展名/ Title：On the Voyage
艺术家/ Artists ：（按艺术家姓氏字母顺序排列） 亚历山大·阿科斯塔 (Alejandro Acosta) 黛博拉·布朗 (Deborah Brown) 霍华·方达 (Howard Fonda) 弗洛伦斯·哈钦斯 (Florence Hutchings) 利兹·马库斯 (Liz Markus) 凯拉·玛兹 (Kayla Mattes) 本·桑德斯 (Ben Sanders) 大卫·布莱恩·史密斯 (David Brian Smith) 艾玛·斯通-约翰森 (Emma Stone-Johnson) 玛歌·瓦伦金 (Margaux Valengin) 盖·雅奈 (Guy Yanai)
展期/ Duration：2023.09.09 - 10.15 开幕/ Opening：2023.09.16 (Sat) 16:00 地点/ Venue：亚洲艺术中心（北京） Asia Art Center (Beijing)
亚洲艺术中心荣幸地宣布于2023年9月9日至10月15日在北京空间举办展览“On the Voyage 启航”，本次展览汇集来自美国、英国、法国、西班牙、以色列五个国家共十一位艺术家的最新创作。从“科技批判”、“感官生活”、“记忆回旋”、“模糊梦境”四个维度呈现人类社会发展的新形态。本次展览以“On the Voyage 启航”为题，在全球化时代、不确定性时代，文明纵横交错各放异彩。艺术家多样的国界、背景掷入一个具有社会性意义的语境以及面对时代问题的深入思考，扬帆启航，驶向人类思想的洪流。
科技批判 Alejandro Acosta（b.1991，西班牙）反思我们在科技形塑人类行为与思想的时代，“数字化”已经成为我们观看世界的滤镜，世界会改变（扭曲）成怎样的图像，人们的生活是否千篇一律地变成沉迷于屏幕带来的图像、表象、灵性的世界是否还有人愿意探索的追问；Howard Fonda（b.1974，美国）充满着童趣而多彩的画面是Fonda极具个人特色的表达方式。在历史、哲学等方面的涵养，令Fonda的作品不仅止于童话的天真，而富有思想性、韵律感的表达出现在画面的某个角落，察觉深藏绘画中的寓意；麻省理工学院媒体实验室教授伊桑·祖克曼（Ethan Zuckerman）于2008年提出的关于平面设计的“可爱猫理论”深刻影响着Kayla Mattes（b.1989，美国）的创作。豢养双猫的Mattes在数字生活中反思现代人对屏幕的沉迷，她使用“挂毯编织”的形式表达，在长时间的构思编织过程中，艺术家感受这个高速运转的社会彷佛放慢了速度。Mattes的挂毯创作充满迷因文化、网络上的吉祥物、可爱猫等等，作品活泼的调性也许让观者更直接地感受到混沌的世界现状。
感官生活 Deborah Brown（b.1955，美国）作品中利落清晰的影子做为画中主角，是她最为得心应手的表达。Deborah带着狗在纽约布鲁克林穿梭，低矮的厂房正是布鲁克林最常见的建筑，以极强烈的色彩与光影作为艺术语言，而律动轻快的笔触，合成一股强劲的视觉冲击，寻常不过的街景令人耳目一新。人物从不转身，充满未知感；Florence Hutchings（b.1996，英国）的作品围绕日常生活的诗意展开，无论是工作室、卧室的挂衣杆，都融入了她的生活元素。Florence将这些物体描绘成近乎抽象的形式，赋予它们她在其中看到的生命和活力。她的作品极具层次与质感，这是因为她几乎所有的作品都不断地重新绘画、叠加以及拼贴；Liz Markus（b.1967，美国）神秘的霸王龙绘画源于无处不在的万圣节服装，而不是插图或电影中对恐龙的实际解释。这是Markus最爱的主题之一，在外观上变得更加抽象，在审美上则更加迷幻；再平凡的风景透过Guy Yanai（b.1977，以色列）洗炼纯粹的笔法、细致而排列缜密、张弛有度的线条及笔触，聚拢成艺术家眼里的特殊景致。Guy试图消弭空间的立体感，让人联想到大卫·霍克尼（David Hockney）的立体主义风格，与野兽派创始人亨利·马蒂斯（Henri Matisse）画面中绮丽的色彩。
记忆回旋 David Brian Smith（b.1981，英国）的创作专注于风景画，以此作为与其家族历史回溯的一种方式。Smith在乡村长大，而后搬迁至伦敦，在一段时间的工作、生活后引发了他对重返乡村的渴望。Smith利用他的实践来重新想象他的过去，并展望他未来的地位。Margaux Valengin（b.1992，法国）探索实践抽象与具象的界限。受到了女性超现实主义画家的影响。Margaux的作品描绘了女性身体、动植物等有机形式在资本主义现代性的束缚下的状态。Margaux将无意识的梦境拼装起来——由科学插图、互联网库存图像和欧洲艺术史的典故组成——来面对阶级和性别的议题。
模糊梦境 Ben Sanders（b.1989，美国）在父亲制作好莱坞电影布景的工作室里渡过他的童年。其抽象作品最明显的特征是用色饱和，气氛浪漫与欢快，作品灵感来自于食物、饮料、Logo等，但几经完全地抽象化，带领人们进入各种漂浮的情境，好比在宇宙中、海流中徜徉，触发我们对抽象无尽的想象；观看Emma Stone-Johnson （b.1982，英国）的作品色彩从画面上渗出，笔触犹如含混的标点符号，颜料形成小沟壑。Emma对颜色进行编码，这不但是艺术家对颜料及色彩的研究，也是她的自我分析。
Asia Art Center is delighted to announce the exhibition "On the Voyage" that will be held at our Beijing space from September 9th to October 15th, 2023. This exhibition brings together the latest works of eleven artists from five countries - the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Israel. The exhibition presents new forms of human social development from four dimensions: "Technological Critique," "Sensory Life," "Memory Reverie," and "Blurred Dreams." With the theme "On the Voyage," this exhibition explores the dazzling diversity of civilizations in the age of globalization and uncertainty. The artists' diverse national backgrounds are juxtaposed within a socially significant context, as they delve deeply into contemporary issues, setting sail into the torrent of human thought.
