On 10 January 2020 at 2 PM, the greatest art event in the greatest metropolis of the world (Chongqing) opened. The grand Chongqing International Modern and Contemporary Art Exhibition was organized by HongYiJiuZhou International Culture and Art Center and PASHMIN ART CONSORTIA and was hosted by Hong Art Museum in Chongqing. The works by forty six international artists are presented there till 31 March 2020.

The exhibition was honoured by the presence of nineteen general consuls from the embassies and consulates of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Hungary, Belarus, Uruguay, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Pakistan who came from Beijing and Chengdu. Different Chongqing governmental departments also advised the actualization of the event.

Speeches were delivered by Nour Nouri (Director of Pashmin Art Consortia), Dr. Davood Khazaie, Wolfgang Rudischhauser (German Consul General in Chengdu),  Jackie Zhang (Director and Chairman of Hong Art Museum), Conny Camenzind (Consul General of Switzerland in Chengdu) and Deng Jianqiang, vice chairman of Chongqing Artists Association, and director of Chongqing Art Museum. N. Nouri talked about the significance of cultural exchanges between countries. D. Khazaie interpreted the curatorial statement. W. Rudischhauser emphasized the necessity of these grand exhibitions for opening perspectives to other cultures. J. Zhang declared that Chongqing is open for more art and cultural activities by different countries. C. Camenzind talked about the artist Julius Voegtli (1879 - 1944) and showed the interest of her embassy for more events like this. Deng Jianqiang also explained about the contemporaneity of the artworks and their high artistic values.

The curatorial statement briefly discusses the nature of the exhibition. Each ´´artist´´ tells a story. A poet uses words, a musician uses notes and a visual artist uses different media including colors, stones, glass, sand, etc. Sometimes the story is made in the mind of the artist as an abstract form and it depends on the artist how to realize it. What is conspicuous is how the artist owns the wholeness of the work, how she makes herself the hero of the work.

It is the artist who pours her soul into her art and goes beyond the usual. The metafictional presence of the artist appears in how she designs her art, how she relates reality to imagination and how she manipulates reality. Many different factors work together to present a piece of art properly. The character of the artist, the character of the work, the process of its creation, the materials used and the way they are used, the conventions, the space where it is exhibited, the artworks around it, and the position of art and artist in a given society, all make the metafictional character of art.

But on another level art uses metafunctions to relate itself to the viewer. Each viewer makes special meanings out of seeing a particular artwork. The gender of the viewer, the job, the life style, education, and generally, the whole ´´Being´´ of a viewer connects her to an artwork. To put it simply, the artist puts some participants (human or nonhuman) in her art. The viewer then, in an interaction with the art, is connected to these participants and the composition of the work itself has its own influence on the viewer. These three representational, interactive and compositional metafunctions work simultaneously to create meaning in the mind of the viewer.

The works of Julius Voegtli, a forerunner of Swiss impressionism, are presented in a solo-section within the large group show and take us to an era before WW1 nearly to the end of WW2. He begins with realism and ends in impressionism. Still lifes, portraits, landscape, soldiers, animals are all within his stories.

The works of other contemporary artists accompany Voegtli in this exhibition. This international Group Exhibition at Hong Art Museum, co-organized by Hong Art Museum and Pashmin Art Consortia, shows a wide range of artworks, of different media, created by 46 artists from different European countries.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

VENUE & DURATION

Hong Art Museum, Chongqing - January 10, 2020 - March 31, 2020

CURATORS

Nour Nouri, Zhang Hang (Jackie Zhang)

CO-CURATORS

CHINA

Dr. Ariel, Doki Gao , Chenxin Ge, Tom Lin

GERMANY

Dr. Davood Khazaie, Zahra Hasson M.A.,Nicole Rietbrock, Natalja Nouri

ADVISED BY

Publicity Department of Chongqing Municipal Committee

Foreign Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People´s Government

Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce

Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development

Chongqing Shapingba District Government

Chongqing Xiyong comprehensive bonded area management committee

ACADEMICALLY ADVISED BY

Chongqing Artists Association

ORGANIZED BY

HongYiJiuZhou International Culture and Art Center

PASHMIN ART CONSORTIA

HOSTED BY

Hong Art Museum

SPONSORS

SUNAC RESORT

Global Art Magazine

Leader telecom Communication

Jiu Zhou (Chongqing) Artwork Logistic & Exhibition Services Co. Ltd.

Shanghai DaWei Cultural Development Co.,Ltd

CCTV Chongqing report Pashmin Art-Hong Art Museum Opening 10 Jan 2020, Chongqing (with English sub.)