1、 Explanation of the theme of the series of activities

The Chinese New Art Movement has been going on for over 30 years now. Over the course of more than 30 years, with the transformation of the political, economic, and cultural environment on which art relies for survival, the concepts and forms of art have also undergone changes. From a historical perspective, these 30 years precisely reflect the process of the self-discipline of contemporary Chinese art and the continuous competition of various factors beyond art. This special era has given birth to extraordinary contemporary Chinese art. Some people say that the era of contemporary art creating myths has passed, implying that art should return to its true order. However, 30 years of crowded ideological trends and noisy concepts are enveloped by various artistic events, just like Kiecher's "Mirror House". Only with a direct blow to oneself can one break the illusion and return to the real world. The post-70s and post-80s generations are the generation of artists who grew up in this "mirror house", and their artistic creations are a turning point for the return of contemporary Chinese art from the "big era" to the "small era". From the perspective of contemporary art scene, this generation of artists has increasingly occupied the main body of creation, but their creative concepts and forms are more diverse, and there is currently no comprehensive and in-depth sorting. This presents a new proposition for both artists and artistic creation, as well as for art exhibitions and criticism. In view of this, we have decided to plan and organize an exhibition titled "On the Road - Nomination Exhibition for Works of Chinese Young Artists", and invite young critics with the same historical context to participate in the exhibition planning, using historical research and artistic criticism to drive the exhibition. At the same time, we will focus on presenting the academic focus and achievements of critics of the same age group and hold the "China Youth Critics Forum".

The concepts of "post-70s" and "post-80s" first appeared in the poetry industry and have since sparked widespread debate throughout the literary world. They have given extensive attention to the pioneering role of the "post-70s" and "post-80s" writing groups and their fleeting cultural motivations, as well as how "intergenerational logic" emerged and dissipated. Although there was no similar phenomenon of the "post-70s" and "post-80s" groups in the art industry during the same period, the transitional differences between the "post-70s" and "post-80s" creative groups and their predecessors in terms of survival status, knowledge structure, academic background, and creative status are self-evident. A new art ecology that reflects their attitude towards life, aesthetic concepts, and academic direction has quietly formed. Of course, the novelty of the new art ecosystem cannot be denied for its continuation and continuation of tradition, especially the academic context and rules formed since 1985. So, what kind of concept, form, and ecology does the new art ecology present? Where is the new manifestation of new art? What is the turning point of its significance in the development of contemporary art? This is the topic that we intend to focus on and discuss in our series of academic activities. It should be noted that the presentation of art is certainly related to an era, and artists in the same period must have certain similarities in cultural attention and work presentation. However, artistic creation, especially in the contemporary context, is more about the individual's inner self and endowment. Therefore, it is difficult and impossible for us to make a unified value judgment for a generation with a concept first holistic thinking. Instead, we must connect individuals with node significance through the chain of history to achieve a sensory and objective presentation.                                                                                                           

2、 Reasons for the series of activities

Although Guanshanyue Art Museum is an art museum named after a famous artist, it is not equivalent to a general memorial museum for famous artists. Instead, it is positioned as a comprehensive national modern art museum and has formed its own characteristics in 20th century Chinese art research and contemporary design art research. In 2011, it was rated as one of the first national key art museums by the Ministry of Culture. Since its establishment, the Guan Shan Yue Art Museum has always attached great importance to the attention and organization of contemporary art phenomena. Especially as a national key art museum, it should effectively deepen its research and exhibition work into the field of contemporary art, practice its social and cultural responsibilities, and promote the healthy development of Chinese contemporary art. In view of this, we have proposed such a permanent academic topic since 2013 and strive to make it another important academic direction after 20th century Chinese art research and contemporary design art research.

The initial activity plan for "On the Road" was based on media as the main sub item, with oil painting, ink painting, printmaking, and new media organized annually. In the fifth year, a comprehensive literature exhibition was held to present and discuss the academic issues reflected in these four years of activities. Starting from the perspective of media is not about emphasizing the media itself, but rather considering that a large proportion of art creation in China still relies on a single medium as a means of expression, and there is also a certain time difference in the pace of contemporary development in various media fields, resulting in different problems presented, such as the contemporary demands of printmaking represented by cross-border, the cultural symbolism of ink and wash surpassing media and language, the virtual and interactive characteristics of the digital era of new media, and so on. Therefore, starting from the rationality of literature review, although this series of activities focuses on media as the core classification method, it emphasizes not the boundaries of media, but the aesthetic personality of the artistic means used by artists as aesthetic elements, as well as the degree of mastery and application of the artistic means used and the cultural significance behind them in theory, whether their media methods have driving significance for their ontology, and there are no further limitations on the presentation methods.

