Artist continues to surprise fans

Xu Zhen is one of the few artists to enjoy fame and wealth in his early 20s. He was the youngest Chinese artist to participate in the Venice Biennale in 2001, and four years later, he exhibited his video Shouting in the first Chinese pavilion at the biennale.

But, he found himself losing his curiosity and interest as an independent artist. So he announced his decision to change direction and founded a company, MadeIn, to produce "contemporary art creation".

Xu, now 36, calls the two-story warehouse, located in an industrial zone in Shanghai, the place where he diffuses his art practice and "changes the world".

"It's really boring to live without changing the world," Xu once said about his art engagement. Looking back at the brave claim, the Shanghai native says he still believes he was not exaggerating and has implemented his art idealism into China's contemporary art scene.

Since its birth, MadeIn, which is the short form of "made in China" and "made in Xu Zhen", has showcased its works at Shanghai Art Gallery, Long March Space in Beijing, James Cohan Gallery in New York and the Kunsthalle Bern in Switzerland.

MadeIn's next stop is Beijing's Ullens Center of Contemporary Arts.

"Curiosity is crucial for me. When I started preparing for this exhibition, I was curious to see what it would be like. And surprisingly, I reviewed my past works and MadeIn, and found out that what I have done reflected the changes of the Chinese contemporary art scene. I feel very excited about that discovery," says Xu.

Titled Xu Zhen: A MadeIn Company Production, the exhibition-with more than 50 installations, 10 videos, 40 paintings and several performances-will offer a retrospective, exploring the artist's practice since 1997 and his art extension through MadeIn.

The exhibition will include a number of his landmark works, such as the video Shouting, in which the artist shouts on crowded city streets, only to capture the shock and dismay of hundreds of passersby.

His installation in 2007, Shanghart Supermarket, is a replica of a Shanghai convenience store fully stocked with packaging that have been emptied of their contents, yet sold at the original price.

"Since the early 2000s, Xu Zhen, with his unique combination of skepticism, action, contemplation and involvement, has produced some of the most compelling and self-knowing art contemporary China has ever seen," says UCCA director Philip Tinari, who co-curated the exhibition.

Xu attended Shanghai Arts and Crafts Institute as a teenager. When he graduated in 1996, he decided to move to Beijing, to mingle with a new art circle.

"I couldn't see myself spending my life painting from a model in a school," Xu once said in an interview. Instead of making artworks, he made friends with musicians and poets in school. When he moved back to Shanghai a year later, he worked in design companies to earn a living.

In 1998, he co-founded the independent, nonprofit BizArt Art Center with a young Italian artist Davide Quadrio. It was the first organization of its kind in Shanghai. In 2006, he helped initiate the online contemporary art forum, Art-Ba-Ba, which is one of China's leading Web platforms to discuss and criticize contemporary art.

"Many people tend to compare China's contemporary art scene with that of the West, which gives analyses and conclusions about the problems of China's contemporary art scene. I don't agree. Because of different history and culture, China's contemporary art scene grows in its own way. It does have problems, and it's good to force Chinese artists to think and figure out ways to survive," he says.

Now, as the head of MadeIn, Xu directs about 30 employees working in such areas as research and development, artistic production and archives. He says the identity transition from an independent artist to a commercial company boss is very helpful and inspiring for him.

"When I jumped out of the art system in China, I saw many more possibilities. New directions and ideas keep coming up, which reaffirm my decision to end my career as an independent artist," Xu says.

In 2014, MadeIn will launch a few new projects, including opening a gallery and a museum.

Xu Zhen's landmark works, such as the video Shouting, will be shown in his latest show in Beijing. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily 01/17/2014 page18)