Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/272257
Step down into the basement of RH Contemporary Art in New York's Chelsea and the womb-like basement pulses with red light. The entire space has been commandeered by a single work, V, by Li Hui. Made, quite literally, of smoke and mirrors, dozens of red lasers ricochet around the room—the entire contraption resembles a spaceship idling menacingly on the floor and ready to launch at any moment. A few floors above, Yang Yongliang's monochrome lightbox has its own alien element: a spaceship that wittily appears at intervals to disarm the viewer, rapt by the landscape it depicts, fusing timeless Asian countryside scenery with elements of modernization now so pervasive, whether billboards, cars or construction sites. These are just two of the pieces featured in the enormous 12-person group show, "Outside the Lines," at RH Contempo- rary's 28,000-square-foot space in New York. The show is a refreshing assessment of the current state of Chinese art. China's contemporary scene was clearly in need of a creative reboot, after the first wave of works grew stale, often mired in political Pop art and relying too readily on hackneyed post- Communist tropes. Vice president of RH Contemporary Art Holly Baxter notes that the new wave of talent in her current show doesn't riff con- stantly on the Cultural Revolution. Rather, she says, emerging artists now straddle life between China and the West, process- ing and incorporating global influences. Take the specially com- missioned wall of soap sculptures by Ni Youyu: each is deliberately damaged and weathered. The artist was inspired by Greek antiquities he spotted in European museums. "In China, you wouldn't see broken antiquities on display like that," Baxter explains. Despite such global perspectives, all but three of the artists in the show live and work in one place: Beijing, which has decisively emerged as the creative hub of modern China, largely thanks to economics. Unlike the glitzy, pricey metropolis of Shanghai, students can move there straight after art school and find affordable, sizeable studio space. "Beijing is a little bit tougher, rougher and it feels more real to the artists—at a studio visit, you might be stepping over chickens," Baxter says. Her Chinese show underscores one of the central tenets of RH Contemporary. When it opened late last year, its mission was simple: expose lesser-known global talents to an American audience. To achieve that, the gallery relies on an army of 15 curators and consultants across the world tasked with un- earthing exciting new work to introduce States-side. RH Contemporary (whose corporate parent is retailer Restoration Hardware) also includes an artist-in-residence program, which brings talent from overseas to live and work in an apartment in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood. For "Outside the Lines," Baxter tapped Yan Bing: he developed a site-specific installation that repurposed his familiar cowhide patterns from paintings onto sculpture, in this case an artful pile of handmade bricks. Yan wasn't alone, though: Gao Weigang, another artist in the show, stayed there for the opening in late January. "They were all very excited because it was the Chinese New Year," recalls Baxter, "and they said it would bring the show good luck." Despite such global perspectives, all but three of the artists in the show live and work in one place: Beijing, which has decisively emerged as the creative hub of modern China, largely thanks to economics. Clockwise from right: Li Hui's V, 2009; artist Gao Weigang; Yan Bing's Cow Herd, 2014; works by Weigang 112 CULTURED