Da Shan Zi - Breathe Art

Sunday 11am it was, and we woke up, too late and it was a bad day to visit the classics of Forbidden City or any palace. Thus we gave Da Shanzi a chance, this unused factory district transformed into a gathering of modern art expositions, advised by a French couple we met the day before. It was one of the best visits I did in Beijing, a sunshine in the very gray city may I add :). We arrived a little late unfortunately, thinking that artists never sleep, we did not notice it was closing at 5, so we had no more than two hours to walk in the alleys where the expositions were hidden. Everything was there: Paintings reviewing communism, collages revisiting 50 years of advertisements of this media controlling country, Mao cherished in red and shiny sculptures, accompanied by graceful dancers holding Kalashnikovs. A hall of pictures reflecting china’s modern (but still Chinese) architecture contrasted with the well conserved part of the population. Bookstores full of modern art encyclopedias exposed in abstract old looking warehouses. Gigantic sculptures of Chinese chess boards, sober castles of exploding light games, illusions of eyes through semi opaque windows. Colors, shapes, thoughts, perspectives, brains, artists…loved it.

check out the pictures on Flickr