Xiang Jing (artist)

Xiang Jing (Chinese: 向京; born 1968 in Beijing) is a Chinese sculptor. Xiang graduated from the Department of Sculpture of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. Her graduating works won first prize in the "Graduation Show of Central Academy of Fine Arts 1995" and she also won the Okamatsu Family Fund. These sculptures that won these prizes were collected by the school because of the beauty and interest that were shown in them. After graduation, she continued to sculpt women and a few other objects. She taught at Shanghai Normal University from 1997 to 2009.[1]

Xiang Jing, 2015 (photography: Fan Xi)

Her work can be divided into "Mirror Image" (1999–2002), "Keep in Silence" (2003–2005), and "Naked Beyond Skin" (2006–2008) series. She moved back to her hometown Beijing in 2009. Most of her sculptures are based on women whose shows the imperfect nature and realness of women. She does not make her sculptures perfect; instead, she gives them flaws that are common in women. These flaws often include a flabby waistline, a lack of expression on the face, and often an off shaped body. Xiang Jing seems to convey the humility or emptiness of the everyday woman on the surface. The artist is truly interested in the "psychological truth" of human beings and seeks the existential truth of human life.[1] Her latest series of works "Will Things Ever Get Better?" (2009–2011)[2] is composed of the "animals" and the "acrobats", which reflects on the predicament of our human condition.

Works

Xiang Jing is considered highly satirical and there are questions that are raised surrounding the plight of the post-feminist movement of women. She shows the emotions and expresses the mindset of women which causes her work to shift from personal to political. Xiang Jing matches the outward appearance of the sculpture with inner philosophy and emotions of the same image. She is a well-rounded sculptor whose works include: some animal figures, clothed women, and naked women. The sculptures are made from different things; some of them are cast in bronze or polyurethane while others are painted fiberglass. As an artist, she seems to keep most of her focus on women and how she portrays them in her work. She captures the current trends, some popular activities that contemporary women indulge in (clubbing, shopping, etc.). Xiang Jing hardly ever uses synthetic materials in her works. She uses some props such as cigarettes. She is phenomenal at expressing the emotions of the women she sculpts. Depending on the work, most of the women seem to have the emotion of depression. In some of them, there seems to be a sense of reflection or vulnerability. These sculptures have an eerie glow about them that conveys the emotion of anger or sadness. Happiness does not seem to be a theme in any of her creations.

Your Body (2005)
Your Body (2005, fiberglass & paint, 270×160×150cm) at The Saatchi Gallery, The Revolution Continues: New Art from China, 2008

In one of her most famous works, Your Body, Xiang Jing made a huge naked women slumping in a large wooden chair. The women is sculpted and painted with porcelain. This is a prime example of the type of works Xiang Jing creates. The naked woman seems to have silky smooth skin which makes it look like plastic. This is done on purpose by Xiang Jing to show the material feel of women in the contemporary world. The face of the woman has a sort of blank look to it which makes it very interesting to look at. When looking into the eyes of the sculpture, the observer cannot help but feel the emotions they would see in a living human being. She seems slightly depressed while in a deep reflection. Her reflection leaves her in a place of humility and emptiness while the vulnerability of herself is shown through her nudity and posture. The body of the woman is imperfect. She has a flabby body and there is no clear beauty she has about her. Her face is intriguing but it does not have the "normal" aspects of beauty. The whole body seems real. She is just a normal woman with her own problems which she is contemplating. The slacking position gives a feel of comfort. She seems comfortable for where she is at but depressed on where her life is going. Xiang Jing presents the woman's body naked because it instantly grabs the attention of the viewers. It is slightly controversial which makes it a topic for discussion. After the audience gets past the nakedness, they will look closer and see the features that tell the rest of the meaning behind the work.