Technological Critique Alejandro Acosta (b. 1991, Spain) reflects on the era where technology shapes human behavior and thought. "Digitization" has become the filter through which we perceive the world. He questions how the world transforms (distorts) into images under this digital lens, whether human life is becoming uniform, consumed by the images, representations, and spiritual aspects brought forth by screens, and whether anyone still has the desire to explore this world of questions. Howard Fonda (b. 1974, USA) presents vivid and whimsical imagery, a distinctive expression of his personality. Fonda's cultivation in history, philosophy, and other aspects guide his works to go beyond the innocence of fairy tales, enriched with intellectual depth and rhythmic expressions that appear in some corners of the canvas, revealing hidden meanings within the paintings. Kayla Mattes (b. 1989, USA) is deeply influenced by the "Cute Cat Theory" of graphic design proposed by Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the MIT Media Lab, in 2008. Mattes, who raises two cats, reflects on modern society's obsession with screens. She uses the form of "tapestry weaving" to express this, and during the extended process of conception and weaving, the artist feels as though this high-speed society has slowed down. Mattes' tapestry creations are filled with meme culture, internet mascots, adorable cats, and more. The lively tones of her works may allow viewers to sense more directly the chaotic state of the world today.
Sensory Life Deborah Brown (b.1955, USA) uses clear and concise shadows as the protagonists in her works, which is her most skillful form of expression. Deborah roams the streets of Brooklyn in New York with her dog, and low factory buildings are the most common structures in Brooklyn. She employs vibrant colors and play of light and shadow as her artistic language, and her brisk and rhythmic brushstrokes combine to create a strong visual impact. Therefore, the ordinary street scenes become refreshing to the eye. The characters in her works never turn around, filled with a sense of the unknown. Florence Hutchings (b.1996, UK) explores the poetic aspects of everyday life in her works, incorporating elements from her life, whether it's a studio or a bedroom clothes rack. Florence portrays these objects in an almost abstract form, imbuing them with the life and vitality she perceives within them. Her works are rich in layers and texture because she continuously re-paints, layers, and collages almost all of her works. Liz Markus (b.1967, USA) delves into the enigmatic world of dinosaur paintings, drawing inspiration from ubiquitous Halloween costumes rather than illustrations or cinematic interpretations of dinosaurs. This is one of Markus's favorite themes, and it has become more abstract in appearance and more psychedelic in aesthetics. Even the most ordinary landscapes become exceptional scenery to artists, through Guy Yanai’s (b.1977, Israel) pure brushwork, meticulous and tightly arranged lines, and strokes that ebb and flow. Guy attempts to eliminate the three-dimensional effect of space, evoking associations with David Hockney's cubist style and the splendid colors found in the works of the founder of the Fauvist movement, Henri Matisse.
Memory Reverie David Brian Smith (b.1981, UK) focuses his creative efforts on landscape painting, using it as a means to reconnect with his family's history. Smith grew up in the countryside and later moved to London, which ignited his desire to return to rural life after a period of work and city living. Smith uses his practice to reimagine his past and contemplate his future place. Margaux Valengin (b.1992, France) explores the boundaries between abstraction and concreteness in her artistic practice. She is influenced by female Surrealist painters. Valengin's works depict organic forms such as the female body and animals within the constraints of capitalist modernity. She assembles unconscious dreams, composed of scientific illustrations, internet stock images, and allusions to European art history in order to confront issues of class and gender.
Blurred Dreams Ben Sanders (b.1989, USA) spent his childhood at his father's Hollywood film set studio. The most striking feature of his abstract works is their saturated colors, creating a romantic and joyful atmosphere. His inspiration is drawn from elements such as food, beverages, logos, and more. However, these inspirations are abstracted to the point where they lead people into various floating scenarios, reminiscent of drifting through space or along ocean currents. His works spark endless imagination about abstraction. When observing the works of Emma Stone-Johnson (b.1982, UK), colors seep from the canvas, and brushstrokes resemble ambiguous punctuation marks, with pigments forming small channels. Emma codes colors, not only as an exploration of pigments and hues but also as a form of self-analysis.
