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Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China Special Exhibition February 10–May 1, 2005 SAM Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries

This groundbreaking exhibition of work by forty Chinese artists-many of whom have never before exhibited in the United States-reveals the extraordinary cultural, political and socioeconomic transformations reshaping modern China. Between Past and Future provides the first comprehensive examination of contemporary photography from China produced since the mid-1990s.

Photography is undergoing a renaissance in China among both distinguished and emerging artists. Between Past and Future includes major works by both groups. Many take as their starting point traditional Chinese painting, appropriating well-known images or making reference to icons of Chinese art history. The exhibition includes works that are ambitious in scale and experimental in form or medium, reflecting the rise of popular culture and new technologies, but also the ongoing desire to document the effects of rapid modernization on Chinese identity, cities and landscapes. Introducing a remarkable body of photographic work to American audiences, Between Past and Future also provides insight into the dynamics of Chinese culture at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections: History and Memory, Re-imagining the Body, People and Places, and Performing the Self. The range of artistic responses to events affecting family life, individual identity, human relationships, traditions and the urban landscape are presented through approximately 125 photographs. The selection reflects changes in Chinese photography and society since the important Chinese contemporary art exhibition Inside Out (1998-1999), which traveled to the Henry Art Gallery, among other U.S. venues. (In conjunction with the Henry’s exhibition, SAM presented a provocative performance by Zhang Huan.)

Christopher Phillips and Wu Hong, two of the most expert curators in the fields of Chinese contemporary art and photography respectively, have collaborated on Between Past and Future. The exhibition is curated in Seattle by Lisa Corrin, Deputy Director of Art/Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, who also contributed to the exhibition catalogue. Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China presents a stimulating perspective on present-day China. Prior to its presentation in Seattle, the exhibit will be on view at the International Center of Photography, New York (June 11-September 5, 2004), and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (October 2, 2004-January 16, 2005). Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China was co-organized by the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, and the International Center of Photography, New York, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Asia Society, New York.

Liu Zheng
China, born 1969
Two Rich Men on New Year's Eve, Beijing, 1999
Gelatin silver print
14 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches
Collection Joy of Giving Something, Inc.

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