The Rubell Family Collection has opened its new exhibition, "28 Chinese." The collection is a culmination of the family's six research trips to China between 2001 and 2012. The Rubells visited hundreds of artists' studios across China, from Beijing to Hong Kong to Shanghai. Ultimately, they acquired artwork from 28 different artists, many of which have never shown in North America until now. The collection consists of a myriad of paintings, sculptures, photographs, and video installations -- just enough to fill a 262-page catalog.
Cultist got a firsthand look at "28 Chinese." Here's a sneak peek.
See also: Jennifer Rubell's "Faith" Breakfast Installation: Chinese Egg Tarts Galore
In the main room located on the first floor, is the pièce de résistance by Zhu Jinshi titled Boat. The massive tunnel is suspended from the ceiling and is made of Xuan paper, bamboo, and cotton thread. You can also walk under it to take it all in.
This large-scale inkjet painting by Liu Wei called our attention with its bold colors and geometric lines.
Outside, is a large sculptural installation by Li Zhanyang titled Rent-Rent Collection Yard. It represents the class conflict in 1960s China.
Back inside, we weren't sure who this panda belonged to, but it sure was cute.
A large-scale sculpture and clothes on the floor that are all a part of a two-hour-long performance piece by 27-year-old artist Yan Xing.
A freaky sculpture of contemporary artist Ai Weiwei by He Xiangyu. It's made of fiberglass and human hair. Yes, real human hair. Entitled The Death of Marat, the piece was inspired by the Ai Weiwei's tax evasion case.
Closeup of He Xiangyu's Cola Project.
Once upstairs, we were shocked by He Xiangyu's other fiberglass and human hair sculpture titled My Fantasy.
The jarring sculpture is so realistic that it had us checking to see if it was actually breathing. Alas, it was not.
A quad of video installations by Li Ming.
Over at the adjacent room, there were a series of clothing and other miscellaneous objects set up for two men and one woman. The series is titled Buying Everything on You. The artist, Liu Chuang was inspired by people looking for jobs in Shenzhen.
We really liked this amazing and detailed archival inkjet print by Chen Wei.
While most of the artwork in the collection is political in some way, the embroidered artwork by Xu Zhen titled Empire's Way of Thinking was especially so.
The collection will be open daily during AB/MB from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rubell Family Collection and is free and open to the public. Visit rfc.museum.
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