Feng Boyi (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: 馮博一; born 1960) is an independent art curator and critic in China. His work focusses primarily on contemporary
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or draws on Chinese ...
, working with museums and displaying art collections. He has worked several times with artist
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...
, publishing his journals illegally or working with him in exhibitions and has organized many controversial art exhibitions in China. He has been assistant editor of the
China Artists' Association newsletter ''Artist's Communication'' since 1988. He has also edited and published numerous catalogues and papers on art and established the Artists' Alliance, a major online forum for contemporary art in China.
Feng Boyi has been known to be an instigator to the up-and-coming contemporary art movement in Beijing, starting with publishing articles and journals from artists Ai Weiwei and
Xu Bing
Xu Bing (; born 1955) is a Chinese artist who served as vice-president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is known for his printmaking skills and installation art, as well as his creative artistic use of language, words, and text and how t ...
.
Early life
Feng Boyi was born in 1960 in Beijing, China, where he is still living today. During 1980 to 1984, he attended and graduated from the Department of History at Beijing Teachers' College (now
Capital Normal University
Capital Normal University (首都师范大学, pinyin: ''Shǒudū Shīfàn Dàxué'', or 首师大 for short) is a university in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university, identified by the Ministry o ...
) in Beijing. After his graduation in 1984, he was assigned to work as an editor of ''The Artists' Bulletin'', which was an internal publication for the
Chinese Artists' Association. His interest in art led him to study in the Art History Department at the
Central Academy of Fine Arts
The Central Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of Education of China. The Manila Bulletin calls the school "China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy". It is one of the most selectiv ...
in 1991.
Early career
Feng Boyi joined art visionaries in the early 1990s in Beijing as an independent art curator. This was also around the time he was learning at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Despite being a curator, he admitted it was a difficult job: "'Nobody wants to curate shows, it's gruelling work,' he mumbles, tossing his ever-ringing cell phone from hand to hand."
He co-published a series of three books about the new generation of artists with Chinese artist
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...
: ''Black Cover Book'' (1994), ''White Cover Book'' (1995), and ''Gray Cover Book'' (1997).
This series not only dealt with the topic of modern, contemporary art but also reflected the political ideas of Ai Weiwei.
Feng Boyi worked in Japan in 1994, where he played a role in a couple of exhibitions organized by the Fukuoka Art Museum, one of which being the 4th Asian Art Show. He was also part of a contemporary art exhibition in the Saitama Modern Art Museum.
[
In 1996, Feng Boyi was one of five organizers of one of the first contemporary art shows that was associated with the auction market. This show was called "Reality: Present and Future." It attracted much attention and led the way to more and more contemporary art shows and exhibits, which were not popular or open to the public.][
Feng Boyi saw a pattern with new artists that were born in the 1980s, and he explained the possible reason why many of the contemporary Chinese artists today were born around the 1980s: "The fact that many artists born in the 1980s grew up as the center of attention and without brothers and sisters is one of the reasons why much of their work focuses on their inner minds." Young artists end up focusing on themselves and their inner emotions and are in need of trying to find ways to express themselves. As an art critic, Feng Boyi sees their art as a way for their emotions to be understood by others. Part of the reason was due to the fact that families could only have one child in China. All these only-children were often lonely and needed new mediums of expressing themselves, which eventually resulted in the attempting contemporary art that challenges society.
]
Current career
Currently Feng Boyi is the art director and curator of the He Xiangning Art Museum
He Xiangning Art Museum () is an art museum in Nanshan, Shenzhen, China.
Construction of the museum started in 1995 and was opened in 1997. The museum is named after He Xiangning, former leading person in the Revolutionary Committee of the KMT ...
in Shenzhen.
Feng Boyi has also edited and published catalogues and articles about art, and established an online art forum called The Artists' Alliance, which discusses contemporary art, which has become very well known and popular with netizens.
Notable exhibitions
Traces of Existence: A Private Show of Contemporary Chinese Art
Feng Boyi claimed that his most successful show was in 1998, titled "Traces of Existence: A Private Show of Contemporary Chinese Art", which helped him become more well known in the art world.[
]
Fuck Off
"Fuck Off
Fuck off may also refer to:
* ''Fuck Off'', an art exhibition that ran alongside the Shanghai Biennial Festival in 2000
* "Fuck Off", a 1977 song by Wayne County & the Electric Chairs
* "Fuck Off", the preliminary title of "Le Freak", a 1978 so ...
" () was an art exhibition held by Feng Boyi and Ai Weiwei during the Third Shanghai Biennale in 2000. It was held in an Shanghai Eastlink Gallery warehouse and included 46 avant-garde contemporary Chinese artists. Even though there were many influential artists present at this exhibition, it was closed down by the Shanghai police before its original closing date due to its controversial content.[ Feng felt as though Chinese artists were just working for foreigners because the early Chinese contemporary art shows were being held in foreign countries. In co-curating the exhibition, Feng said, "We wanted to show the 'fuck off' style, not working for the government or in the style of western countries, but a third way."] Its name was a loose and questionable translation of the exhibition's corresponding Chinese title: "The Uncooperative Attitude".
Beijing Afloat
"Beijing Afloat" was the opening exhibition of the 200
Beijing Tokyo Art Projects
(BTAP, 北京东京艺术工程) inside a m² division of Factory 798's main area. This was the first renovated space featuring the high arched ceilings that would become synonymous with Beijing's 798 Art Zone
798 Art Zone (), or Dashanzi Art District, is a complex of 50-year-old decommissioned military factory buildings boasting a unique architectural style that houses a thriving artistic community in Dashanzi, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The area is ...
. The show drew a crowd of over 1,000 people and marked the beginning of the popular infatuation with the area.
Guangzhou Triennial
In 2002 Feng was one of the organizers for The 1st Guangzhou Triennial in Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
.[
]
Left Hand - Right Hand
In 2003, "Left Hand - Right Hand" showcased Chinese and East German sculptors at 798 Space and Daoyaolu Workshop A. Among the works was Sui Jianguo's enormous concrete sculpture "Mao's Right Hand", which is just what the name suggests, and an example of modern Chinese art's ironic reflections on history.
The Art Game
In 2006 Feng curated an interactive exhibition called "The Art Game" that was geared toward the younger generation. It featured sixteen avant-garde artists from China, South Korea, and Japan. One of the goals was to attract the younger generation and have them open their eyes to new, different styles of art. Feng Boyi commented, "Through this game-like exhibition, we hope to bring a new sense of the interactivity of art to the juvenile viewers and enable them to gain a new way of looking at art." Female artist Xiong Wenyun created a workshop for kindergartners titled ''Rainbow-Colored Pens: An Experimental Painting Class for Children.'' The drawing is supposed to be used as a way to tell a story and show expression. Viewers were even allowed to trade their old toys with the artists' childhood toys on display. Feng Boyi was attracted to this interesting concept of trying to open the minds of children to appreciate art starting at a young age.
References
External links
List of Feng Boyi-curated exhibitions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feng, Boyi
Living people
Chinese art critics
Chinese curators
People's Republic of China writers
Writers from Beijing
Year of birth missing (living people)