We have focused on the "post-70s" and "post-80s", which are relatively broad and dynamic concepts. The reason for this positioning is partly because the previous creative group has basically formed a relatively clear historical positioning, and the academic community has conducted in-depth and comprehensive research on it. On the one hand, it is because the creative group of the post-70s generation is currently in its heyday, and the artistic language and style of the post-80s generation are also taking shape. Therefore, we will examine these two groups together. In order to provide more sensory literature and topics for historical research at this stage, and to preserve a reproducible and continuous text for the study of contemporary art history through corresponding collection work. Contemporary art criticism is an important component of deepening creation and exhibition. Therefore, we plan such a permanent series of academic activities to complete the writing of contemporary Chinese art history from multiple perspectives through continuous historical review, art criticism, and emotional exhibitions, while also allowing young critics to independently fulfill their academic responsibilities.

The development of contemporary technology has given more emotional forms to the writing of history, and exhibitions are a concentrated and collective way of writing. To maintain an objective and comprehensive examination of contemporary Chinese art, which is both dynamic and complex, individual energy is limited. Based on this view, we attempt to adopt a combination of recommendation nomination, overall presentation of literature publication, and partial presentation of sampling exhibitions in our operational approach. The editorial and publishing work of recommended nominations and literature collections is generally based on a historical review of the contemporary art creation ecology and appearance, with the aim of retaining relatively objective and comprehensive literature. Exhibitions and forums tend to form a problem awareness and critical attitude based on organization and observation, emphasizing the experimental nature of the work and the possibility of knowledge production and transformation in the exhibition and forum itself. The curation team selects some artists to participate in the annual exhibition based on different academic themes each year. The selection of participating artists is not based on the principle of "selecting the best", but can form a prompt, reflection, and interpretation of contemporary art creation, exhibition, theory, and other aspects together with the curator's curatorial philosophy. We hope that this series of academic activities can showcase the wisdom of young critics, objectively convey the voice of this group's thoughts, and through everyone's joint efforts, play a role in recording and creating history in the development of contemporary Chinese art.

Since the beginning of the new century, comprehensive biennials and art fairs have become the forefront of academic thinking and artistic standards representing the development of contemporary art. However, it is precisely this comprehensive exhibition form that forces viewers to rigidly transition from one vocabulary to another, from one theme to another, in a bizarre and varied way of presentation. This fast food style reading style makes visiting exhibitions a task rather than an enjoyment, and passive information accumulation and keeping up with the mandatory pace of the times make art lose its essential meaning in life. In view of this, we have decided to return to the essence of art and approach exhibition planning from a contemporary academic perspective of a single medium. This not only facilitates the development of targeted literature review standards for different art fields, but also facilitates the in-depth research work in a relatively clear context.

3、 Academic objectives of the series of activities

The academic objectives of this series of academic activities will be carried out from three aspects. Firstly, through forms such as questionnaire surveys, visits to artist studios, exhibitions, forums, and literature collection publications, literature retention and research will be conducted from multiple perspectives on the creative groups of the "70s" and "80s" and the new art ecology they represent; Secondly, provide historical positioning analysis to young artists who have entered our research field through nomination reasons; Thirdly, through exhibitions and forum activities, conduct more in-depth research and exploration on contemporary art creation and theoretical issues presented during the research process, and organize them in the form of academic collections. Fourthly, at the specific organizational planning level of the series of activities, such as nomination, exhibition presentation, publicity, and public education, digital content should be added. Through the digital presentation and interpretation of special web pages and exhibitions, and the establishment of online platforms such as literature databases for critics and artists, innovative ideas for the entire event planning should be practiced.

