Huang Jiancheng – Mechanical Manuscript

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Mechanical Manuscript is Huang Jiancheng’s first solo exhibition in Italy and is based on years of reflection on Chinese history and culture. It is curated by Italian Curator Vittorio Urbani, and is organized and produced in cooperation with We Exhibit.

Extract from the presentation by curator Vittorio Urbani
Calligraphy is an important point of reference for his work as an artist. His art can be compared to an abstract form of calligraphy. The artist considers his work, interestingly, as “the shadow of calligraphy” or the ghost of it, as I may suggest. As a youth he practiced calligraphy. This technique is the most abstract form of art in Oriental culture. Calligraphy is of course first and foremost a form of language “concise to the extreme” (Huang Jiancheng).
The title Mechanical Manuscript bears an interesting contradiction between the idea of a handmade text and that of the mechanical production of it. How could this not be an interesting paradox? Computerized programs allow to set “rules” for the production of whatever text or image. The manuscript part refers to the translation of the artist’s thinking through a mechanical reproduction. The text/drawing resulting from this process “has the mobility and fluidity of the continuous transformation of human sensitivity and rationality”. (Huang Jiancheng)

About the artist
Huang Jiancheng is Vice President, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of China Central Academy of Fine Arts City Design School in Beijing. He is a talented artist and a famous designer having worked as the artistic director and chief designer at the China Pavilion of the 2005 Aichi Expo (Japan) and as Design Director at the China Pavilion of the 2010 Shanghai Expo. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout China and overseas, and his artistic talents have been rewarded with numerous prizes and awards. Modern design and contemporary art are combined in his artwork. As an interior space designer, he is concerned with the balance between design and space, with exhibition space becoming part of the artwork itself. Symbols and signs are the main motifs in his recent artworks. He also makes good use of digital and virtual reality technology to make his works thought-provoking.