Aranya is pleased to present the inaugural Aranya Plein Air Art Project (APA), which includes works by 21 Chinese and international contemporary artists who dialogue with nature in the valley of Aranya · Jin Shan Ling. APA 2023 features new commissions by 9 participating artists, and is open to the public from July 7 through October 29, 2023.
Literally translated from French as "full of air," "plein air" is a poetic expression of the concept of the "outdoors." The artistic technique of working "en plein air" was popularized in the 19th century, and practitioners advocated painting outdoors and leaving the world of the indoor studio behind. As a technique, it enabled pioneering developments in the French schools of Naturalism and Impressionism, revolutionizing centuries of painting traditions and celebrating the artist's practice of working with and in nature. Nature has become an important motif for generations of artists and continues to serve as a muse, object of inquiry, and even collaborative partner for many contemporary artists.
From depicting nature, to capturing nature's luminosity and darkness, to using nature directly as a material, artists have since pushed the limits of media and continue to expand art's boundaries and possibilities. Aranya·Jin Shan Ling is located at the foot of the Great Wall, which symbolizes a constantly evolving boundary that shifts with the progress of history. In their respective practices, the participating artists in the exhibition strive to blur, break, and challenge the inherent boundaries between nature and technology, tradition and modernity, as well as time and space. In addition to sculpture and installation, a diverse range of artistic forms will also be presented, including painting, sound, performance, and text-based art, enriching the public's perception and experience of art in the outdoors.
In recent years, Aranya·Jin Shan Ling has cultivated three hiking trails that still preserve a pristine natural landscape. The works on display along the trails barely intervene the nature, allowing the viewers to not only experience the art project, but also to explore and discover the mountains and the land where Aranya·Jin Shan Ling resides.
The inaugural Aranya Plein Air Art Project is organized by Damien Zhang, Artistic Director, with Liangjiao Gao, Ruoyu Jiang, Jiaming Wang, and Yiyang Wu from the Exhibition Department of Aranya Art Center.
Commissioned Artist*
Katinka Bock
Alina Chaiderov
Chen Ruofan*
Chen Xiaoyi*
Isabelle Cornaro
Tony Cragg
Ding Yi*
Sylvie Fleury
Tom Friedman
Christine Sun Kim*
Liang Shuo*
Richard Long
Robert Mapplethorpe
Nabuqi*
Prinz Gholam*
Charles Ray
Su Chang*
Vivian Suter
Michelle Wang Yiyi*
Haegue Yang
David Zink Yi
Ding Yi
Three Flags
2023
Flag, air blower
Dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Chen Ruofan
Botanical Bank: 54 Objects Transplanted
2023
Stainless steel, LED, video
400 × 400 × 400 cm
55:92 min.
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Tom Friedman
Hazmat Love
2017
Stainless steel
150.5 × 118.1 × 107.3 cm
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of the artist, Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong,
Seoul, London and aranya plein air art project
Richard Long
Four Ways
2014
Delabole Slate from Cornwall
490 × 498 × 58 cm
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
© Richard Long
Courtesy of Lisson Gallery and aranya plein air art project
David Zink Yi
Washingtonia
2017
Stainless steel
520 × 100 × 100 cm each
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of the artist, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin / Seoul
and aranya plein air art project
Haegue Yang
Migratory DMZ Birds on Asymmetric Lens -
Duiitt Duiitt Vessel (Gray-Backed Thrush)
2020
Soapstone, 3D printed resin
158 × 89 × 147 cm
Installation view, aranya plein art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris
and aranya plein air art project
Charles Ray
School Play
2014
Painted fiberglass
193 × 58 × 39 cm
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
© Charles Ray
Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery and aranya plein air art project
Robert Mapplethorpe
Self Portrait
1981
Silver gelatin print
58.5 × 61 × 3.2 cm (framed)
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
© Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London · Paris · Salzburg · Seoul
Prinz Gholam
Stone Faces (Jin Shan Ling)
2023
Stone
Dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Liang Shuo
Little House
2023
Mosaic tiles
Dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Alina Chaiderov
Phoenix
2023
Stainless steel, cable protection tube
512 × 300 × 100 cm
Produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Vivian Suter
Untitled
Undated
Mixed media on canvas
Dimensions variable
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of the artist, Gladstone Gallery
and aranya plein air art project
Christine Sun Kim
A Permanent Tourist In A Foreign Language
2023
Inkjet printing on stainless-steel sign post
225 × 150 cm × 7 parts
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Nabuqi
We
2023
3D printing resin, paint
235 × 146 × 75 cm
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Sylvie Fleury
Giant Mushroom
2008
Fiberglass, metallic car paint
260 × 250 × 250 cm
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of the artist, Almine Rech
and aranya plein air art project
Isabelle Cornaro
Untitled (column #2 & column #3)
2014
Steel structure with black resin castings
66 × 274 × 66 cm each
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Tony Cragg
Accurate Figure
2011
Carrara Marble
206 × 83 × 91 cm
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Su Chang
Intersect
2023
Plaster, aluminate, hemp and other mixed materials
Dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Chen Xiaoyi
Invisible Liquid
2023
UV print on aluminum plate
Dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Michelle Wang Yiyi
Red Berries
2023
Hawthorn berry, aluminum wire
Dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by aranya plein air art project 2023
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Zaiye Studio
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
Katinka Bock
Parasite Fountain
2019
Bronze, transparent PVC tube, water pump
Fish: 85 cm
Column: 300 × 30 cm
Installation view, aranya plein air art project
July 7th to October 29th, 2023
Photography Sun Shi
Courtesy of aranya plein air art project
NYT Life and Arts
Art Ba Ba
T Magazine China
OUI ART
Wallpaper
Let's Talk: How Does Aranya Envision Contemporary Art?Southern People Weekly
V ART CLUB | Still Frames of the Memory in JingshanlingWe Draw, We Drink, We Play RocksIgniting a Beam of Light in the Dark with Robert Mapplethorpearanya plein air art project | Looking Back at Oneself in the Deep ForestIn the Mountains of the North, There is China's Youngest Land Art FestivalInterview with Damien Zhang: The Art Festival at the Foot of the Great Wall - Achieving the Power of Art and the Future of the Mountains150 Days, the Birth of an Art Festival | aranya plein air art projectaranya plein air art project | Inquiring Truth and Meaning in NatureWhen Artists "Run Away" from the Studio | aranya plein air art projectHi Art
V Magazine China
