Since its establishment in May 2008, Dandeli has been dedicated to discovering young art talents and supporting the development of young artists. In December 2009, Dandeli holds a group exhibition for Li Jun, Li Tingting, Zhang Jiedong, Liu Rui and Zhang Shanshan, five young and talented artists that we discovered in the past 20 months. All of these artists were born in 1980s and their works communicate their unique perspectives and art language. Dandeli hopes that the audience could share their growing joy and pains on this exhibition.

People who were born in 1980s are the first generation born after China implemented the One Child Policy in 1979. As a child, they witnessed China’s evolving decade, in which the country opened up to the rest of the world and carried out profound economic reform. The 1980s generation were not brought up in material abundance, yet enjoyed an abundant and happy spiritual life. Their precious childhood memories later became the inspiration of their art creation. It is true that artwork will bear the stamp of the age in which the artist lives. The paintings of the five 1980s-born artists clearly show their personality formed during China’s economic transition. Their works are in a low profile, communicate strong self-consciousness, and manifest their and independence or even solidity. Their art creations capture the fragments of their memories and rearrange these fragments in a playful manner. Their brush techniques, which combine an influence of academism and a strong personal style, speak the artists’ innovative art language, which goes beyond realism.

The materials, techniques, and subjects of the five artists’ artwork diversify. Li Jun’s traditional Chinese water and ink paintings portray the inner world of human beings through the perspective of a dog. Li Tingting’s works, which consist of repetitive images, depict an industrial society in the eyes of a female with free brushwork and simple colors . Zhang Jiedong mimics the co-existence of order and disorder in an information age with three-dimensional image of color dots. Liu Rui surprises the audience by using tangible materials and two-division visual language to create a number of cozy pictures which subtly imply a state of loneliness. Zhang Shanshan speaks out the struggles and loneliness in her adolescence with simple and powerful brushwork.

This exhibition focuses on the comparison of artwork created on different materials and with diversified art languages and hopes that the audience is able to gain a better understanding of the innovative and unique perspective of each artist via such a comparison.