2024/4/20～2024/11/24
Recently, the 60th Venice Biennale opened with the theme “Foreigners Everywhere.” Works by seven Chinese photographic artists were featured in the 7th edition of the large-scale thematic exhibition “Personal Structures – Beyond Boundaries,” organized by the European Cultural Centre, presenting a group exhibition unit titled “Oriental Imagery.”
Exhibition View (60th Venice Biennale)
The exhibiting artists focus their gaze on the imagery of Eastern aesthetics—mountains and waters, falling snow, ancient sites—communicating a deep-seated veneration for nature, along with a contemplative engagement with human nature, emotion, and ethics. By innovating in both technique and materials, their works do not merely depict Eastern imagery in appearance; they reinterpret its spiritual resonance through modern approaches, creating a new Eastern aesthetic that leaves a lasting impression.
In his work Between Heaven and Earth, Chen Shangping presents, through black-and-white tones, the intimate intertwining of mountains and clouds. Here, stillness and motion—two seemingly opposite states in nature—enhance each other in harmony. Amid the layered peaks, cloud seas surge and roll, while the water surface remains placid; silently, the rhythm of life flows through all.
Between Heaven and Earth by Chen Shangping
In this “Eastern Imagery” exhibition, the works enter into a dialogue with nature, with others, and with the self—probing the meaning and worth of human existence, enriching life with deep significance, and communicating a quiet power of inner peace and transcendence. The continuation and transformation of this Eastern Imagery are not merely about honoring and safeguarding cultural heritage; they are equally a pursuit and articulation of shared human values.
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The exhibition, entitled Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, will be open to the public from Saturday 20 April to Sunday 24 November 2024 at the Giardini and the Arsenale. The exhibition is curated by Adriano Pedrosa and organized by La Biennale di Venezia.
© SHANG PING PHOTOGRAPHY