In September 2021, during the process of visiting new exhibitions at galleries and institutions, four members of the Longlati Writers’ Acquisition Committee (Shanghai) noticed two female artists born in the 1990s: Zhang Yibei (born in Daqing, Heilongjiang, in 1992) and Liao Wen (born in Chengdu, Sichuan, in 1994). Focusing on sculpture creation and the development of its language, they each employ conceptual or material-driven visual methodologies in their practices. However, they also incorporate elements of corporeality that exist between performance and action within the expanded field of sculpture, thereby forming an open strategy of media interchange. Based on the selection and resolution by the Longlati Writers’ Collection Committee (Shanghai), the Longlati Foundation gladly announces the acquisition of Zhang Yibei’s work “At the pinnacle of despair” (2021) and Liao Wen’s work “The Garden of Adonis” (2021).
Writers’ Acquisition Committee (Shanghai), Longlati Foundation: Jenny Chen (upper left), Zian Chen (upper right), Suchao Li (lower left), Evonne Jiawei Yuan (lower right)
Zhang Yibei’s solo exhibition titled “A Vase in Everything” held at BANK explores the relationship between containers and space through the act of “drilling holes” and the form of “vases” as a self-proposition. In the artwork “At the Peak of Desperation,” the juxtaposition of metal cans and gun-shaped ready-mades reveals a structural state of alienation under the harmonization of glass antennae.
Yibei Zhang, At the pinnacle of despair, 2021, bronze, glass, oil gun, 407 x 33 x 7 cm / 68 x 74 x 56 cm. Collection of Longlati Foundation. Image courtesy of the artist and BANK/MABSOCIETY, Shanghai
Liao Wen’s solo exhibition “Almost Collapsing Balance” at Capsule Shanghai showcases her bioform sculptures primarily made of silicone and wood. Drawing on myths and religious narratives related to female origins, “The Garden of Adonis” strengthens the presence and absence of the body as a carrier of value, while presenting the silenced voice of the female body within specific contexts as a new form of expression.
Wen Liao, The Garden of Adonis, 2021, limewood, silicone, poly clay, white crystal, agate, myrrh, anemone, 95 x 55 x 144 cm. Collection of Longlati Foundation. Image courtesy of the artist and Capsule Shanghai