Bang! (2002)
Bang!, 2002, fiberglass & paint, 162×160×110cm, Xiang Jing

This is one of the more interesting Works of Xiang Jing. It shows two women in modern clothing, one of which is cowering in fear while the other is smiling. The woman that is smiling has her hand shaped as a gun and it pointing it directly towards the head of the other woman. The woman that is in fear does not seem to realize the feeling on her head is just the finger of the other woman. She truly believes she is about to die. After looking closely, her eyes are shut and it feels like she is letting out a terrified scream. The other woman seems to be taking joy in this action. This is a good example of how Xiang Jing shows a sense of violence through her work. The woman is taking pleasure in the fear and fear of the other woman. The woman who is in fear is vulnerable because of her fear of death. The women are in modern clothes, Xiang Jing is trying to show that some women live in this sort of fear in the modern day. She is showing that there are two different types of women; the ones who fear and those who are feared. She could also be playing on the violence of society causing people to live in fear or society causing the violence. This is another sculpture painted in porcelain. It is very realistic. Unlike Your Body, the women are in shape but they seem real still. Xiang Jing creates lifelike sculpture to portray a stronger message to the audience.

Are A Hundred Playing You? Or Only One? (2007)

This work is a good example of a work by Xiang Jing. The figures in this work are very realistic. They could easily be mistaken as real women if they were viewed from a distance, but once the viewer gets closer to the work, they can tell that they are just sculptures. This work shows mystery behind the work of Xiang Jing. The viewers can not understand what is trying to be conveyed to them through the women. The women clearly have something wrong but it is not clear what it is. Their eyes seem like they are in depression or some sort of discomfort. It is up to the viewer to decide what is wrong and what the women are doing to try to fix it. In all of Xiang Jing's works, there is a sense of mystery behind the women. She conveys different emotions with their eyes but it is the individual viewer to imagine what experiences the woman has gone through and what she is feeling.

Quotes

Directly from Xiang Jing

"Each female artist possesses sensitivity, particularly with regard to gender or issues. Before making this batch of sculptures, I reflected on why I have always avoided a feminist stance, though in truth I confront gender roles. What, after all, is my instinctive fundamental stance? Without any hesitation, I know my own stance, just as I look at this world with a woman's eyes, as a matter of my intrinsic nature. This is not simply a question of gender politics. Given this undeniable precondition, I will definitely speak from my feminine identity. I use the female body first of all to remind people that I am a woman. In this world I live in, a naked figure commands more attention, after all, than one wearing clothes. So I use a woman's body to state who I am, to speak of how a woman thinks and looks at things. This is the foundation on which I create these pieces. I am no longer those women in art history who were always being looked at. Given this approach to creating female figures, I do not feel they are a hackneyed subject. I like to say that my mode of expression is "in the first person." — Xiang Jing x Zhu Zhu[3]

"I did And You? after I did Your Body. I wanted to transcend something in Your Body; I succeeded or not, different people might have different ideas. But for me, it meant a huge difference. It's often the case – even in our daily life – the sort of expression you look for can't be voice out, but if we gather strength and voice it out, it's a progress. When you voice it out, the you've also jumped over the obstacle. "Your Body" came really out of my instinct and nature; I accumulated knowledge and experience to that extent and produced such a work with so much effort, but I have always wanted to transcend it." ... Your Body actually started my first person narration approach. When I was creating that piece, my life was very isolated indeed, and that instinct just burst out suddenly. I strongly wish my first person narration approach could get more established. In this new exhibition I get ready to produce a group of purer works of female bodies. Moreover, I indeed want to transcend it; when I jump over that obstacle, I will feel quite relieved. — Xiang Jing x Huang Zhuan[4]

About Xiang Jing

"Xiang Jing is an unusually independently-minded young Chinese woman. Her personality is a blend of bohemian free spirit and down-to-earth common sense, underscored by a feisty mental attitude towards life and art. Life saw fit to place this personality in a delicate physical frame, and set behind a pair of large round eyes, the innocence of which belies this woman's talent for penetrating insight. Where, to date, Xiang Jing's art has focused on the female form, the woman's body has evolved as a conduit for her observations on the state of women in contemporary China: observations that, in early 2008, she decided to draw together in one exhibition, and to act as a denouement for this phase of her career. Having reached a certain maturity, Xiang Jing feels it is time to move onto something new." — Karen Smith[5]

After going through numerous births and miscarriages, Xiang Jing intends to conclude the stage of her work that concerns the "female body." To engage in critiquing her work is like travelling to a nation of women that is about to declare independence. The scaffolding has yet to be removed, but a mood of festive observance is in the air.

