Launching

Launching

May 20 - Jun 05, 2025

W.ONESPACE·Shenzhen

The term "Beachhead" originally referred to a military strategy of seizing a coastal position, but has since come to symbolize efforts in various fields to seize opportunities. Participants in such actions are driven by determination and courage. This exhibition, titled “Launching”, symbolizes both the beginning of an endeavor and a launch into the unknown field. Much like a Beachhead launch, while artists aim to seize their chances on the eve of graduation exhibition. On May 20th, a day instilled with romantic significance in the digital age (as '520' sounds similar to 'I love you' in Mandarin), a group of artists graduated from Hangzhou will land in the greater bay area with their artworks. They are poised to enter the competitive contemporary art market, eager to secure a foothold.

Initiated by Professor and artist Li Qing, the group exhibition will showcase works from 12 artists of the Fourth Studio from the Oil Painting Department at China Academy of Art, several of whom are making their debut in commercial gallery exhibitions.

For both artists and viewers, the debut moment offers a dual-perspective aesthetic experience—Similar to the challenge faced by actors in connecting their expressiveness with the audience’s expectations in their performances. In this context, however, the focus shifts to the paintings of emerging artists, with the audience comprising seasoned professionals and figures from the art market. Intuition and immediate reaction come first, when viewers first encounter a work, they catch a glimpse of the artist’s personal interpretation of lived experience. This quick, passing moment, sparked by the artwork's visual impact, may later evolve through reflection, examination, or critique, ultimately leading to a state of thoughtful contemplation. 

As the initiator, Li Qing emphasizes, the study and practice of painting ontology must start from the individual perspective, considering the visual context shaped by contemporary human existence, and then extract it into a personal artistic language. Whether through collage, realistic reconstruction, atmospheric composition, or abstract expression, artists need to develop and refine their own experimental painting approaches, blending them with academic theory to establish a unique narrative framework. Furthermore, Li Qing encourages emerging artists to venture into unfamiliar fields, such as exploring the cultural landscapes and art scenes of unfamiliar cities, in order to expand their vision and gain experience through practice.

Li Qing teases himself as the “broadcast station” in this exhibition, taking on the role of the front-line sentinel of the landing operation. As a mentor, he shares his own appreciations, the latest trend news, and offers a window for external communication and vision. As a senior peer, he shares his creative experiences with the younger generation, encouraging them to persevere in their artistic journeys.

While Clifford Geertz’s assertion that “Culture is public because meaning is.” holds validity, the experiences shaped by the intricate inner worlds of individuals, as well as the external information they absorb, may hold even greater significance. In this light, we must also embrace the bold, raw, and energetic artists who are attempting to break into the seemingly commercialized cultural boundaries. The path these artists follow may inevitable, but it ultimately leads them to a shared goal. However, their efforts to secure a claim in this complex and evolving market, may be the intense moment that truly showcases the “multitude” of diverse perspectives.

Works

  • Runner

    Oil  on  canvas  
    180  x  120  cm  
    2025
  • Rebellious Sisyphus

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2025
  • Thinker by the Sea

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2025
  • Bone

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2025
  • Thundering

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2025
  • Net

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2025
  • A Girl Wearing Lipstick

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2024
  • Leave the Utopia

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2024
  • Cross the Ocean

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    100  x  80cm  
    2024
  • To Be Continue

    Mixed  media  on  wood  
    120  x  80  cm  
    2024
  • Rebellious Sisyphus

    Acrylic  on  canvas  
    40  x  28  cm  
    2025
  • Knight No.2

    Oil  on  canvas  
    120  x  100  cm  
    2023
  • Untitled

    Oil  on  canvas  
    80  x  60  cm  
    2023
  • Balance No.3

    Oil  on  canvas  
    80  x  60  cm  
    2023
  • Burning Portrait No.2

    Oil  on  canvas  
    150  x  120  cm  
    2023
  • The Ginseng Family

    Ink  on  paper  
    38  x  27  cm  
    2024
  • Medicine Reaches the Cure

    Ink  on  paper  
    28  x  39  cm  
    2024
  • Fable Story·#3

    Oil  on  canvas  
    50  x  60  cm  
    2024
  • My Cactus Is Sleeping on the Sea No.9

    Mixed  materials  on  wood  
    39  x  27  cm  
    2023
  • Blue Dreamland

    Mixed  materials  on  paper  
    39  x  27cm  
    2023
  • My Cactus Is Sleeping on the Sea No.7

    Mixed  materials  on  wood  
    39  x  27  cm  
    2023
  • My Cactus Is Sleeping on the Sea No.5

    Mixed  materials  on  wood  
    10  x  15  cm  
    2023
  • My Cactus Is Sleeping on the Sea No.6

    Mixed  materials  on  wood  
    10  x  15  cm  
    2023
  • The Cactus on the Sea No.3

    Mixed  materials  on  paper  
    25  x  27  cm  
    2024
  • The Cactus on the Sea No.2

    Mixed  materials  on  paper  
    25  x  27  cm  
    2024
  • The Cactus on the Sea No.1

    Mixed  materials  on  paper  
    25  x  27  cm  
    2024
  • Colonized

    Oil  on  canvas  
    40  x  50  cm  
    2023
  • Don’t Die Too Young

    Oil  on  canvas  
    92  x  128  cm  
    2024
  • I Spent My Days in the Tempest of Melancholy

    Tempera  on  board  
    70  x  50  cm  
    2024
  • The Return of Leifeng Pagoda

    Copperplate  etching  printing  
    44.5  x  34.5  cm(framed)
    2023
  • Red and Green

    Oil  on  canvas  
    160  x  120  cm  
    2024
  • Gentleman

    Oil  on  canvas  
    160  x  120  cm  
    2024
  • Image in Scene

    Oil  on  canvas  
    38  x  92  cm  
    2022
  • The Landscape of Soul No.4

    Color  ink  on  paper  
    40  x  30  cm  
    2024
  • The Landscape of Soul No.3

    Color  ink  on  paper  
    40  x  30  cm  
    2024
  • The Landscape of Soul No.2

    Color  ink  on  paper  
    40  x  30  cm  
    2024
  • The Landscape of Soul No.1

    Color  ink  on  paper  
    40  x  30  cm  
    2024
  • Fall to the Ground and Collapse

    Oil  on  canvas  
    20  x  30  cm  
    2024
  • Feed My Beloved Sheep a Few Marshmallows

    Oil  on  canvas  
    20  x  40  cm    
    2024
  • When the Drama is on

    Mixed  media  on  canvas  
    20  x  20  cm  x  6  pcs  
    2024
  • A Cup the First

    Oil  on  wood  
    80  x  60  cm  
    2023
  • A Cup the Second

    Oil  on  wood  
    124  x  68  cm  
    2023

Artists