4、 Activities and organization

Event Name: On the Road · 2014: Nomination Exhibition for Chinese Young Artists and Youth Critics Forum

Event positioning: Academic nomination series activities

Organizer: Shenzhen Guanshan Yue Art Museum

Special Fund for the Development of Propaganda and Culture in Shenzhen

Media partners:

"Art Observation", "Art Magazine", "Contemporary Artists", "Contemporary Art", "Art and Wealth", "Art Market", "Basha Art", "Art Finance", "Collection Auction", "Hi Art", "Art Tree", "Art Map", "Art Era", "Chinese Painters", "Contemporary Chinese Painting", "Chinese Art", "Art World", "Beauty Garden", "Collection Investment Guide", "Art Commerce"

Yachang Art Network, 99 Art Network, Art International, Art China, Phoenix Art, Phoenix Network, Sina Network, Central Academy of Fine Arts Art News Network, Rong Art Network, 318 Art Network, Art Record, Shenzhen News Network, Shenzhen Culture Network, and Meixun Online

China Culture Daily, Literature and Art Daily, China Art Daily, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, New Beijing News, Beijing Youth Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China News Agency, Art Daily, Beijing Morning News, Beijing Business Daily, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Daily, Shenzhen Business Daily, Southern Metropolis Daily, Crystal News, Shenzhen Evening News, Shenzhen Daily

Huayu TV · Art Era, Shenzhen TV Finance Channel

Thanks: Da Dao Rongyuan Art Fund

Event Venue: (First Exhibition) Shenzhen Guanshan Yue Art Museum, (Tour: Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing)

Event time: December 27th, 2014 to January 20th, 2015

Opening time: Afternoon of December 27, 2014

Forum time: December 28, 2014 (all day)

Event organization structure:

Producer: Chen Xiangbo, Director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum

Academic Advisor:

Sun Zhenhua, Director of Shenzhen Public Art Center

Lu Hong, a critic

Nominated experts: (in order of surname strokes)

Wang Tiande, Wang Dongdong, Fu Xiaodong, Feng Bin, Zhu Xiaojun, Liu Libin, Liu Qinghe, Sun Zhenhua, Zhang Zikang, Zhang Yu, Wu Hongliang, He Guiyan, Zhang Xinying, Yang Wei, Chen Jun, Chen Xiangbo, Lu Rongzhi, Zhou Yi, Yu Ke, Hu Bin, Gao Ling, Xu Lei, Gao Peng, Sheng Wei, Lu Hong, Jin Weihong, Ji Shaofeng

Curatorial team:

Convener: Yan Weixin

Curator: (in order of surname strokes)

Zhu Xiaojun, Editor in Chief of "Art and Wealth" and Executive Director of Dadao Art Fund

Wu Hongliang, Director of the Art Museum of Beijing Academy of Painting

Zhang Xinying, Director of the Academic Department of Guanshanyue Art Museum

Sheng Wei, Deputy Editor in Chief of "Fine Arts"

Curator assistant: Song Pei, Peng Baoyu, Wu Shini

5、 On the Road · 2014: Nomination Exhibition for Chinese Young Artists' Works (Ink Painting) (Shenzhen)

Exhibition period: December 27, 2014- January 20, 2015

Exhibition Hall: There are a total of 6 exhibition halls on the 1st/3rd floor of the Guanshan Yue Art Museum

Exhibition Content: Over 110 contemporary ink and wash works (including on and off shelves) per set

6、 On the Road · 2014: China Youth Critics Forum

Forum Theme: The History, Scene, and Writing of Contemporary Ink Painting

Forum time: December 28, 2014 (all day)

Forum location: Academic Lecture Hall of Guanshan Yue Art Museum

Attendees: 1. Forum keynote speakers

2. Local Youth Critics in Shenzhen

3. Exhibiting Young Artists

4. Local artists in Shenzhen

Forum content: Comprehensive development based on project progress and paper submission status

Participation requirements: Submit formal academic papers (by the end of November 2014)

Expected outcome: Seminar review/published paper collection

9、 Event publications

Title 1: "On the Road · 2014: Literature Collection of Nominated Works by Chinese Young Artists"

Publishing House: Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House

Title 2: "On the Road · 2014: Collected Works of the Chinese Youth Critics Forum"

Publishing House: Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House

                                     The Organizing Committee for the "On the Road" Series of Academic Activities