CSR.ART presents from Saturday, 27 July 2024 (opening: 26.07.) the exhibition ‘DIALOG. East meets East. Chinese Contemporary Art and the Leipzig School’ with works by emerging Chinese artists Ma Yuge, Teng Chensong, Wang Ziling, Zhu Ziwei, Xiao Jin and the Chinese artist Xu Hongming in juxtaposition with selected works by Bernhard Heisig, co-founder of the Leipzig School, the painter Gudrun Brüne, one of the few representatives of the Leipzig School, and the German painter Lisa Wölfel. The exhibition is curated by the Berlin-based Chinese curator Dr Huang Mei and the initiators of CSR.ART. The vernissage will take place at CSR.ART on Friday, 26 July 2024 from 6 pm. Music by DE FEO.
Image above: Zhu Ziwei, Nio House
The Central Academy of Fine Arts in China is organised in a similar way to the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts or the Berlin University of the Arts. But in China, young people have to compete even harder to be accepted into this art academy. In July 2023, exactly one year ago, young artists, including Wang Ziling, Zhu Ziwei and Ma Yuge, who graduated from the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, held an exchange exhibition with young German artists under the organisation of KuH e. V. in Düsseldorf, curated by Micha Krisch and Dr Mei Huang. In July 2024, the works of the Chinese artists travelled on to Berlin. In the CSR.ART Contemporary Show Room in Friedrichstraße, the works are now being shown under the title ‘East meets East – Chinese Contemporary Art and the Leipzig School’ in juxtaposition with selected works by Bernhard Heisig, Gudrun Brüne and Lisa Wölfel. The curatorial idea is to initiate a dialogue between young artists and the masters that transcends time and space.
Co-curator Dr Huang Mei is therefore planning a special encounter for the vernissage. More than thirty talented art students from the high school of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, only one of whom is accepted each year out of an average of 400 applicants, have spent the last ten days travelling through Germany, France and the Netherlands. They visited the birthplace of Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt as well as over twenty European art museums such as the Louvre. Along the way, they sketched and expressed their cultural impressions. On the occasion of the opening ceremony, they will be showing their European sketches this evening.
Dr Mei Huang comments: ‘As a curator, I think it is meaningful for young Chinese students to enter into a dialogue with Bernhard Heisig, Gudrun Brüne and Lisa Wölfel and thus understand that the influence on artistic creation and life is not limited to words and works in books or famous art museums, but also consists of a variety of exhibition activities in which they can personally participate. Through this exhibition, the public can also get to know the works of emerging young Chinese artists, discover their creative motivations and enter into dialogue with them.’
About the artists
Bernhard Heisig (1925-2011) is considered one of the most important representatives of art in the GDR and co-founder of the Leipzig School, together with Hans Mayer-Foreyt, Werner Tübke and Wolfgang Mattheuer. Heisig had a decisive influence on the German art landscape. His work spans an impressive range from the post-war period to the 21st century. At the age of 16, Bernhard Heisig attended the School of Arts and Crafts in his native city of Breslau, until one year later – at the age of just 17 – he took part in the Second World War as a war volunteer. In 1945, after two serious wounds, he was discharged as an invalid. Heisig had just turned 20 at the time.
The next stage of Bernhard Heisig’s life took him to East Germany. In 1961, he became professor and rector of the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig. Heisig artistically explored political and personal themes, always bringing his own critical perspective to bear. Bernhard Heisig became particularly well known in what was then West Germany when the former Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt had his portrait painted by the then already renowned GDR painter in 1986 – a statement and a piece of anticipated reunification on canvas.
Heisig’s painting is characterised by an expressive, dynamic style with high-contrast colours and a profound examination of social and political themes. Conflict is a recurring theme in his works. He worked through his traumatic experiences throughout his life in impressive works of art. His later wife, the painter Gudrun Brüne, would say: ‘My husband experienced things during the war that he never spoke about until the end of his life.’ It seems as if the canvas became a silent dialogue partner for Heisig. One year after her husband’s death, Gudrun Brüne captured his memory in a portrait. In it, she also places the shadows that may have haunted him at his side.
Gudrun Brüne (1941), one of the few female representatives of the Leipzig School, used the recurring motif of masks and dolls to create her own visual language with technical perfection and emotionally moving power. Her painting is characterised by a clear, figurative style that revolves around the themes of love, nature, transience, destruction, dependency and manipulation with metaphorical depictions of people, dolls, masks and scenery.
