Guan Xiao Flattened Metal, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Flattened Metal, Guan Xiao’s first solo exhibition, runs from 20 April – 19 June, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. The exhibition, which marks the second collaboration between K 11 Art Foundation and the ICA, seeks to promote the emerging Chinese artist’s work and give her international visibility, through an exchange with cultural institutions abroad.

Exploring how our way of looking at things is changing due to the influence of the digital image and information circulation,  a number of installations are showcased, which include visual and audio material and found objects, blending primitive and high tech elements. Their focus is on how the unknown past impacts the present.

Highlights of the exhibition include the video triptych Action (2014); an installation consisting of three screens, which looks at connections between sound, image and text as video clips selected from a variety of online sources. Another notable work is formed of five large printed screens which are in opposition to sculptures made up of different materials. This work reflects the artist’s interest of finding formal equivalences between the second and third dimensions and discover the interdependent connections between different ways of understanding the world.As a whole, Xiao’s thoughts about the internet are expressed throughout gallery space. She asserts that it is: “a massive material bank”, which functions as a tool for finding useful material to create her works.

Flattened Metal, 20 April – 19 June, Institute of Contemporary Arts, 12 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AH.

Find out more: www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/guan-xiao-association-k11-art-foundation.

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Credits:
1. Guan Xiao, Action, (2014) Courtesy the Artist, Antenna Space, Shanghai, Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin, and ICA, London.