Jiang Shuo (Chinese: 蔣朔; pinyin: Jiáng Shuò) (born 1958, Beijing, China) is a Chinese contemporary sculptor.
Biography
Jiang Shuo was born in 1958 in Beijing, China. She studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, now the Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China from 1978–1982, and was one of the few women to do so. She studied under the sculptor Professor Zheng Ke for three years, becoming the first sculptress in China to complete a post-graduate degree.[1] Jiang then became a lecturer at the school from 1986-1989. After winning a scholarship to a university in Austria in 1989, she immigrated with her sculptor husband, Wu Shaoxiang and their three-year old son. They settled in Klagenfurt, Carinthia where they established a joint studio.[2] Since then Jiang has widely exhibited her sculptures around the world, including Austria, Indonesia, Singapore, and Switzerland. Her works are also regularly sold through galleries, and at auctions in Beijing, Hong Kong, and New York. Many of her works are included in major private and museum collections as well.
Sculpture of Red Guards - Going Forward! Making Money! by Jiang Shuo in the ground floor lobby of the Langham Place Hotel in HK.
Early Works
Jiang's earlier works in bronze possess a folk-like quality. These achieved recognition in China before she left for Austria in 1989. Such sculptures hint at blissful childhood memories of innocent children enjoying themselves in sport, playing music, and returning their mothers' warm embrace – which suggest Jiang's strong family values.[3]
Later Works
However, Jiang became famous with her iconic "Red Guard" series begun in 2003. These anonymous, open mouthed warriors who wear the Red Guard uniform, are cast in the ancient lost wax technique. They carry either a red flag or The Little Red Book, and reflect both her personal experience as a young Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution, and her observations from abroad of China's emergence into a capitalistic machine.
In 1993, after her family gained Austrian citizenship, Jiang returned to China and witnessed first-hand the changes that were occurring, and the ironic situation that was taking place; the Red Guards who previously persecuted the "bourgeois" elements of society had now become the successful businessmen or capitalists driving China's burgeoning economy.[3]
As Jiang's work progressed her Red Guard figures, for example, Cloud Rider - Terracotta Red (2008), and Run 2 (2006), began posing alongside material items that replaced The Little Red Book. They now sang karaoke, drank Coca Cola, ate McDonalds, rode atop flashy automobiles – all reflective of the lifestyles of rich businessmen pursuing a life filled with commercial luxury.
Selected Exhibitions and Projects
• Image and Concepts, Jiang Shuo and Wu Shaoxiang exhibition at Songzhuang Museum, Beijing, China, 2007
• Shanghai Art Fair 2007, Shanghai, China, 2007
• Jiang Shuo: Monument of Time, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong, 2007
• ARTSingapore 2007, The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore, 2007
• Art Beijing 2007, Beijing, China, 2007
• China International Gallery Exposition 2007, Beijing, China, 2007
• Chase! Selected Sculpture Exhibition by Jiang Shuo & Wu Shao Xiang, Linda Gallery, Jakarta and Singapore, 2006
• China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE) 2006, Beijing World Trade Centre, 2006
• Individual exhibition, Red Guards Today, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong, 2005
• Individual exhibition, Red Guards, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong, 2004
• Group exhibition, organized by Plum Blossoms Gallery at The International Asian Art Fair, New York City, New York, USA, 2003
• Group exhibition, First International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Austria, Hüttenberg Exhibition Center, Austria, 2002
• Individual exhibition, Sculpting, AAI Gallery, Vienna, Austria Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Schloss Wolfsberg, Wolfsberg, Austria, 2001
• Group exhibition, Hundred Years of Chinese Art, China Guardian Auctions, Beijing, China, 2000
• Group exhibition, Salzburg Art Fair, Salzburg, Austria, 1999
• Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Dida, Graz, Austria, 1999
• Group exhibition, the International Contemporary Art Fair, Palace Degli Affari, Florence, Italy, 1998
• Individual exhibition, City Hall, St. Veit, Austria, 1998
• Individual exhibition, Central Gallery, Graz, Austria, 1997
• Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Dida, Graz, Austria, 1996
• Group exhibition, Gallery Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, 1995
• Group exhibition by the Austrian Art Association, City Gallery, Klagenfurt Austria, 1994
• The Spirit of Times, Gallery Hinteregger, St. Pölten, Austria, 1993
• Individual exhibition, Europe House, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1993
• Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Culture House, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1992
• Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Nemenz, Judenberg, Austria, 1992
• Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Akzent K, Stuttgart, Germany, 1991
• Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Raiffeisen Bank, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1991
• International Art Exhibition, Stadtgarten Gallery, Norden, Germany, 1990
• Group Exhibition, the International Art Centre, Velden, Austria, 1990
• China National Exhibition of Fine Arts, China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1988
• Today's Fine Arts in China, Toronto Exhibition Hall, Canada, 1987
• Photo Exhibition of Prize-Winning Sculptures, China National Museum of fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1986
• Individual exhibition, Central Academy of Arts & Design, Beijing, China, 1985
• First National Urban Sculpture Exhibition, China National Museum of fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1984
• The Central Academy of Arts & Design Exhibition, China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1982
Selected Commissions and Collections
• Lion Rider, Art Museum Hong Kong, 2006
• Red Guards, Art Museum Hong Kong, 2005
• Red Guards- Going Forward! Making Money!, Langham Place Hotel, Hong Kong, 2004
• Christ, St. Margareten City, Austria, 2000
• Ancient Vase, Hong Kong New World Development, Hong Kong, 1996
• Enjoyable Life, County Attendant Centre, Moosburg, Austria, 1996
• Sculpture for Kärtner Landesversicherung, Austria, 1995
• Designed trophies for Evolution Club, Ferlach, Austria, 1993
• Hand (Fountain), Köck Villa, Velden, Austria, 1992
• Designed trophies for Advertising Award, 1991
• Designed trophies for The Chinese Film Festival, Beijing, China, 1989
• Fisherman, Mi Yun Power Supply Bureau, Beijing, China, 1989
• Designed trophies for the Ten Best Enterprises of China, 1988
• Summer, regarded as one of the best sculptures in China
Spirit of the Drunken City, 10 meters high, Qioatou Square, Luzhou, china, 1987
• Designed trophies for the best film of Culture Ministry of China, 1984
• Summer, Binghe Garden, Beijing China
The Sea of Knowledge, The Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China, 1984
• Designed trophies for the best film of Culture Ministry of China, 1983
• Designed trophies for the best film of Culture Ministry of China, 1982
References
1. ^ Seno, Alexandra A. "Imagining Red Guards in China Today" International Herald Tribune
2. ^ "Jiang Shuo" Linda Gallery
3. ^ a b Markbreiter, Robin: ["Red Guards - Sculptures by Jiang Shuo"] Arts of Asia
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