Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Florence: A Contemporary Art Show

Outside of “David” my favorite work of the day was a contemporary painting exhibition by the Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong called “Migrzioni”. His group of mostly large paintings was created in 2015 and 2016, you could still smell the freshly laid down paint. The show had a social documentary feel to it and dealt with Chinese migrant workers in Italy and Syrian refugees at the Vienna train station and surrounding areas.

The creative process of this artist was fascinating. Several of the finished works (at least 3) were very strong. I made numerous photos at the exhibition and also bought the book. The gallery staff prohibited photos upstairs at the Pollock show but allowed them downstairs in the Xiaodong space. There was a lot of understanding and compassion in the work, a real humanistic side to it. The paintings were equal if not better in some ways than straight concerned photography.

Here is a link to the show and artist:
http://www.palazzostrozzi.org/mostre/liu-xiaodong-a-firenze/

Syrian Refugee Painting By Liu Xiaodong