For an artist to conclude a stage in her creative work usually means that her passion and energy toward the theme has found release, and she realizes that to continue would lead to nothing but self-replication of a certain few pieces. A better reason might be that her iconic pieces had already been produced, and the artist's desire for expression had been gratified. If she ever resumes this theme sometime in the future, it would mean that broader understanding and experience will have shown her new possibilities of self-overcoming. Xiang Jing's present achievements in sculpture give ample proof of her singular strength within a certain thematic range. The works that best represent the level she has reached are Your Body (2005) and Are A Hundred Playing You? Or Only One? (2007). — Zhu Zhu[6]

Although her sculptures are strikingly lifelike, Xiang says she isn't aiming for realism. "If you put a real person's face next to it, you will see a lot of differences. But what matters to me is ... the poignance of the expression." "I want my art to awaken the sensibility of each onlooker, to awaken his body, so that his body can experience the sculpture. That's why I really want people to stand right in front of my sculpture, to face (it)."[7]

Public collection
  • Annie Wong Art Foundation, Vancouver, Canada
  • CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China
  • Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, WI, United States
  • JUT Group Collection, Taiwan
  • Liu-HaiSu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
  • Long Museum, Shanghai, China
  • M+ Museum, Hong Kong
  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Chengdu, China
  • OCT Group Collection, Shenzhen, China
  • Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
  • Shanghai Himalayas Museum, Shanghai, China
  • Shanghai World Expo Permanent Collection, Shanghai, China
  • Tan Guobin Contemporary Art Museum, Changsha, China
  • Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
  • Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China

Solo exhibitions

2015

  • Juergen Teller | Xiang Jing, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Hong Kong.[8]

2013

  • Will Things Ever Get Better? - Xiang Jing @ MoCA Tp2013, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei.

2012

  • Will Things Ever Get Better? - Xiang Jing and Guangci Joint-Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China.
  • Birdcalls in the Floating World, Xiang Jing vs. Qu Guangci, MOT/ARTS, Taipei; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong.
  • Xiang Jing: The Center of Quietude, Gao Magee Gallery, Madrid, Spain.

2011

  • Will Things Ever Get Better? - Xiang Jing's Work 2008-2011, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China.
  • I Have Seen Happiness, Park Hyatt Beijing, Beijing, China

2008

  • Naked Beyond Skin - An Asian Touring Project of Sculpture Imageries by Xiang Jing, Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beijing, China.

2007

  • Are a Hundred Playing You? Or Only One?, Eslite Gallery, Taipei.

2006

  • Your Body - Xiang Jing's Work 2000-2005, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China.

2005

  • Keep In Silence, China Art Seasons Gallery, Beijing, China.

2003

  • Women In The Mirror, European Art Center, Xiamen, China

2002

  • Xiang Jing · Guangci 2002 - Mirror Image, Invisible Gallery, Shanghai, China

2001

  • Day Dream, Ivy Bookstore, Shanghai, China

Select group exhibitions

    2016

    • Utopias·Heterotopias - Wuzhen International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Wuzhen·North Silk Factory and West Scenic Zone, China.
    • Echo of Civilization - Crossing Dunhuang, The Imperial Ancestral Museum of China, Beijing, China.

    2015

    • The Vivid Spirit - Chinese Contemporary Art Invitational Exhibition, The Confucius Temple of Anxi, Quanzhou, China.
    • Fervent China - Contemporary Monumental Sculptures, The Former Slaughterhouse, Anciens Abattoirs, Mons, Belgium.
    • China 8 - Contemporary Art from China at Rhine & Ruhr, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany.
    • Tradition and Innovation - The Human Figure in Contemporary Chinese Art, Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, WI, United States.

