Xiang Jing
Artist
I've intentionally acquainted myself with young artists since I resigned
from college, and also opened columns in two magazines featuring dialogues with
young artists in the hopes of maintaining a connection with them. My curiosity
and observation of young artists results, on the one hand, from my concern
about the future of art, and on the other, from my desire to refrain from
falling into narrowness of view and self - restriction after so many years of
artistic practice. I believe contact with youth can serve the vital role of self-reflection.
This is the second time I serve as the juror for "Art Nova 100",
which is holding its fourth exhibition this year. Although nowadays there have
been an increasing number of activities focusing on young artists, artist
incubation and ecology have yet to be particularly well developed. As such, we
have to try to do something helpful to mitigate the current circumstances. It
has taken "Art Nova 100" great efforts to persist up to the present
day, and it continues to press on mainly out of a sense of responsibility. I
myself am delighted to be part of such activities, for they give me the
opportunity to see interesting works by young artists and see the results of
our ecology - building efforts. We're trying to do something beneficial to the
development of art under the present conditions, even though platforms such as
ours may not necessary be able to exist in the future.
I'm a frequent visitor to the exhibitions of "Art Nova 100".
From these exhibitions, I have seen how the works of young artists show strong
similarities or signs of imitation to more established figures, possibly the
result of our educational system. In such an environment, individuals should be
able to examine and reflect on themselves, because what matters most in the
long career of artistic creation is the building of a self - system.
People nowadays, although viewing the world with a broadened horizon,
still do not necessarily know what their self - system is. They must figure out
for themselves, in time and practice. This is the key piece of guidance that I
would like to pass on to young artists.