Signal 信号
A contemporary art project by XU ZHEN®
03 February– 02 March 2024
A+ WORKS of ART
d6-G-8, d6 Trade Centre, 801 Jalan Sentul Kuala Lumpur
A+ Works of Art is delighted to collaborate with ShanghART to bring XU ZHEN®’s international contemporary art project, Signal, to Kuala Lumpur.
The project consists of gifting a painting from XU ZHEN®’s Passion series to audiences worldwide, inviting each participant to post and display their paintings on their social media accounts. The resulting online exhibition continues to grow with time as more signals broadcast around the world.
Passion is a series of oil on canvas paintings that formally began in 2021. Derived from mobile device screenshots of social media platforms, the artist captures the energy of online social media interactions through applications of avid brushstrokes and impasto.
XU ZHEN® has worked continuously to build the series, aiming to reach out to hundreds and thousands of people around the world. Since its launch in August 2022, about 3000 of these paintings have been gifted to participants across Asia, with accompanying physical presentations taking place in Jakarta, Singapore, and various sites in China.
In this current iteration, ShanghART and XU ZHEN® is partnering with A+ Works of Art to bring Signal to Malaysia. The physical exhibition adopts from his latest presentation, Signal 2.0, in which social media postings of participants are adapted as backdrops for both large and small pieces from the Passion series. Audiences are invited to immerse themselves in XU ZHEN® ‘s unique impression of the emotions and reactions from our online social media interactions.
Keep a lookout for the hashtag #xuzhensignal to witness the landing of Signal in Malaysia.
XU ZHEN® Signal Malaysia Chapter is presented in conjunction with “That’s Cute”, a group exhibition with works by Angie Fan, Apichaya Wannakit, BUDDHAANDZ, Ella Wijt, MM. Kosum, Unchalee Anantawat, Vu Dieu Huong & Wiyoga Muhardanto.
XU ZHEN®
Passion (11.40kg)
2023
Oil-on-canvas
©️ The artist and ShanghART Gallery
XU ZHEN®
Passion (11.45kg)
2023
Oil-on-canvas
©️ The artist and ShanghART Gallery
Installation view 1, Likes in the Flow, Ab-Ex on the Street, G Museum, Nanjing (2023) ©️ The artist and G Museum
Installation view 2, Likes in the Flow, Ab-Ex on the Street, G Museum, Nanjing (2023)
©️ The artist and G Museum
About the Artist
XU ZHEN®, founded by artist Xu Zhen in 2013, is the flagship art brand of MadeIn Company. Born in 1977, Xu Zhen is a leading Chinese artist and curator, and the founder of MadeIn Company. XU ZHEN® is committed to art creation and cutting-edge culture development. Through collecting and appreciating artworks and events produced by XU ZHEN®, users can enjoy spiritual aspirations and life experiences of the finest quality.
Xu Zhen
Artist, Curator, MadeIn Company Founder
Xu Zhen was born in 1977, and lives and works in Shanghai.
In 2004, Xu Zhen won the prize for ‘Best Artist’ at the China Contemporary Art Award. As the youngest Chinese artist, Xu Zhen participated in the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001. His practice covers various media such as installations, video, painting, and performance, etc.
Xu Zhen has exhibited internationally, at museums and biennales, such as, Venice Biennale (2001, 2005), The Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2004), Mori Art Museum (Tokyo, 2005), MoMA PS1 (New York, 2006), Tate Liverpool (2007), Hayward Gallery (London, 2012), Lyon Biennial (2013), Armory Show (New York, 2014), Long Museum (Shanghai 2015), Al Riwaq Art Center (Qatar, 2016), Sydney Biennial (2016), Guggenheim Museum (New York, 2017), Sharjah Biennial (2019), Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, 2019), National Gallery of Australia (Canberra, 2020), Bangkok Art Biennale (2022), among others.
Aside from being an artist, Xu Zhen is also a curator. He co-curated together with other artists major exhibitions in Shanghai and was one of the initiators of Art-Ba-Ba (www.art-ba-ba.com), a leading online forum for discussion and critique of contemporary art in Shanghai, in 2006. In 2009, Xu Zhen established ‘MadeIn Company’, a contemporary art creation corporate, focused on the production of creativity, and devoted to the research of contemporary culture’s infinite possibilities. In 2013, MadeIn Company launched XU ZHEN® which is committed to art creation and cutting-edge culture development. In 2014, MadeIn Company established MadeIn Gallery and in November 2016 launched the first “Xu Zhen Store” in Shanghai.
About ShanghART
ShanghART Gallery was established in Shanghai in 1996. It has since grown to become one of China’s most influential art institutions and a vital player in the development of contemporary art in China, working with over 60 pioneering and emerging artists, including DING Yi, HAN Mengyun, LI Shan, Arin RUNGJANG, SUN Xun, Melati SURYODARMO, TANG Da Wu, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, XU ZHEN®️, YANG Fudong, ZENG Fanzhi, and ZHAO Renhui Robert.
ShanghART Singapore was established in 2012 as the gallery’s Southeast Asia wing, located in the contemporary art cluster Gillman Barracks. The gallery’s first overseas space serves as a platform to introduce Chinese contemporary art to the region while developing collaborations with Southeast Asian artists and bringing them to the international art scene.
A+ WORKS of ART is located at:
d6-G-8, d6 Trade Centre, 801 Jalan Sentul 51000 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours:
12 pm – 7 pm, Wednesday to Saturday
(Closed on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and public holidays)
* Visit to the gallery is by private appointment only.
Please contact +6018 333 3399 or email info@aplusart.asia
A+ WORKS of ART is a contemporary art gallery based in Kuala Lumpur, with a geographic focus on Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Founded in 2017 by Joshua Lim, the gallery presents a wide range of contemporary practices, from painting to performance, drawing, sculpture, new media art, photography, video and installation. Its exhibitions have showcased diverse themes and approaches, including material experimentation and global conversations on social issues. Collaboration is key to the ethos of A+ Works of Art. Since its opening, the gallery has worked with artists, curators, writers, collectors, galleries and partners from within the region and beyond, and continues to look out for new collaborations. The gallery name is a play on striving for distinction but also on the idea that art is never without context and is always reaching to connect — it is always “plus” something else.
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For more information, please contact:
TQPR Thailand
Tom Van Blarcom or Nuie Titichayapon
Tel: 0 2260 5820 Email: tom@tqpr.com | nuie@tqpr.com