CHINA YEAR AT ART MUSEUMS IN TAMPERE 2007
SARA HILDÉN ART MUSEUM Modern and contemporary, domestic and international – artistic insights from the highstandard changing exhibitions. Situated in Särkänniemi. GILDED FLAW – NEW AND OLD PORCELAIN ART FROM CHINA 16.6.-2.9.2007 Upstairs: An exhibition of old Chinese ceramics and porcelain from the private collections of a prominent Finnish collector. Downstairs: Chinese contemporary art directly from Beijing. Four young artists who use the traditional Chinese porcelain technique. ZHANG XIAOGANG 22.9.2007-13.1.2008. Zhang Xiaogang (b. 1958) studied at the Sichua Academy of Fine Arts, works in Beijing and is the big name in Chinese contemporary art. The exhibition presents paintings from the famous Bloodline series inspired by family photographs destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and today’s one-child policy. Also on display are new paintings and photographs made especially for the exhibition. Arranged by the Sara Hildén Art Museum in cooperation with the artist and exclusive to Tampere!
MUSEUM CENTRE VAPRIIKKI Located in a genuine historical industrial milieu at a former engineering workshop. The museum centre also houses the Shoe Museum and the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame as well as a museum shop and café. The summer 2007 programme includes a range of China exhibitions 16.6.-31.10.2007: JADE SUIT The Han Dynasty ruled China at the same time as Europe was ruled by the Roman Empire, and during its reign art and science flourished. Han prince Liu Sheng died in 113 BCE. His tomb, opened in 1968, is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in China. Prince Liu Sheng and his consort Dou Wan were buried in suits made from thousands of jade pieces sewn together with gold wire, made over several years during their lifetime. The exhibition of Princess Dou Wan’s jade suit and other items, jewellery and utensils from the tomb forms a vivid display of one aspect of life in ancient China. THE REAL TOY STORY The Real Toy Story exhibition is a room-sized installation comprising 20,000 toys made in China with photographs of toy factory workers taken by Michael Wolf. Wolf has acquired the toys mainly from Californian flea markets. The installation paints a perplexing image of the scale of the industry in China, and is also an exciting reflection of how toys have changed since the end of the 1980s to the present day. CHINESE PROPAGANDA ART FROM THE MAO ERA A smiling, warm and rosy cheeked Chairman Mao Zedong was a key motif in Chinese propaganda art from the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 through to the
early 1980s. Printed in large numbers, posters of the effigy spread to homes, schools, street sides and newspapers. They portrayed Mao everywhere: in factories, fields and while swimming, always surrounded by smiling people looking strong and faithful to the ideology. China was on its way to greatness and happiness.
TAMPERE ART MUSEUM The museum operates in a grain storehouse designed by C.L. Engel built in 1838. INNOVATORS OF CREATIVITY: TRANSFORMATION OF CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART 1980-2007 16.6. – 30.9.2007 Through the work of several highly interesting artists, this exhibition analyses the changes that have taken place in society, art and cultural life in China. The artists represent the height of Chinese art and have gained immense recognition on the international scene. The best known names are Ai Weiwei and Xu Bing.