Gudrun Brüne was born in Berlin in 1941 and lost her father at the age of two during a submarine mission in the Second World War. She was evacuated with her mother and sister to a place near Bremen. In 1947, the family moved to Leipzig, where Gudrun Brüne grew up. At the end of the 1950s, she completed an apprenticeship as a bookbinder in Pößneck, Thuringia. From 1961 to 1966, she studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig under Heinz Wagner and Bernhard Heisig, graduating with a diploma. The formative influence of these teachers is reflected in her later work. At the same time, she succeeded in finding her own unmistakable style, which was encouraged by her future husband Bernhard Heisig.
From 1966 to 1977, Gudrun Brüne worked as a freelancer and occasionally in the studio of her future husband Bernhard Heisig. In 1973, she presented her first solo exhibition in Leipzig. From 1974 to 1982, Brüne was a member of the painters/graphic artists section of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR, which further cemented her position in the art scene. From 1977, she took on the role of assistant and taught from 1979 to 1999 as a lecturer in painting and graphics and head of a specialised class at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art.
In 1988, Gudrun Brüne’s paintings were shown at the Venice Biennale and ten years later at Art Cologne. The themes of her works concern timeless questions of human existence. The masks and dolls allegorically represent the great question of the presence (or absence) of the human and humanity in the world.
Ma Yuge was born in 1997 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, and now lives in Beijing. In 2013, she was admitted to the Secondary School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). In 2017, she entered the Academy of Chinese Painting at CAFA and specialised in traditional Chinese realistic figure painting. In 2021, she continued her studies at CAFA’s School of Chinese Painting under the guidance of Professor Xu Hualing.
In 2023, Ma Yuge took part in the ‘On the Move Together’ exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany, and the Wuhan Grand Art Expo. Her work ‘Light outside the Window’ was shown in the 11th Youth Footprints themed creation exhibition of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 2022, she exhibited ‘Look at the Present’ at the third Hebei Youth Art Exhibition.
In 2021, she showed works in several exhibitions, including ‘Not True Lady’ and ‘Floating Prelude’ at Building 23 Artist Community in Caochangdi Art District, Beijing. In 2020, she participated in the Third Beijing Youth Art Biennale at CAFA and a special COVID-19 exhibition at Beijing Chaoyang Joy City. Her earlier works were presented in the exhibition ‘Growing Together with the Motherland’ at the Today Art Museum in Beijing and at the 17th Sino-German Youth Art Festival in Berlin, Germany.
Teng Chensong, born in 2005, was admitted to the Secondary School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2019. In 2023, she was recommended to the Academy of Chinese Painting of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Her exhibition history includes participation in the ‘Teaching Exhibition of the School of Chinese Painting of the Central Academy of Fine Arts’ in 2023, where her linear sketch works were exhibited. In the same year, she participated in the ‘Calligraphy Knot Exhibition’ of the Academy of Chinese Painting and taught a batik course at a school for children of migrant workers in Beijing. She also took part in the New Year activities of the Beijing Shenju Earth Art Museum in 2024. In 2022, she exhibited her works at the ‘Xi’an Artists’ Association Exhibition’ and “The World: Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Art”. In 2021, she participated in the ‘Sketch Exhibition of the High School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the Countryside’ and the ‘Homework Exhibition of the 19th Grade of CAFA High School’.
Wang Ziling, born in 1998, was accepted to the middle school of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2013. Four years later, in 2017, she was admitted to CAFA itself. The following year, 2018, she entered the fourth studio of CAFA’s Oil Painting Department. In 2021, she was accepted into the Master’s programme of the Oil Painting Department at CAFA. Throughout her career, she has participated in numerous exhibitions. In 2023, she participated in the ‘On the Move Together’ exhibition of contemporary art by young artists from China and Germany in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Previously, in 2022, she participated in the ‘Youth New Power’ exhibition at the Shijiazhuang Art Museum and the ‘National Higher Art Institutions’ Attached Middle School Collection Sketch Touring Exhibition’. She also exhibited her works at the 2021 Bachelor Graduates Exhibition at CAFA Art Museum. Early in her career, in 2019, she was part of the ‘Youth Footprints’ National Art School Theme Creation Exhibition at CAFA. With her extensive training and experience, Wang Ziling has developed a strong foundation in oil painting and continues to contribute significantly to the art community through her various exhibitions and projects.
