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MEDIA RELEASE |
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| 5 SEPTEMBER 2013 |
| CAI GUO-QIANG PREVIEWS FIRST AUSTRALIAN SOLO EXHIBITION IN SHANGHAI |
SHANGHAI - Leading contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang and the Director of Brisbane’s Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Chris Saines today previewed major new installations that will premiere in the artist’s first Australian solo exhibition.
Mr Saines said QAGOMA was proud to present the Chinese-born artist’s exhibition, ‘Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling Back to Earth’, at GOMA from November 23, 2013 to May 11, 2014.
‘The result of the longstanding relationship between Cai and the Gallery, this exhibition debuts two breathtaking new commissions, Heritage and Eucalyptus, created especially for GOMA,’ Mr Saines said.
‘The exhibition is an unprecedented undertaking for an Australian art museum, and one of the artist’s most ambitious to date. Inspired by recent travels through Queensland with his family, Cai has responded to the natural beauty of our state’s unique environment by creating a poetic and immersive gallery experience.’
Heritage 2013 is an installation of 99 replicas of animals from around the world, including pandas, tigers, bears, giraffes and kangaroos, all drinking together from a lake surrounded by white sand that evokes the islands of Brisbane’s Moreton Bay.
Eucalyptus 2013 features an enormous tree extending along GOMA’s central Long Gallery, inspired by the ancient trees of Lamington National Park in South East Queensland.
One of Cai’s signature works, Head On 2006 – 99 life-size wolf sculptures leaping en masse into the air and colliding with a glass wall – is appearing in Australia for the first time.
Cai Guo-Qiang said his experience of travel in Queensland helped capture his sentiments about how the environment connects with humankind.
‘I am shifting my focus from the universe and cosmos back to earth, although the aesthetic is still the same. It is still surreal and poetic, and I am still interested in the unseen spirituality. I am now thinking more about the earth, our surroundings, and the physical world,’ Mr Cai said.
Cai had previously featured in the Queensland Art Gallery’s flagship Asia Pacific Triennial series of exhibitions in both 1996 (APT2) and in 1999 (APT3). He was one of the first contemporary international artists commissioned by the Gallery to produce work especially for children, as part of the inaugural Kids’ APT in 1999.
‘Falling Back to Earth’ will include an interactive exhibition for children, and Tea Pavilion, a meditative space for Chinese tea ceremonies. The exhibition and new commissions will be fully documented in a major publication, and an illustrated book for children will be published in collaboration with Cai.
The exhibition is presented by Tourism and Events Queensland. Santos GLNG Project is Presenting Sponsor; Audi is Principal Sponsor; and Deutsche Bank is Supporting Sponsor.
‘Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling Back to Earth’ is exclusive to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane, Australia from November 23, 2013 to 11 May 11, 2014. Tickets are on sale now via www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/cai
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PRESENTED BY
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PRESENTING SPONSOR
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PRESENTED BY
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| Cai Guo-Qiang / Heritage (artist’s impression) 2013 / 99 life-sized replicas of various animals, water, sand / Installed dimensions variable / Commissioned for ‘Cai Guo Qiang: Falling Back to Earth’, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane / Courtesy the artist |
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