Extended Research
Art at Home Exhibition
As a project in the extended research of unit2, my friends from Chelsea Fine art major and RCA curatorial major and I have collaborated on an exhibition, which is still in the planning stage. The opening of the exhibition is expected to be in July. Interestingly, the venue for this exhibition will be at a friend's home. The works on display include paintings, installations, sculptures, videos, and so on.The theme of the exhibition is Art at Home.
The inspiration for this exhibition is the Huajiadi Biennale in 2016. "Biennale" sounds like a very "international" word. This concept comes from Italy and represents the biennial top art event（As shown in figure 1）, a contemporary Cutting-edge exploration of the art world. However, the Huajiadi Biennale was held in a neighborhood called Huajiadi in Beijing, a "biennale" that completely subverted everything.
Figure1， Venice Biennale 2015
In a space of 50 square meters, the Huajiadi Biennale（Figure 2） exhibited more than 100 works, with the joint participation of international popular artists such as Araki Jingwei, Anthony Graeme and Xu Bing. .In the specific implementation process, the idea that the Huajiadi Biennale hides the works in daily life, so the final Biennale
Figure2， Huajiadi Biennale 2016
is a way of anti-exhibition. For all participating audiences, the exhibition viewing process is a process of discovery and search. In this way, the works and ready-made products are brought to a level which needs to be identified for many people.
Below are some of the works from the 2016 Huajidi Biennale
Talking about our own exhibition, The purpose of this exhibition we curated is to bring art into life because the public’s impressions of the exhibition are held in exhibition halls, churches, or art galleries, so we do the opposite and hold an exhibition at home, which makes art is closer to our life.
We discussed some details and difficulties in arranging the exhibition, the first is the installation of artworks because the works of the exhibition are not only paintings but also installations, sculptures, and so on. because the exhibition is arranged at home, so we need to coordinate the whole exhibition layout is still difficult. Let's talk about some details, such as the color of the wall, the transportation of the artwork, the arrangement of the lighting, the design of the poster, the sound control, and so on. On the first day of the opening, there will be an artist cocktail party, a meeting with different artist friends, and there will be tours or small lectures during lunchtime, so as to respond to feedback from all sides. Of course, these are just plans now, and not all of them can be implemented smoothly.
The works I exhibited in this exhibition are two paintings, Flow and Candle. These two works of mine will be displayed in the bathroom of a friend's home because Flow（As shown in figure 3)I painted a shower of water on my hand so that the work perfectly blends with the bathroom environment. The Candle (As shown in figure 4, 5) was placed on the bathroom mirror because candles symbolize light and warmth. When the audience walks into the bathroom and sees the Candle on the mirror, in order to make the
Figure3， Flow in the bathroom
audience feel the light and warmth of feeling. Some works are also hidden. For example, some works are hidden in the wardrobe, which requires the audience to explore by themselves. Of course, the guide will also give the audience some hints. This is a completely open and interactive exhibition with the audience.
Figure4， Candle on the mirror
Figure5， Candle on the mirror
We are thinking about how to make the exhibition more intriguing, which is what our team has been working on. How to arrange the exhibition interestingly, perfectly integrate the artwork with the layout of the home, furniture, windows, doors, etc., to attract the audience, and how to strengthen the interaction between the exhibition and the audience, is the key problem of our team.
I think it's a great opportunity to collaborate across fields and to communicate and network with each other. Different artists share their main points and thoughts about arts with each other. Because this is the first time for me to participate in the curation, from this curation, I learned some knowledge about the exhibition arrangement and the understanding and views of different artists on art from the discussions between the curator and different artists.
This exhibition is currently in the planning stage, and we still have a lot of work to do. It is a special experience for me as a curator and one of the participating artists. In the future, we will work hard to make this exhibition a reality, I believe it will be a great exhibition.
Reference:
Trueart (2021) Available at: https://www.trueart.com/news/393600.html (Accessed: date).
Sohu (2016) Available at: https://www.sohu.com/a/120935713_450640 (Accessed: date).