Zhu Ziwei, born in 1997 in Yichang, Hubei, completed her BFA in 2020 and MFA in 2023 in oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. She currently lives in Beijing and is a well-known artist with a diverse exhibition history. In 2023, Zhu had major solo exhibitions at SKP RENDEZ-VOUS GALLERY (SKP-S) and Beijing SKP-S RDV Gallery. She also participated in group exhibitions, including ‘Trio-The Power of Life’ at Awake Gallery in Shenzhen and ‘Fresh Power: Graduate Students’ Exhibition of CAFA’ at CAFA Art Museum in Beijing. Internationally, she was represented at ‘On the Move Together’ in Düsseldorf and the 7th Poly Contemporary Art Exhibition at the Time Museum in Beijing. Her works have been shown at the renowned Himalayas Museum in Shanghai (2021) and at the CAFA Art Museum and West Bund Art Centre in Shanghai (2020). Zhu Ziwe’s participation in the Sino-German Youth Festival in Berlin in 2017 underlines her international presence and growing importance in the art scene.
Xu Hongming, born in 1971 in Hunan, China, began her studies in 1991 at the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. She deepened her knowledge in 1992 with research on ancient wall paintings and sculptures in the Hexi Corridor. Her career is characterised by diverse exhibitions: in 2024, she showed works at ‘Perplexa’ at Astra Art in Shanghai and presented ‘Everything is Nothing but a Floating Cloud’ at the Yuan Art Museum in Beijing and ‘Superimposed Butterfly’ at the Yan Art Museum in 2023. She previously exhibited ‘Non-Cloud Non-Fog Non-QI II’ at the Lan Gallery in Shenzhen. Xu Hongming explores various themes and media in her art, which shows her profound connection to the contemporary and historical art scene. Her exhibitions worldwide emphasise her significant role in the global art landscape, where she continues to set new standards with her innovative spirit and artistic depth.
Xiao Jin was born in 1977 in Hunan, China, and is currently an Associate Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. She earned her B.F.A. in oil painting in 2001, followed by an M.F.A. in 2005 and a D.F.A. in oil painting in 2009, all from the same institution. She has presented her art in major solo exhibitions such as ‘CHU XIU’ at MOUart Gallery in 2023, ‘JING SGUI LIU SHEN’ at GongXin Gallery in 2019 and ‘IN PICTURE’ at FU YAN Gallery in 2018. Internationally, she exhibited ‘XIAO JIN: 430 LIFE’ at Hanart T Z Gallery in Hong Kong in 2008. In 2023, she participated in prominent group exhibitions including ‘THEME PAINTING IN PROGRESS’ at CAFA Art Museum Beijing, ‘NordArt2023’ at Kunstwerk Carlshütte in Germany, ‘The Life of Observation-Contemporary Oil Painting Invitational Exhibition’ at GuanCheng Art Museum Guangdong and ‘On the Move Together’ in Düsseldorf, Germany, highlighting her active role in the global art scene.
Lisa Wölfel is an artist who studied free painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg and was appointed master student of Prof Thomas Hartmann in 2015. Since graduating in 2017, she has lived and worked in Leipzig. She has participated in international exhibitions and fairs, including Hong Kong City Hall, Kunsthalle Schweinfurt, and Art Central Hong Kong. Wölfel has also realised two collaborative exhibitions with the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
Photo Sebastian Bühler, VG Bildkunst Bonn 2024
She has been honoured several times, most recently with the Soroptimist Art Prize of the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region in 2023. Other honours include studio grants from the Liebelt Foundation Hamburg, project grants from the City of Nuremberg and an art prize from the Dresden State Art Collections. Her works can be found in public and private collections worldwide. In 2021 she designed a newsletter for ZEITmagazin, and in 2023 her portrait project in Nuremberg was accompanied by a film documentary.
Co-curator
Dr. Huang Mei studied philosophy at Peking University. In 1989, she went to Germany to study and obtained her doctorate at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, majoring in art education. Since then, she has published several German and Chinese books. She also curates international art exhibitions. As chairwoman of the FIAKE association, she promotes international exchange for the arts and education.
WHEN?
Opening: Friday, 26. July 2024, from 6 pm
Music: DE FEO, from around 7 pm
DE FEO, born 1995 in Naples is an talian Dj, sound designer and visual artist based in Berlin. Experience in soundtracks, events and media communication in Europe, place him among the most talented emerging youngsters on the Italian art scene.
Exhibition dates: Saturday, 27. July to Wednesday, 31. July 2024
open Tue – Sat 11-7 pm
WHERE?
CSR.ART Contemporary Show Room
Friedrichstraße 69
10117 Berlin-Mitte
