Chinese sculpture(2)
Zeng added that using di. erent materials is an important aspect of innovation, compared with the use of traditional materials of bronze and clay.
"Different materials can add new dimension to sculptures and it is also a change in today's sculpture scene," he said.
Xiu Zhipeng's Warm Hut has drawn large crowds since the show opened Sunday. The use of new materials features highly in the artist's interpretation of his idea.
Despite its title, Xiu's piece is not an image of a hut, but a roughly folded thin cotton quilt made out of marble.
In stark contrast to itsname, the piece of cotton quilt sends a message of coldness and rigidity, evoking thoughts of a migrant worker's living conditions.
The quality of the marble sends a chillingly cold sensory experience, Xiu explained. "It's white, like many cotton quilts we use, however, it's not soft and warm as it should be because it's marble."
"A thin cotton quilt couldn't bring warmth for migrant workers and the work sheds they live in are also not warm," he added, saying that through the obvious visual contrasts he is trying to draw attention to the plight of migrant workers in winter.
Xiu explained that he tried many materials to evoke the feeling of cold when working on the piece, with marble being the best.
"Stainless steel was the fi rst media I thought about, but its color didn't make it look like a cotton quilt, so I gave up," he said.
"A cotton quilt is supposed to bring warmth, with the use of marble playing the crucial role in illustrating the artistic idea," commented curator Xia Yun, saying that the sculpture was created based on the artist's close attention to social reality, which is an encouraging new trend in Chinese sculpture.
"What has the fast-developing economy brought us in the past decades?" Xiu asked. "While praising its positive impacts we should never forget the large group of people who made great contributions but still live in bad conditions."
New Language Sculptures is scheduled to be held until the end of February.
