Inna Art Space will collaborate with 1979 Gallery to present the solo project of artist Feng Hanting, titled New Moon Bride. The exhibition will open on March 1st at 15:00 and will run until March 31st.
Feng Hanting gives off a distinctly "girlish" first impression, not just in her appearance, but also in her voice and fashion style. She has a deep love for Japanese and Korean comics and romance films, a passion that has persisted from her childhood fairy tales to the comics, TV dramas, and movies of her student years. She often finds herself immersed in the plots of these works.
She enjoys shopping, but her focus isn't on trends. Instead, she pays more attention to the quality of materials, especially items that women use in various aspects of their lives. She also has a penchant for collecting antiques—mirrors, silverware, lace, and ribbons fill her studio. Among her collections are numerous medieval dolls, whose eerie yet beautiful aesthetic goes far beyond the simple descriptor of "cute."
This exhibition weaves together a private dialogue with Feng Hanting through four series of her works from different periods, culminating in her latest creation "New Moon Bride". Starting with her early series "Romantic Novel’s Series" which depict women's intimate apparel like bras, each painting is given a girl's English name. Through these garments and the constraints they symbolize, she reflects on the positioning of women in societal roles. A decade later, "New Moon Bride" continues this thread, delving deeper into the complex relationship between female identity and society. Her neon installation "Relationships" is her closest work to the theme of "love," portraying the entanglement, resistance, struggle, and joy of amorous desires. With a gentle pull, these relationships either tightly knot or loosen, symbolizing the tension and fragility of love. "My Name is Catherine" is a handwritten story mimicking the mindset of a homemaker, reminiscent of a scene from a French film, exuding a fascination for the mundane yet enchanting French romance.
From Barbie to wedding dresses, the commercialization of society has seen television and advertising dominate the shaping of aesthetics and values, not only reflecting social trends and aesthetic standards but also influencing public idealized expectations of female images and lifestyles. Most girls, like Feng Hanting, have actively or inadvertently constructed an inner "girl's world" from a young age. However, Feng, long past her girlhood, remains engrossed in this world, repeatedly deconstructing and reconstructing it, as the "sweetness" gradually becomes more nuanced. Just like the care in daily life from family or intimate relationships, even if it comes with constraints, it carries both sweetness and weariness. From a distance, it's a comedy; up close, a tragedy, yet this bittersweet emotion remains captivating.
In Feng Hanting's works, "characters" become a way to digest pain and contradictions. Her paper dolls, bra paintings, coquettish tone, and candy-colored lights project and deconstruct identities like mirrors. These works tell a story about female identity and emotional relationships. Yet, her contradictions are not piercing but rather a chocolate-like bitterness that lingers in the heart. In this game-like world, even though we know it's all an illusion, we remain fascinated, fantasizing, and indulging in the cotton candy-like sense of satisfaction and emptiness, much like the moon's gravity, pulling us back and forth.
JEON Younghwa
“Spring Sleep Misses Dawn” is an exhibition project initiated by Inna Art Space since 2021. Every spring, we invite an art institution to propose and determine the theme for that year. The project culminates in an exhibition held at Inna Art Space, the conclusion to the springtime gathering. Late Spring in this city, decked in luxuriance, the people too lost in revery, humidity and stagnation shrouding the artist’s nerves, works some of which simply must be made, some things that must be said. Sometimes, having awakened, there’s nothing other to do than drift back, unregulated, into slumber, a place where who knows how many blossoms fall…
Founded in March 2023,1979 Gallery locates at the1st floor of the Sea World Culture and Arts Center in Shekou, Shenzhen. Drawing on the resources and business experience of China Merchants Cultural Industry, the gallery is dedicated to developing the local art ecosystem. With the focus on fostering tal- ented artists, the gallery provides in-depth support for artists in terms of bridging leading international industrial resources, forming an academic network, and building reputations worldwide. Expert in offer- ing forward-thinking contemporary art exhibition experiences and market consultancy services for art dilettantes and collectors,1979 Gallery is mis- sioned to demonstrate the value of art to contempo- rary culture, promoting a diverse art ecosystem and market with sustainability.
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