“Forbidden Castle” presents a selection of work by Xu Zhen, one of the most radical and humorous artists working in China today. The exhibition will include installation-sculptures, video-films and photography. The works pre-date the founding of Xu Zhen’s MadeIn Company in 2009, after which he ceased to produce work under his own name.
We will present the last work Xu Zhen produced under his own name, “Untitled”, a house-of-cards made of over 160,000 custom playing cards in the form of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the castle-like former residence of the god¬-king, the Dalai Lama. The Museum Montanelli stands below Prague Castle, the largest castle in the world, and for centuries the seat of the powerful. Its function and location remind us of the Potala Palace and this analogy was the trigger to bring this unique artwork “Untitled” to Prague.
Other important works to be shown include:
1. The video “Rainbow” was first exhibited at the Venice Biennale. Xu Zhen star¬ted out making videos that focused on the body and public space in a manner reminiscent of early Bruce Nauman or Vito Acconci: the video „Rainbow” (1998) shows a man’s exposed back becoming increasingly red, the result of slaps heard on the sound track but never seen.
2. In August 2005, Xu Zhen together with his team climbed the 8848.13 metres high Mount Everest. They succeeded in slicing into the summit and taking it down from the mountain. His video ”8,848-1.86” (2005) documents the expedition to Mount Everest. Here, Xu Zhen removed 1.86 metres of the mountain’s peak and transported it home to be exhi¬bited in a large display cabinet. The video, among other allusions, is a subtle and humorous commentary on China’s nationalism.
3. ”Just Did It“ shows the famous footprint of the first step of Neil Armstrong on the moon reproduced on a grain of sand. Xu Zhen created with this ”great step for mankind“ the smallest artwork in the world.
4. ”18 Days” records a trip that the artist undertook with the aim of breaching the borders of China’s neighbouring countries with remote controlled toy weapons. Xu Zhen bought some remote control weapons, then, on the frontier line between China and its neighbouring countries, he remotely controlled these toy tanks, ships and aircraft so they entered their territories. This documentary work recorded the whole event over 18 days.
Xu Zhen has exhibited at many leading museums and biennales around the world, including Venice Biennale (2001 and 2005), The Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2004), ICP (2004), Yokohama Triennial (2005), Mori Art Museum (Tokyo, 2005), MoMA PS1 (New York, 2006), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam, 2006), Tate Liverpool (2007), Istanbul Biennale (2007), Ikon Gallery (Birmingham, 2009), S.M.A.K (Ghent, 2010), Bern Kunsthalle (2011) and Kiev Biennale (2012).
“Forbidden Castle” is Xu Zhen’s first exhibition in Central Europe.
