AW Asia will present a panel discussion on the work of Beijing-based artist Qi Zhilong and the art of the Cultural Revolution, to be held at AW Asia’s Chelsea offices on Saturday, October 31st, 2009. The discussion is presented in conjunction with a show of eight new large works by the artist, which opens at AW Asia on Thursday, October 29th.

The artist himself will take part in the discussion, along with writer and curator Zheng Shengtian; art historian and photographer Joan Lebold Cohen; and artist Chen Aikang.

Panel Discussion: 2-3:30PM, Saturday October 31st
Exhibition Opening: 6-8PM, Thursday, October 29th

NOTE: Attendance at the panel discussion is free but seating is limited. Please contact AW Asia at info@awasiany.com to register for this event,
or to RSVP for the opening reception.

THE EXHIBITION: Half the Sky: New Works by Qi Zhilong

AW Asia is pleased to present an exhibition of eight new large paintings by contemporary Chinese artist Qi Zhilong. The show includes a series of portraits presented alongside a selection of original Chinese propaganda works from the Cultural Revolution period. Positioned against examples of this original propaganda, Qi Zhilong’s latest Female Liberation Army Women imagery takes on a haunting historical resonance. This resonance is one of the hallmarks of much contemporary Chinese art created by Qi Zhilong’s generation of artists.

Drawn from the iconography of the Cultural Revolution, Qi Zhilong’s bright portraits of female soldiers have earned him an international reputation, and he is widely recognized as one of the leading artists in China’s Political Pop movement. His works have reinvented and subverted the classic female soldier, transforming her from a revolutionary “plain Jane” into a contemporary symbol of Chinese beauty. Depicting young women as part pin-up model, part girl-next-door, these works explore the changing face of Chinese society through the female portrait.

For additional information, please contact:

AW Asia
545 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212.242.3700
Fax: 212.242.3557

http://www.awasiany.com