    2014

    • Re-Sculpture:1 Sanguandian Art 2014, Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, China
    • West Says East Says - Chinese Contemporary Art Research Exhibition, United Art Museum, Wuhan, China
    • Us and Them - Existential Dialectic of Selves and Others, How Art Museum (Wenzhou), Wenzhou, China
    • Re-View: Opening Exhibition of Long Museum West Bund, Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai

    2013

    • I·Us, MOT/ARTS, Taipei.
    • Bridging: Important Female Artists of Our Time, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong.
    • The 4th Biennale of Art Changsha, Changsha Municipal Museum, Changsha, China.
    • Portrait of the Times - 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China.

    2012

    • Future Pass World Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • Real Life Stories - Contemporary Chinese Art Exhibition, KODE Art Museums of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
    • Sculpt China: CAFA Retrospective Exhibition, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • The Height - The 1st Xinjiang Contemporary Art Biennale, Xinjiang International Expo Center, Urumuqi, China.
    • Martell Artists of the Year 2012 Touring Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou China; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China.
    • Passing Through Memory - Suzhou Jinji Lake Art Gallery Opening Exhibition, Jinji Lake Art Gallery, Suzhou, China.

    2011

    • Start From The Horizon - Chinese Contemporary Sculpture Since 1978, Sishang Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • Half the Sky: Women in the New Art of China, Drexel University Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
    • Collecting History - Chinese New Art, MoCA, Chengdu, China.
    • Future Pass - From Asia To The World, Abbazia di San Gregorio, Venice, Italy.
    • GuanXi - Contemporary Chinese Art, Today Art Museum, Beijing; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China.

    2010

    • Self-Image - Woman Art in China (1920-2010), CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • Reshaping History - Chinart from 2000 to 2009, China National Convention Center, Beijing, China.
    • It's Not Sculpture, Linda Gallery, Beijing, China.

    2009

    • Translucence - Female Contemporary Art from China, La Centrale Electrique - European Center of Contemporary Art, Brussels, Belgium.
    • Collision - Experimental Cases of Contemporary Chinese Art, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • To the Motherland - 60 Years of Art in New China, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China.
    • 19 Games - A Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, UNDP / UNAIDS / UNESCO / UNICEF / Marie Stopes International China/ Hong Kong Ze Shan Foundation, T Art Center, Beijing, China
    • The Tale of Angels, The Red Mansion Foundation, London, United Kingdom

    2008

    • The Revolution Continues - New Chinese Art, The Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom.[9]
    • Artificial Nature @ Art Lab, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China.
    • People · China - The Humanism in 20th Century Chinese Art, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • Case Studies of Artists in Art History and Art Criticism, SZ Art Center, Beijing, China.

    2007

    • China - Facing Reality, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria.
    • Post Avant - Garde Chinese Contemporary Art, Atting House, Hong Kong.
    • The 1st Today's Documents - Energy: Spirit·Body·Material, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China.
    • Calling a Stag a Horse - Sculpture by Guangci, Xiang Jing, Chen Wenling and Cao Hui, Sanshang Art, Beijing, China.
    • China Now, Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen, Netherlands.
    • She & I: Sculpture by Xiang Jing & Guangci, China Square, New York, NY, United States.
    • OPEN 10 - the International Exhibition of Sculpture and Installation, Venice Lido, Italy.
    • Ge An Guan Huo, Evangelische Studierenden gemeinde (Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Haus), Kassel, Germany.
    • Art Lan @ Asia, ZAIM Art Center, Yokohama, Japan.
    • Tanah Air: Seni Patung dan Lingkungan, Pakuwon City Complex, Surabaya, Indonesia.

    2006

    • Women In a Society of Double-Sexuality, Tang Contemporary Art Bangkok, Thailand.
    • Soliloquy - China / Indonesia Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, Indonesian National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
    • Art in Motion - Dialogues in Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China.
    • China Now: Art in Times of Change, ESSL Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria.
    • Entry Gate: Chinese Aesthetics of Heterogeneity, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China.
    • Jiang Hu, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, NY, United States.

