A bronze interpretation of the Statue of Liberty

A mammoth new exhibition of 291 Chinese artists, Reshaping History, currently on display at three venues across Beijing, is hoping to cast a light on the growth and maturity of the entire nation, as the exhibition's subtitle, "Chinart from 2000 to 2009," indicates.

Often we look to art to illuminate something deeply personal, something lurking under the surface of artists' imaginations that reflects their view of themselves, their surroundings and the world at large. Art too can serve as a proxy for far larger, more expansive arenas: a community, a people, a race.

Indeed, if there is one buzzword that encapsulates the Chinese experience over the past 10 years, it is "growth," a concept toward which the artistic luminaries of Reshaping History have no shortage of opinions.

"Like every aspect of the Chinese economy, Chinese art is developing immensely," said exhibition founder Lü Peng. "So much talent has emerged over the past 10 years, so many contrasting styles and worldviews and I really wanted a venue where we could put them all next to each other and let the viewer take it all in.
 

Rose installation

A stroll through the exhibition's main venue, China National Convention Center (CNCC), in addition to satellite venues Today Art Museum and Arario Beijing, presents the art enthusiast with no shortage of hyperbolic appraisals about the scale and scope of the artists represented. From new works by record-busting all-stars like Zeng Fanzhi to audacious pieces from avant-garde mavericks Cao Hui and Sun Ping, it is the single most comprehensive snapshot of the Chinese artistic industry in decades - "the Oscars of the Chinese contemporary art world," according to art critic, dealer and blogger Melanie Lum.

Yet just as the Oscars are considered a sparkling fête for Hollywood royalty, so too does Reshaping History carry an air of institutionalism, so much so that when authorities removed two exhibits - one by Zhang Dali of skinned human corpses and one by Sun Ping of a former prostitute photographed painting classical Chinese calligraphy with her vagina - Lü, his circumspect eye focused on preserving the exhibition as a whole, allowed the removal without argument.

"I didn't want to sacrifice the entire show for the sake of two artists," he said.

Far from being vindictive, however, Sun said that he is thankful for the brief window of time he got to display his work at such a high-profile event.

"I allowed myself 20 minutes of rage and then just shrugged it off," he said. "I'm glad I got even the little exposure that I did."

Dragon with babies and hamburger.

Other provocative sculptures, such as Cao Hui's Visible Temperature and Chen Wenling's This is not an Elephant, preserve the spirit of Zhang and Sun's intentions without their overtly R-rated content. In Temperature, a living room set of plastic couches is shown shedding their outermost layers to reveal a squalid mess of blood and entrails (also plastic), while Elephant shockingly transforms the relatively docile beast into a frenetic production machine.

"More and more, contemporary Chinese art is reflecting artists' inner states rather than simply employing the typical Chinese symbols - the color red, the dragon, the horse," Chen said, echoing an assertion made by Sun that "Chinese art has started to move beyond the simple kitsch factor that sells well at Western auctions. It's not just some propaganda poster with a Big Mac anymore."

Still, commercialization, with all its attendant benefits, drawbacks and criticisms, is an undeniable motivator of Reshaping History and the art world it encapsulates.

"It's a shame because it feels like many of the greats just got lazy after finding success," Lum said, pointing my attention to The Spring, a painting by heavy-hitter Fang Lijun featuring stylized, overdramatic scenes of war and turmoil. "It's just so National Geographic," she lamented. "It's not original at all."

Cao dovetails Lum's criticism by pointing to the cyclical nature of the art world - its heady booms and crushing busts - as a major challenge facing artists.

"Downturns prevent healthy development of the art market," he said, "while extreme prosperity results in a lot of horrible art along with the good stuff, and then speculators come scrambling in as well."

Sun, however, sees a solution to this dilemma: establishing greater government incentives for institutional art support among the Chinese people.

"For example, you should be able to claim tax write-offs for philanthropic giving to art institutes," he said.

"Right now it's all market driven, but art should push boundaries regardless of whether you think you can sell it."

The exhibition will run at CNCC until May 21, Today Art Museum until May 19 and Arario Beijing until June 12.