PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
Suburbia has always been conceived of as an oppositional realm. Since its first formulation in the mid-19th century, it has been defined
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The story began thirty-some years ago. China opened up to a market economy in the late 70s and early 80s, and the rest of the world flooded in to take
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Xing
Danwen
was born in Xi'an, China.
The artist started her visual art practice with painting medium in
her teens. From 1982-1986, she took a 4 years professional study in
painting at the primary art school affiliated to Xi'an Academy of
Fine Arts. From 1989-1992, she continued painting and did her BFA
at Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
In the late 80s, coincidentally she met photography and was
immediately drawn into this medium. As a self-taught photographer,
she was the one of a few artists in late 80s and 90s in China that
was exploring the bounderies of photography and using photography
as an art form. Through the camera, she observed and challenged the
questions on the Chinese society, humanity, female identity and the
generation that was born 60s.
In 1998, she went to New York with a grant and fellowship from
Asian Cultural Council. From 1998-2001, she did her MFA at School
of Visual Arts in New York with a chairman grant from
SVA.
This New York period challenged and enriched her artistic
experience. In her current art practice she works, besides
photography, also in the field of mixed media, video and
multi-media installations.
Xing Danwen exhibits domestically and internationally, including
Whitney Museum of American Art, Pompidou Center, International
center for Photography, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1st Yokohama
Triennale and Sydney Biennale 2004, etc. Her works are also
collected widely by museums and privates, including Whitney Museum,
Pompidou, ICP,
SF MoMA, FNAC, the Progressive, Groupe Lhoist, etc.
Her artistic practice is both rich and varied and her subjects
include: Dislocation between cultural status, conflicts between
globalization and traditions, problematic environmental issues
created by the developemnt, the urban drama between the desire and
reality. Fiction, truth and illusion often play an important role
in her works.
She currently lives and works in Beijing.
For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art
