RMB CITY
Cao Fei
A Space Main Gallery
November 5 – December 11, 2010
Curated by: Heather Keung, Siya Chen
Copresented by: Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Residency in RMB City presented by Gendai Gallery. Artist Talk Dec 9th, 6:30pm (at A Space Gallery).
A Space Gallery and The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival are thrilled to present Cao Fei’s first solo exhibition in Canada from November 5- December 11, 2010. In the Chinese virtual utopia RMB City, you can dine on roast duck at a night market, indulge in a luxurious foot massage with Karl Marx, apply for a job with the Monkey King, take choreographed tai chi dance lessons, meditate on a flying carpet…all the while discussing universal theory as it applies to life, both real and virtual. RMB City was developed, via the freeware Second Life, by Guangzhou artist Cao Fei (SL: China Tracy) as a conceptual space and experimental platform for her and her collaborators to embark on explorations in art, design, architecture, literature, cinema, politics, economy, society, and beyond. A microcosm that reflects on contemporary China, it is home to multi-faceted conceptual artworks by international artists.
Residency in RMB City presented by Gendai Gallery.
Artist Talk Dec 9th, 6:30pm (at A Space Gallery)
Toronto artists create projects in reaction to RMB City structure and life. Technical support by the Hybrid media lab at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Artist talks by Adrian Blackwell, Yam Lau, and collective, Gesturecloud: Judith Doyle, Fei Jun, Jim Ruxton (with Ken Leung and Ian Murray).
Biographies
Cao Fei, who was born in Guangzhou in 1978, currently lives and works in Beijing. Acclaimed for her multimedia installations and videos, she is acknowledged as one of the key young artists emerging from Mainland China. By weaving social commentary, popular aesthetics, Surrealism and documentary conventions into her films and installations, she offers her perspective on the rapid and chaotic changes in all facets of Chinese society. Her work has been exhibited in art venues around the world, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin and the Venice Biennale.
Vitamin Creative Space, a leading contemporary-art venue in Guangzhou, aims to raise local and international awareness of new Chinese artistic practices. Its goal is to challenge conventional ways of presenting and exhibiting contemporary art. It has a strong focus on alternative working modes in contemporary art practice and theory. RMB City was developed by Cao Fei and Vitamin Creative Space.
Heather Keung is a Chinese-born Canadian who graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her artistic practice includes video, installation, and performance. She has been an active contributor to the arts community in Toronto for 10 years and is currently the Artistic Director at Reel Asian.
Siya Chen is a Chinese born, Toronto-based artist and curator. Her practices focus on contemplating the tensions between the possessed and the perceived identities of the individual in society.