Beyond the rules
Late French sculptor Jean Cardot once said that it was difficult for him to talk about his work, and the relationship between him and his art was "not in the realm of words". He enjoyed that silent, intimate process interacting with the materials he worked with — marble, bronze and plaster, among others — letting the resonance being created between him and the work direct him to an unknown destination.
Cardot's sculptures are located in public places around the world, including Ox in the Sun, on display in the garden of the National Art Museum of China, which he donated to in 2020, the year he passed on. He had donated 10 works to the National Art Museum of China the year before. These works are now on show at a retrospective exhibition of Cardot, Power Beyond the Rules, being held at the art museum through to Jan 15. It shows some 70 sculptures and over 20 drawings that reflect the artist's lifelong exploration of the freedom of form being revealed through the hands of artists and their materials, which is beyond words.
Cardot expressed emptiness and fullness, as well as his doubts as he shaped his artistic materials. His works show majesty and solemnity.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.
Overseas stories
Through the Riptide as a Canoe is the sixth global exhibition focusing on overseas Chinese now on at the He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. This year, the exhibition zooms in on artists living and working in the Americas through whose works the audience are offered new perspectives of the experiences and spiritual world of overseas Chinese communities.
It shows how the ink-art tradition spread through the travels of Chinese immigrants, and evolved to be as strong as ever. The exhibition also displays the diversity of artistic expressions by overseas Chinese, blended with the cultures and customs of the countries and regions in which they reside. It reveals their varied journeys to tap into their respective cultural identities. The exhibition will end on March 24.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 9013 Shennan Dadao, Nanshan district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province.0755-2660-4540.
Her vision
From the Other Hill, an ongoing exhibition at the Guardian Art Center, brings together more than 50 female artists who show paintings, sculptures, installations, photos and digital works that ask the viewer to look for "more links to connect the past, present and future".
The exhibition not only examines issues that have often been seen as the preserve of women, such as juggling home, children and a career. More importantly, the exhibition goes beyond the female perspective to discuss issues of meaning to everyone, for example, the mounting pressure of the workplace and the future coexistence of people and robots.
Running through to Jan 24, it is a display of women's inner power and the thriving creative scene of women artists, as well as an invitation for people to envisage the world and the art of the future.
10 am-6 pm, closed on Mondays.1 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing.
