Inviting Readers to Crack the Code ‘The Language of Xu Bing’ Opens at Los Angeles County Museum of A
The Chinese conceptual artist Xu Bing often gets his inspiration from language and the printed word. In the soaring glass atrium of the Morgan Library & Museum three years ago, he created a floating iridescent cloud of Chinese calligraphy made up of about 400 carved and painted acrylic Chinese characters. He has also invented a calligraphy in which English words are written in arrangements that resemble Chinese-style calligraphy, and created ceramic sculptures that incorporate pieces of movable type.
“The Language of Xu Bing,” opening this weekend at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and continuing through July 26, examines his relationship to the written word throughout his 20-year career. His first solo show in Los Angeles, it features a video called “The Character of Characters,” in which he chronicles the importance of language throughout history and its significance in Chinese society in particular. The show also features “Square Word Calligraphy Classroom,” an installation made up of tracing books filled with his made-up calligraphy, which he created to help English speakers understand the art of calligraphy.
Xu Bing’s first solo presentation in Los Angeles explores the artist’s two-decade-long career. One of the most active and influential Chinese artists living today, Xu Bing received his training in the Printmaking Department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. Book from the Sky, an installation of books and scrolls printed with more than 4,000 fake Chinese characters, captivated the burgeoning art community in China in the mid-1980s. Since then, Xu has been investigating the significance and meaning of language.
This exhibition highlights works such as the video The Character of Characters, the artist’s magnum opus and a personal account of the significance of Chinese language and characters through history, culminating with their significance to Chinese society today. The installation Square Word Calligraphy Classroom, composed of tracing books with Xu Bing’s invented calligraphy, was created to help English speakers understand the language and the art of Chinese calligraphy. The work is on view in the Boone Children's Gallery, where visitors are invited to take up a brush and practice his calligraphy.
By: New York Times
