The Writings of Today are a Promise for Tomorrow

Zheng Guogu is one of the trendsetters of contemporary Chinese art and an internationally acclaimed artist. Even though a central figure of the Chinese art scene, he lives in his hometown, the remote Southern Chinese city of Yangjiang in Canton Province. There he cooperates with local artists and amateurs. One such cooperation is known as the Yangjiang Group. Zheng Guogu and Yangjiang Group (Zheng Guogu, Sun Qingling and Chen Zaiyan) made their international renown with their original installations, performances and events that are as much inspired by traditional Chinese culture and local folk traditions as by contemporary social practices and tendencies, by mass media and video games.
To give a short account, Zheng Guogu and Yangjiang Group were present with their large scale installations and performances at the Venice Biennial 2003, the documenta XII 2007, the Lyon Biennial 2009, or again the Auckland Triennial 2013. One focus of their work is the practice of calligraphy.
At Palazzo Morosini Zheng Guogu and Yangjiang Group will show three different bodies of works:
In the main exhibition space "Das Kapital Football". In addition the group shows "God is dead, the Euro dropped to the level of the Dollar, but the Renminbi is still very much alive." This installation is part of the so-called "After Dim Sum Calligraphy" events of Yangjiang Group and consists of large-scale calligraphies written on spot after a collective dinner. "Last Day. Shop of Frozen Entities" is displayed in a second room. For this piece the artists bought an actual bankrupt shoe shop, covering and thus sealing all the items of the shop with wax.
A set of 11 printed flags, part of the series "The Brain Nerves", will be installed in the staircase and outside the Palazzo. These flags show diagrams of brain activities of historical ( Francesco Morosini, Marco Polo, Karl Marx) and modern personalities such as (Gina Lolobridgida or Pier Paolo Pasolini).
Finally, in a third room two videos by Zheng Guogu "My Teacher" (1993), "Planting Geese" (1994) and Minds Without Attachment (2015) are on display.
All the works reflect wittily upon the aspects of commodification and capital as determining factors in contemporary Chinese society. Redundancy and stagnation are juxtaposed with the aspects of energy and energy flow. The artists propose the free flow of energy - and not the flow of capital - as an alternative base for contemporary society. Calligraphy here is not only understood as an artistic practice but also, and more importantly, as a social and political one.
Videos courtesy of DSL Collection, one of the most experimental collections of Chinese contemporary art.
This exhibition is commissioned by ASIA NOW , a curatorial platform promoting the Asian contemporary scene and artistic conversations between East and West, selecting cutting edge projects with the help of renowned curators, gallerists, critiques and collectors.
ASIA NOW’s next project shall consist of a curated selection of 30 galleries showcasing a new generation of Asian artists during the Paris contemporary art week in October.
Supported by Generali as our lead partner, along with Ruinart, Cire Trudon and the support of DSL Collection. 

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