The arrival of 2020 gave the already vulnerable world order a strong hit, which unprecedentedly challenged and re-wrote the norm from everyday life to the world of politics. The uncertain future brought back questions that have been asked thousands of times, why do we need art, and what can artists do for this world?

AroundSpace Gallery is pleased to present a group show of ten artists, Worlds within the World. They use media such as painting, photography, sculpture or installation, choose abstract or figurative style, interpret and reconstruct a disorganized world, in order to preserve the peace and tranquility of their minds.

Artists' works are always reflections of the world no matter what age they live in. In the new norm of 2020, Li Qing's Neighbor's Window series seems to be particularly meaningful. It reminds us that people who are under quarantine and forced to keep "social distance" can only peek the outside world from their windows. Shao Zejiong's new work, Quarantine Land: No Man's Isle, also makes the traditional Shanshui painting relevant to a contemporary society. A Flash between Memory and Disillusion, Maleonn's photography series, takes the format of the traditional Chinese scroll painting, and was shot in several provinces in China for an entire year. "It is an elegy for the spiritual homeland which is now gradually drifting away and bears our nostalgia for China in ancient times. ... it seeks for a concealed re-construction and darning of our mysterious tradition," says Maleonn. He wishes to use the magic of photography and "fragments of these uncertain clues" to recreate those classic sceneries in memory. Tang Shu and Ding Xiaozhen project their ideals in natural or social landscapes, while Dou Rongjun's Fleeting Lights series implicitly embraces the brilliance of life. Chi Qun and Tao Yi choose to summarize the outside world with their abstract works. Creating her own order in a persistent manner, Fu Xiaotong pierced a half million holes on hand-made rice paper, which recorded the passing of time. By executing bold cuts on precious Lingbi Stones, Masaru Takanashi made contemporary sculpture works out of Chinese scholars' rocks. In doing so, he successfully reshaped classic aesthetics and made ancient scholars' rocks alive and relevant.

According to the Lotus Sutra, the whole universe is contained in tiny particles of dust, from which Late Tang poet Li Shangyin drew inspirations and wrote "How within this world, within this grain of dust, Can there be any room for the passions of men?" (North Among Green Vines, translated by Witter Bynner) In front of the world, the power of man is as small as a speck of dust, while the mind of man is as big as the universe. Time flies and seasons change, we cannot foresee laughs or tears, hopes or disappointments, but we can always rely on art, and we will be grateful to the worlds within the world created by artists.

Worlds with the World

Artist: Chi Qun, Masaru Takanashi, Ding Xiaozhen, Dou Rongjun, Fu Xiaotong, Li Qing, Maleonn, Shao Zejiong, Tang Shu, and Tao Yi