Pan He and Pan Fen Exhibition Opening at Leona Craig Art Gallery, Guangzhou
Our exhibition of sculpture by Pan He, the Michelangelo of China, and his son, Pan Fen, opened this past weekend at Leona Craig Art Gallery, in Guangzhou, China. The opening was a fun event, but the continuing exhibition, which lasts until the end of September is a bigger event. As we have noted, elsewhere, it is the first exhibition at a gallery that Pan He has ever agreed to. In his mind, his art is for the people, as in the public art that he creates. In our mind, people should develop a closer relationship with art, which is what our art inn, in the 1990's, was all about. In a gallery setting, people can be up close, in the warmth of nice all-round decoration, and have a chance to really look at and appreciate art on a more personal level.
Indeed, a TV station from Guangzhou asked if they could come to the opening because they were surprised that Pan He would do an exhibition in such a small intimate setting since he and his sculptures are so "big" and are usually only displayed in exhibitions at major museums. They were also surprised that we would want to handle an artist, who, to them, is a "red" artist, to which we answered that even though many of his topics are about China, its leaders, and its ways, there is often a subtext that is not very "red" at all. His sculpture of Mao for Mao's hometown is Young Mao, when he was idealistic and going off to Guangzhou to join the revolution, but he would never do a sculpture of him post-1949 because of what he ultimately became. His Bull of Shenzhen is pulling out dead wood stumps, and Pan points out that the bull is already tiring because there is so much dead wood to pull out. His Helmsman is a stong figure steering the ship, but the true meaning is which way will that ship finally be steered. In fact, while other Chinese artists, today, do obvious political art or speak out against the government, Pan He has his say, but with much more subtlety and elegance, not caring whether other get the joke or not.
We wanted to share pictures from the exhibition with you, here, so that you might share in our fun.
Ayu Chen, Craig Mattoli, Pan He, and Pan Fen
TV Host interviewing Pan He
TV cameraman filming Pan He and Pan Fen sculptures
Pan He and Pan Fen being interviewed for TV
The staff, ready for the opening
Ayu Chen, Pan Fe, and TV host
Playing with sculpture after the guests left
The girls put "do not touch" sign on their friend
Pan He and other artists lounging upstairs the gallery
Well, if you have time, during the next several weeks, stop by the gallery and spend some personal time with the exhibition.
Hope it was some fun for you too. We all had a blast. You can see all of the sculptures that we have in the exhibition on the Pan He and Pan Fen Pages of the Leona Craig Art website.
Indeed, a TV station from Guangzhou asked if they could come to the opening because they were surprised that Pan He would do an exhibition in such a small intimate setting since he and his sculptures are so "big" and are usually only displayed in exhibitions at major museums. They were also surprised that we would want to handle an artist, who, to them, is a "red" artist, to which we answered that even though many of his topics are about China, its leaders, and its ways, there is often a subtext that is not very "red" at all. His sculpture of Mao for Mao's hometown is Young Mao, when he was idealistic and going off to Guangzhou to join the revolution, but he would never do a sculpture of him post-1949 because of what he ultimately became. His Bull of Shenzhen is pulling out dead wood stumps, and Pan points out that the bull is already tiring because there is so much dead wood to pull out. His Helmsman is a stong figure steering the ship, but the true meaning is which way will that ship finally be steered. In fact, while other Chinese artists, today, do obvious political art or speak out against the government, Pan He has his say, but with much more subtlety and elegance, not caring whether other get the joke or not.
We wanted to share pictures from the exhibition with you, here, so that you might share in our fun.
Ayu Chen, Craig Mattoli, Pan He, and Pan FenTV Host interviewing Pan HeTV cameraman filming Pan He and Pan Fen sculpturesPan He and Pan Fen being interviewed for TVThe staff, ready for the openingAyu Chen, Pan Fe, and TV hostPlaying with sculpture after the guests leftThe girls put "do not touch" sign on their friendPan He and other artists lounging upstairs the galleryWell, if you have time, during the next several weeks, stop by the gallery and spend some personal time with the exhibition.
Hope it was some fun for you too. We all had a blast. You can see all of the sculptures that we have in the exhibition on the Pan He and Pan Fen Pages of the Leona Craig Art website.
Posted by Leona Craig Art at 8/16/2011 8:53 AM 
Categories: Art Investment, Art Exhibition, Leona Craig News, Artists and Genres, Sculpture
Tags: sculptor sculpture exhibition art exhibition China Guangzhou art gallery Pan He Pan Fen Michelangelo Chinese art social commentary Mao Zedong Mao Zedong sculpture
Categories: Art Investment, Art Exhibition, Leona Craig News, Artists and Genres, Sculpture
Tags: sculptor sculpture exhibition art exhibition China Guangzhou art gallery Pan He Pan Fen Michelangelo Chinese art social commentary Mao Zedong Mao Zedong sculpture
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