Forty Years of Sculpture · The First Term

by Shengwei and Kang Xueru

The year 2018 coincides with the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up, in the course of these 40 years, our great motherland has undergone a radical and ever-changing change, and Chinese sculpture has also made extremely important pioneering achievements. In order to commemorate the forty years of reform and opening up, show the innovative achievements in the field of sculpture, promote the continuous prosperity and development of Chinese sculpture, and enrich the cultural and artistic life of the people, the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, after careful preparations, has organized a series of exhibitions on “Forty Years of Sculpture”.

“Forty years of sculpture” series of exhibitions from the end of 2017 to 2018 in four parts of the flashback, and gradually meet with the audience. Each part will select the representative works of representative sculptors of historical significance and some classic cases of the period, and organically organize and display them on the basis of in-depth research and summarization. On the one hand, the exhibition will summarize the representative achievements and development of Chinese sculpture in the past 40 years, and on the other hand, it will explore the direction and possibility of the latest development of Chinese sculpture for the future.

The first part of the exhibition will focus on the creative achievements of Chinese sculpture from 1978 to 1992, after 1978, with the trend of reform and opening up, the whole art world presented a brand new situation of several generations of the same class, competing to create. The creation of sculpture began to break through the pattern of a single leader’s statue, and diversified explorations and innovations appeared, especially in the context of the 85 New Wave art movement, which restarted the process of modernization of Chinese sculpture, and allowed sculpture to embark on the road of thinking and practicing to return to itself.

The second part will focus on the creative achievements of Chinese sculpture from 1992 to 2000. This period is the deepening of reform and opening up, the establishment of the socialist market economy system and the expansion of achievements, on the one hand, the process of urbanization greatly accelerated, urban public sculpture appeared on a large scale, on the other hand, the opening up and globalization makes the exploration of sculpture began to absorb new achievements, including overseas sculpture. Whether in terms of sculpture subject matter, language, or ontological conception of sculpture, all achievements are remarkable.

The third section will focus on the creative achievements of Chinese sculpture from 2000 to 2008. The millennium has brought new twists and turns in all aspects, and the field of culture and art is no exception, with new ideas and means constantly emerging, making the creation of sculpture during this period extremely diverse. 2001’s accession to the WTO was a major event in the history of China’s reform and opening up, and similarly, the 2008 Beijing Olympics also served as a gas pedal of this process. The art market was more active than ever during this period, and support for non-profit, purely academic endeavors increased dramatically.

The fourth section will focus on the creative achievements of Chinese sculpture from 2008 to 2017. In the post-Olympic era, the interaction between Chinese sculptors and the world has shown a more pronounced trend. Especially under the significant influence of contemporary art, breaking through the established ontological concept of sculpture or rethinking sculpture from the perspective of conceptual art has become a new direction of exploration. Images, the Internet and high-tech have also entered the field of sculpture, making the creation of sculpture present an unprecedented pattern of prosperity and diversified trends.