By Rui Hu, iChongqing
On 18 November 2018, Yuelai Public Art Exhibition themed with signs, symbols, and reality was launched in Yuelai, Chongqing. This is a permanent exhibition for the public for free, it aims to make art live in mountains and rivers and lead public art into life. The artists' forum was held too in Chongqing International Expo Center.
Different from the previous public art exhibitions, the works after the exhibition will be permanently placed in the Chongqing International Expo Center. These works of art living in public spaces will bring fresh vitality to the city. Furthermore, it will lead local citizens to participate to create a new emotional experience and visual cognition of culture and art. These ten public works of art are in harmony with the people, nature, and environment of Yuelai.
These artworks let art integrate into public life, let the art beautify the public space of the city, and let the art flourish on the land of Yuelai.
The opening ceremony of Yuelai Public Art Exhibition
Public Art Exploration in forum
Implanting art genes for Yuelai
Yuelai has a good natural endowment. There are Jialing River in the front, shallow hills in the back, and beautiful scenery. This section of the Jialing River is different from the majestic and turbulent waters of the Yangtze River. There is no smashing water from the Yangtze River. She is gentle, quiet and beautiful. The Liangjiang New Area has positioned Yuelai as a window facing the world, carrying international business, conference, and exhibition, cultural creativity, ecological livability. At the same time, Yuelai is also the first batch of national green ecological demonstration area and the first batch of national sponge city pilot areas and has the necessary conditions for building a future new city.
Yue Minjun’s Chongqing Thinker
an interactive distribution base
In the 17th century, public art was initially proposed by a German sociologist as a new concept of art. It is an art concept derived from the development of contemporary society, emphasizing the expression of the free will of the citizens in public space. “Public Art” is an art topic that is particularly hot in China and worldwide. Art has entered the community and revitalized the countryside. It is also a mode of co-construction that particularly active in recent years. However, so far, Chongqing has not yet formed a large-scale public art plan.
Yuelai, as a gathering place for Chongqing's convention and exhibition center, brings together top talents. It has become the center of an interactive distribution base for people and information.
Consequently, some spaces with cultural attributes and artistic imprints have become an important part of Yuelai’s future plan. As the core construction area of Liangjiang New Area, Yuelai is a window for external display. In terms of artistic form and artistic language, it is necessary to achieve a consensus of artistic aesthetics, as well as international and recognizable works of art. An artistic dialogue with people from all over the world.