Osage Gallery Shanghai will hold a seven female artists exhibition “The Metamorphosing Female” from February 29th to March 28th 2008. The artists include Cai Jin, Cui Xiuwen, Chen Xiaodan, Sun Guojuan, Xia jing, Geng Xue.De Beauvoir described women as the “Second Sex”, indicating that throughout history, they have been discriminated against, persecuted, unfairly treated, and placed by men in the relative, subordinate category of “Other”. The “female sex” is a synonym of vulnerability, tolerance, subservience and submissiveness; however, only females can bring warmth to the cruel world we live in, allowing our history to move forward. It is only with their wisdom that we manage to establish and enrich a healthy society.As time changes, the Chinese economy develops quickly and the society gradually matures. Females are now creating enormous amount of social wealth, demonstrating their wisdom and ability that are just as powerful as their male counterparts’. The change to female status means that women no longer need to seek balance in the battle against men. Indeed, more and more of them are starting to focus on expressions and social stances that are based on their brand new experience as females. As the “Second Sex” theory fades into history, female artists start to contemplate on their own metamorphosis, their natural differences from men, and their roles in the modern society.People have always believed that women are creatures of emotion, whereas men are creatures of action. This explains why men are often portrayed as hunters, builders and soldiers, whereas women’s thoughts are said to be more closely linked to their bodies. These thoughts might not be as abstract as men’s, but are usually more relevant and focused. Similarly, female artists have purer creative motivations, freer imagination and more direct expressions. They have invented a special artistic language that is different from men’s: gentle, maternal and resilient, but also with craziness and soaring energy. This energy comes from the memory of their own metamorphosis, their inherited responsibilities and maternal nature, as well as their instinctive but tangled emotions. By presenting the works of these seven female artists, we hope that The Metamorphosing Female exhibition will bring you their personal female perspectives on, and their unique interpretations of, reality and memory, body and spirit, and the self and the other.Cai Jin,Banana Plant Series, Installation, 2004