In this seminar, the artists Rania Ho and Wang Wei will discuss Arrow Factory, an independently run art space they founded in a former vegetable shop in a Beijing hutong in 2008 with curator Pauline Yao. Arrow Factory provides a space where art can be exhibited as part of the everyday life of urban city dwellers, providing an alternative to commercial, white cube gallery spaces in isolated art districts, commonly found in Beijing. The shop front nature of the space means that exhibitions are on view 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They will be joined by the young Shanghai-based artist, Zhang Ruyi, who uses concrete and other everyday materials to explore how architecture and technology influence social connections.
Presented by the Research Forum in collaboration with Cass Sculpture Foundation.
Wang Wei
Wang Wei was born in Beijing, China in 1972. He graduated from Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing in 1996. Wang Wei’s work has been exhibited in series of important exhibitions including: “Pavilion of China at 12th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (Venice, Italy 2010), Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (Shenzhen, China, 2009) , The Real Thing: Contemporary Art From China (Tate Liverpool, 2007), Foreign Objects ( Kunsthalle Wien Project Space, Vienna 2007), Beyond: The Second Guangzhou Triennial (Guangdong Museum of Art, 2005), A Second Sight: International Biennale of Contemporary Art (National Gallery in Prague, 2005), Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China (International Center of Photography, New York 2004), The First Guangzhou Triennial (Guangdong Museum of Art, 2002).
Rania Ho
Born in San Francisco, California, Rania Ho graduated with a Master’s degree from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. Ho currently lives and works in Beijing. A teacher and former member of the Complete Art Experience Project (CAEP), she has participated in solo and group exhibitions throughout China, Europe and the United States. Previous projects include a 2-month residency with Far East Contemporaries in Yokohama (2009), a 3-month residency at Ssamzie Space in Seoul, Korea (2007), Timestamp: Solo exhibition at Long March Project Space (2006), ISEA2006/Zero One Festival, San Jose (2006), Beyond – The 2nd Guangzhou Triennial (2005), and Playgrounds of Authorship at the University of Rochester, NY (2005). She is also one of the co-founders of Arrow Factory an independently run alternative storefront art space in Beijing.
Zhang Ruyi
Born in Shanghai in 1985, Zhang Ruyi graduated with a Master’s degree from College of Fine Arts, Shanghai University in 2012. Zhang Ruyi currently lives and works in Shanghai. She was awarded the Coroma Foundation Contemporary Art Scholarship (2010), LUO Zhongli Contemporary Art Scholarship (2012), and the Creative M50 Young Artist Award (2012). She has also had solo exhibitions at am Art Space (Shanghai), Muskmelon Man Commune (Shanghai), White Space (Beijing), and J Gallery (Shanghai).