News and Events
The visual arts collaboration between Helsinki and Shanghai commences with the No Matter -exhibition
The exhibition No Matter by artist Pan Jian Feng (b. 1973) in the Lasipalatsi gallery is part of the visual arts program of the Shanghai Expo opening in May. Pan Jian Feng will be present at the gallery, where his works about Chinese everyday life will be exhibited for the duration of three days. The exhibition, which is open to the public from Friday 12th of February, marks the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations at Lasipalatsi square. Pan will discuss his method of working after the SAFA seminar at Kiasma Theatre on Friday at 4.15 pm.
As tools for his artistic expression, Pan uses different media such as paint, animation, video, porcelain painting and ink drawing, linking his works strongly with the tradition of calligraphy. In the diary-like series of ink drawings No matter, Pan Jian Feng depicts the whimsical quality of a day in Shanghai. For Pan, perceptiveness and the act of drawing are an integral part of the daily artistic work. His interest lies especially in people's feelings and memory. In his work Just like a man, Pan depicts with a sense of irony the daily pressures of being a man in Shanghai. To please a woman in Shanghai, a man is expected to be wealthy, intelligent, successful and eager to please... The Big Mouth Cup is a continuous series consisting of hand-painted porcelain mugs. The subject of the work is the enamel mug, also familiar in Finland, that was mass-produced and provided an object to print the words and political slogans of Mao. In the project, Pan has returned the mug back to the people, encouraging them to decorate it with their own personal messages or feelings. In the Lasipalatsi exhibition, the mug-installation is available to the public, thus acting as a warm greeting. The exhibition also presents Pan's animated piece Morphing and documents of his artistic work.
As a guest of the Invitation to Helsinki -project, Pan Jian Feng is participating in the Helsinki Artist in Residence -program in Suomenlinna in February 2010. With Pan's residency, the aim is to encourage artist exchanges and collaborative projects between Helsinki and Shanghai. A group of Finnish artists visited Shanghai in January 2010 as part of Urban Studies, a project of the visual arts program of the Shanghai Expo. The participating artists were Karri Kuoppala, Tuomas Laitinen & Jukka Korpihete, Sauli Sirviö and Jenni Valorinta.
No matter, Pan Jian Feng
Lasipalatsi Gallery, Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki
The exhibition is open 12.-14.2.2010, 12- 6 pm.
For more information, please contact
Curator Marita Muukkonen ( HIAP), tel. 0440 965 103
Curator Aura Seikkula, tel. 050 346 1771
Ossi Luoto (Invitation to Helsinki), tel 040 7390036
www.kiinalainenuusivuosi.fi; www.invitationtohelsinki.fi
www.hiap.fi; www.snowballacrhitecture.fi;