newsscape
Arts galore at the 4th Beijing Biennale
Ancient Chinese philosophers used to pursue 'unity of heaven and man,' as is described in the preface of the catalogue from the 4rth Beijing International Art Biennale, furnished jointly by the organizing and the curatorial committees. The exhibition under the title 'Environment Concern and human Existence' made an attempt at combining artistic acts with the 'responsibilities' of 'ideal man'. Interestingly, the central part of presentation consisted of a mixed bag – where the traditional Chinese and European academic arts easily found their place beside more audacious and experimental pieces. However, the Special Exhibitions that gave space to judiciously curated exhibitions dedicated to specific countries formed an important part of the biennale and provided the most interesting aesthetic moments of the entire event.
The 4rth Beijing Biennale was launched on September 20th and lasted untill October 4th, 2010, where works of two Bangladeshi artists – Kazi Salahuddin Ahmed and Debashis Pal were part of the main display. In line with the proposed theme, their works address issues of environmental degradation. Salahuddin's entry is akin to bird's eye view of Dhaka, the city he resides in,and is part of the series he had worked on for the greater part of the new millennium. Debashis Pal's work on the other hand is one of his usual ceramic concoctions that seem too crafty to be categorized as installation, though his approach is closer to such art practices that defy categorization.
The biennale is a large-scale international exhibition hosted by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the People's Government of Beijing Municipality and the China Artist Association. The first edition of the exhibition occurred in 2003.