    2005

    • Sculpting a Century, Shanghai City Sculpture Center, Shanghai, China.
    • In the Deep of Reality: A Case of Chinese Contemporary Art, Liu He Tian Yu Basement, Hangzhou, China.
    2004
    • Dreams of the Dragon's Nation—Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland.
    • MMAC Art College Performance Festival 2004, Aizu-Mishima / Tokyo, Japan.
    • Witness—Sculptures by Xiang Jing and Guangci, He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China.
    • China Imagination: Chinese Contemporary Sculptural Art Exhibition, Jardindes Tuileries, Paris, France.
    2003
    • New Zone – Chinese Art, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland.
    • Sculptures by Xiang Jing and Guangci, Casas-Museu da Taipa, Macau, China.
    • XII Inner Spaces multimedia festival, CCA Inner Spaces, Poznan, Poland.
    • The third Shanghai Young Sculptors Exhibition, Century Plaza, Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China.
    • National Art Gallery, Beijing, China.
    2002
    • Xiang Jing Guang Ci 2002 —Mirror Image, Invisible Gallery, Shanghai, China.
    • The Standards of Chinese Contemporary Sculptures, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China
    2001
    • Salon' d'automne, Espace Auteuil, Paris, France.
    • The 32nd Grosse Kunst Ausstellung Düsseldorf, Eingang Nord, Düsseldorf, Germany.
    • Framed Samples—The 1st Chengdu Art Biennale, Chengdu Contemporary Art Museum, Chengdu, China.
    2000
    • Yawn was exhibited in the Chinese Contemporary Sculptures Invitation Exhibition, Tsingtao Sculptural Art Gallery, Tsingtao, China.
    • Young Sculptors Invitation Exhibition, West Lake Art Gallery, Shengzhen.
    • College of Sculpture and Tsingtao Sculpture Gallery, China.
    • Conversations with Henry Moore - Sculptures Invitation Exhibition, Guangdong Art Gallery, Guangzhou, China.
    1999
    • Journey to the End of Century – The 2nd Exhibition,+ New Space-ART Express, Beijing, China.
    • Chinese Sculptures Annual Exhibition, He Xiang-ning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China.
    • Oil Paintings & Sculptures by Teachers from the Fine Art college, Shanghai.
    • The Century Gate – Invitation Exhibition of Chinese Art from 1979–1999, Chengdu Modern Art Gallery, Chengdu, China.
    1998
    • Century-Female, Chinese National Art Gallery, Beijing, China
    • October Exhibition for Beijing Youth Sculptors, Gallery of Central Academy of Contemporary Sculptural Art Annual Exhibition, He Xiangning Art Gallery, Shenzhen, China.
    • Chinese Artists Exhibition, Zurichsee-Auktionen Gallery, Switzerland.
    • Platform for Both Genders, Taida Contemporary Art Museum, Tianjin, China.
    1995
    • The Four-Girl Show in March, Modern Art Gallery, Beijing, China.
    • Graduate Show, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China.
    • Chinese Women Artists Invitation Exhibition, Chinese National Art Gallery, Beijing, China.

    References
    1. http://www.xiangjingart.com/en/index.php?m=list&a=index&id=47
    2. http://www.xiangjingart.com/en/index.php?g=portal&m=list&a=index&id=6
    3. "Female Self-Presence | Today". Winter 2010. pp. 287–300.
    4. "Huang Zhuan x Xiang Jing: The Transcended Body | Naked Beyond Skin – Xiang Jing 2006–2007, Beijing". Tang Contemporary Art (Beijing). 2008. pp. 159–183.
    5. Karen Smith: Say It Loud | Naked Beyond Skin – Xiang Jing's Works 2006-2007, Beijing | Tang Contemporary Art (Beijing) | 2008 | p. 110–116
    6. Zhu Zhu, Within a Magic Spell | Naked Beyond Skin – Xiang Jing's Works 2006-2007, Beijing | Tang Contemporary Art (Beijing) | 2008 | p. 20–35
    7. "Chinese Sculptor's Painful Search for Truth". CNN. November 2012.
    8. "Juergen Teller & Xiang Jing". Lehmann Maupin Gallery. May 2015.
    9. "Xiang Jing- Contemporary Artists", The Saatchi Gallery - London Contemporary Art Gallery; 2008
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