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July Issue 2008
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
in Boone, NC, Offers Exhibit of Contemporary Works from China
The eyes of the world are focused on China,
a country rising to meet the needs of its people after a devastating
earthquake, and one inviting the world to enjoy its culture while
viewing the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Those who visit
the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) at Appalachian State
University in Boone, NC, do not have to travel to experience Chinese
culture. Dancing with the Dragon Contemporary Art from Beijing
opens July 11, and continues through Oct. 4, 2008.
The exhibit, which grew out of a new partnership in the visual
arts between TCVA and colleagues within China explores contemporary
work being created in China. The center also established an art
and education exchange with the newly opened Shanghai Institute
for Visual Arts (SIVA).
"After spending two weeks in China last
fall, we are incredibly pleased to bring Dancing with the Dragon
to the Turchin Center this summer," says TCVA Director and
Chief Curator Hank Foreman. "Highly regarded Beijing artist
Zheng Xuewu helped us coordinate art district and studio tours
last fall, which resulted in this phenomenal exhibition. Zheng's
work is a cornerstone of this exhibition."
"He also will facilitate outreach programs for our Community
Art School and will serve as a visiting professor in the ASU Department
of Art this fall. His wife, Guo Xinxin, will teach the history
of Chinese craft," Foreman says. "This exhibition is
a cross-section of what is happening in the larger art community.
Our meetings with SIVA also resulted in an agreement to establish
a mutually beneficial partnership to explore exhibition, student
and faculty exchanges, as well as artist residencies."
Visitors to the exhibition will see 76 works ranging from paintings and drawings to mixed media sculpture. In a special video installation, viewers will experience the traditional Chinese art of paper cutting. Visiting Professor Zheng will have 20 pieces in this collection, including paintings, installations and printmaking.
A Lunch and Learn program entitled, Contemporary Art in China, will be offered at noon on July 16, 2008, in the lecture Hall of the Turchin Center. The session features a glimpse into the center's research trip to Beijing, Xian and Shanghai.
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts supports the mission of Appalachian State University through regionally significant exhibition, education and collection programs. Underlying the center's mission is the belief that the arts play vital roles in the development of creative and critical potential, and in experiencing, interpreting, understanding, recording and shaping culture. The center provides a place to investigate these roles by implementing programs that engender and strengthen Appalachian community participation in and ownership of the arts. An emphasis is placed on partnerships with the university's academic areas. Through its programs and partnerships, the center supports the university's role as a key regional educational and cultural resource, and offers a dynamic space where participants experience and incorporate the power and excitement of the visual arts into their lives.
For further information check our NC Institutional
Gallery listings, call the Center at 828/262-3017 or visit (www.tcva.org).
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