ” refers to a literary supplement of the same name in the Beijing Evening News, a popular edition the artist has known since childhood. “Wu Se Tu,” which means “five-colored earth,” has deep cultural ties to her hometown of Beijing: the colored earth, spread over the top of the Altar of Earth and Harvests in Zhongshan Park, symbolized dominion over land and people. The concept was reinterpreted in the literary supplement to represent the diversity of literature; it is now being reimagined by the artist into a new painterly language for this project.
Liang Yuanwei, whose practice consists mainly of painting, has long been interested in the structural relationship between painting and its surroundings—whether physical, historical, or cultural. “In each of my solo exhibitions, I have experimented with the connection between painting and its environment. This interest has led me, over the past decade, to conduct field research visiting murals from different civilizations and historical periods.” Now, Liang Yuanwei brings this exploration and experimentation to a uniquely situated apartment space, presenting what is to be DRC No. 12’s final exhibition at its current location.
Early in the preparation of this project, it became clear to us that the length of the exhibition would be uncertain due to unexpected changes in the lease agreement. Reflecting on this project, Liang Yuanwei notes,“No medium is naturally limited, but the human mind can be. Even in a space that is constantly shrinking and unstable, those unwilling to compromise can still use limited materials to convey boundless visions.”
外交公寓12号空间荣幸的宣布，艺术家梁远苇的个人项目“五色土”将于11月17日开展。
在过去的一个月间，梁远苇使用五种基础色的复写纸，四把梳子以及一些圆形纸片，逐渐画满外交公寓12号客厅的天顶与所有墙面，并且延伸到整个空间。展览题目“五色土”取自艺术家幼年时熟悉的《北京晚报》同名文艺副刊。这个名称与艺术家成长和生活的城市北京有着显著的地域与文化关联：在中山公园中的社稷坛上铺着的“五色土”，其原本关于江山社稷的统治概念，在老百姓的日常业余读物中被转移成文艺园地的比喻，又被艺术家在此次的项目中再度转移成新的语言。
作为一个以绘画为主要媒介的艺术家，梁远苇一直感兴趣绘画与所在环境的结构性关系，“无论是物理空间的，文明历史的，当下现实的……在过往的每一次个展中我都对绘画与环境的关系进行了实验。这种兴趣也驱使我在过去的十年间，不断走到世界上不同文明、不同时代的壁画现场做实地考察。”这一次，梁远苇将她的探索与尝试带到了这个位置独特的小公寓空间。此次展览亦是外交公寓12号在现有地址的最后一次展览。在展览筹备之初我们便得知，由于临时遭遇租约更改问题，此次展出的时长将不可控。这也正如梁远苇在谈到这个项目的初衷时说道，“没有天然封闭的媒介，但有封闭的人心。即便身处一个不停被挤压收缩、不能长期稳定的空间中，不愿妥协的人仍然可以使用有限的材料，去描绘无限的愿景。”
WORKS
OPENING SCENE
