K11 Art Foundation’s Chinese-French Connection at FIAC

Li Gang, Beads (2012). Photo: Courtesy de l’artiste & Galerie Urs Meile (Beijing-Lucerne).

At FIAC on Monday, Adrian Cheng’s Hong Kong nonprofit K11 Art Foundation (KAF) and the French contemporary art center Palais de Tokyo revealed their first coproduced exhibition.

Titled “Inside China: L’Intérieur du Géant,” it showcases Chinese contemporary artists in dialogue with French contemporary artists. The exhibition, is co-curated by Jo-ey Tang and Wang Chunchen of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum in Beijing, and features three artists from France—Renaud Jerez, NADAR, Aude Pariset—and five from China: Wu Hao, Yu Ji, Zhao Yao, Cheng Ran, Li Gang, and Edwin Lo.

“Inside China” inaugurates a series of co-curated exhibitions touring as part of a three-year strategic collaboration between KAF and the Palais de Tokyo. As KAF founder and chairman Cheng has stated that this first-of-a-kind exhibition is an attempt to foster cultural dialogues and boost cross-cultural exchanges between the two institutions. “We are very excited to be building this platform, which we hope will nurture more creative talents from Greater China to be seen, heard and appreciated, and in turn inspire us to think, live and contribute to our society better,” he said.

Cheng, executive director of New World Development and the grandson of Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu-tung, is the man who, in pursuit of a new museum model, placed the exhibition “Master of Impressionism—Claude Monet” in the basement of the K11 art mall in Shanghai. It was the first-ever exhibition in mainland China of Monet’s work. The exhibition is also a major highlight of the official program marking the 50th anniversary of Franco-Sino diplomatic relations.

“Inside China” will be on view through January 11, 2015, and thereafter travel to China.


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