BENTU at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (27 Jan. – 2 May 2016)

09.02.2016

We are proud to announce that 6 out of 12 artists participating in Bentu exhibition are from the Tiroche DeLeon Collection.

Liu Shiyuan, Installation view of From "Happiness" to "Whatever" @Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France

Bentu is the first exhibition devoted to contemporary Chinese art in France in the past 10 years. and it is co-organised with the Ullens Bentu brings together 12 artists of different generations who live in mainland China.

Using a wide variety of techniques and media, drawn from both local tradition and culture, as well as newer cutting edge technologies – sometimes associating or confronting them – the artists reveal the complexities of a society that is in permanent mutation. The works highlight the current state of economy and ecology, and most notably, the transformation of the relationship between the city and the countryside. Questions relating to identity are also addressed. The choice of works does not seek to show a panorama of the artistic scene in China, but aims to draw attention to the multiform character of the cultural production in the country, which undergoes rapid development and which affirms itself through outstanding individuals, rather than specific movements.

Bentu: The native soil. In contemporary Chinese art, this term does not connote nationalism. Rather, it represents a dialectical concept that aims to reconcile the “local” and the “global” in a universalist and critical rediscovery of identity. Bentu: The native soil. In contemporary Chinese art, this term does not connote nationalism. Rather, it represents a dialectical concept that aims to reconcile the “local” and the “global” in a universalist and critical rediscovery of identity. This notion is central to the research of artists, curators and academics in China today.

Chinese artists from the Tiroche DeLeon Collection participating in the exhibition are:

- Liu Chuang: b. 1978 in Hubei. Lives and works in Beijing
- Liu Shiyuan: b.1985 in Beijing. Lives and works in Beijing and Copenhagen
- Liu Wei: b. 1972 in Beijing. Lives and works in Beijing
- Liu Xiaodong: b. 1972 in Beijing. Lives and works in Beijing
- Xu Zhen:
b. 1977 in Shanghai. Lives and works in Shanghai
- Yang Fudong:
b. 1971 in Beijing. Lives and works in Shanghai

Foreground: Xu Zhen, The Soldier of Marathon Announcing Victory, A Wounded Galatian, 2014, installation produced by MadeIn Company. Background: Liu WeiPurple Air, 2014

For more information about Fondation Louis Vuitton & Bentu, visit FLV website.