Silian Gallery is delighted to announce ‘BODilY’, a group exhibition featuring new and recent works by Olivia Foster, Matvei Matveev, Abdullah Nafisi, Wenyi Qian, and Jiachen Zeng. Curated by Marjorier Ding, the exhibition opens on 24th April, 2024.
Bodily, defined by the Cambridge Dictionary to be ‘of or relating to the human body’. While physicality may be an objective commonplace acknowledgement, the capacity to ‘relate’ in essence implies a dualistic perspective, wherein the connection between the other and the body is subjectively discerned. In this exhibition, the works on view probe beyond ‘bodily’ corporeality, but to explore the role of the body not as an actant but a vehicle of agency.
From a metaphysical depiction of form and relations, the evocation of expression and presence, to the willing surrender to (self-) destruction, the exhibition aims to surface the inextricable link between the body and the intangible “other”. As an extension, an embodiment, or even, subjection.
The exhibition is also pleased to include special screening of moving image by Francesca Hummler, curated by film curator Linlin Zhu.
BODilY opens from 24th April to 31st May, 2024.
Opening drinks: Tuesday 23rd April, 6 - 8 pm.
Location: 434 King’s Road, London, UK SW10 0LJ
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ABDOLLA NAFISI
Abdollah Nafisi (b. 1982, Tehran Iran) lives and works in West Sussex, UK. Abdollah Nafisi’s form-making practice centres around the art of improvisation, an archival and performative process he observed and learned during his years-long travel with nomads and indigenous tribes of Iran. Inspired by their intimate and ever-responsive ways with the lands, Nafisi aims to translate and explore the essence of ‘connectivity’ by drawing parallels between the ecologies of man and of nature.
He has appeared as a master maker on the BBC, featured in a range of international publications and exhibited and performed in a number of shows in London, including Frieze 2022. He has recently featured works at the Annely Juda Gallery, as part of the ‘Gather To Loose’ exhibition with David Nash and Roger Ackling.
JIACHEN ZENG
Jiachen Zeng (b. 1997, Shenzhen China) is a mixed-media artist whose work spans installations, sculptures, paintings, and works on paper; through materiality and medium to explore spiritual and physical boundaries. Often imposing performative and interactive elements in her work, she finds, breaks, and connects with the tangible and intangible, to interlock or interrupt the existing balanced ecologies of daily occurrences. Graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago majoring in Painting and Drawing, and subsequently a Master of Art degree in Sculpture, Zeng’s work has been exhibited in numerous institutions and galleries around the world, selected include Shanghai West Bund Art Centre, Chicago Zhou B Art Center, Beijing One Atelier, Tong Gallery+Projects, Yao Space, Yue Gallery, London Lychee One Gallery, RuptureXIBIT, Barge House, Standpoint Gallery, etc.
MATVEI MATVEEV
At the core of Matvei Matveev’s practice lies the investigation of loneliness and feelings of disconnect to cultures he has experienced. Matvei mirrors this transience and unpredictability of his upbringing in the materiality of his process – a process where his direct gesture is removed, canvases are folded, stained and left in the rain, wind or snow for days.
Combining natural and synthetic materials such as linseed oil, salt, and bleach, each step of his process is informed by the material that came before, and by each action he willingly succumbs to the uncontrollable and irreversible interference and destruction that follows, evoking a simultaneous fusion of the senses whilst liberating the paintings from the limitations of structure, giving the paintings the voice and freedom to grow for themselves.
Matvei Matveev (b. 1996, Russia) is a Russian-German Artist living and working between London, Berlin and Riga.
WENYI QIAN
Beginning her artist journey in Chinese traditional painting, then transitioning into disciplines of oil painting and sculpture, Wenyi Qian’s practice has evolved to explore and present a convergence of thought and materialities. Employing traditional Chinese painting techniques as expository vessel, she explores the relationship between painting and the female body by extending beyond practical painterly quality, but to evoke and engage with the senses of the viewers whereby they become part of the politics of practice, to prompt imagination, and transcend signification to explore female-defining meaning and expression.
Wenyi Qian (b. 1998, Wuxi China) is an artist and curator based in London, UK. After graduating from the Xi'an Academy of Fine Art in Oil Painting, she completed an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art to expand her research-based practice into painting, writing, moving images, and sculpture. Qian’s work has been exhibited by galleries globally, with her published group work “Wild Stone '' collected by the Tate Britain and Freud Museum.
OLIVIA FOSTER
Olivia Foster’s figural works explore a metaphysical depiction of humanity, by transporting classical references into a contemporary context. She investigates the dichotomy of the concept ‘revolution’: a continuous and complete repetition of circularity, or single wave of fundamental overturn brought about by originality and new innovation. Drawing upon these themes of autonomy, volition, and control, she captures the transient and cyclical nature of life through the circumambient neoclassical figures; grabbing, pushing, and pulling, struggling to breakfree from their corporeal existence. In her works, crucial moments freeze, immortalising the fleeting essence of physical corporeal form.
Olivia Foster (b. 2001, Surrey UK) is a London-based artist, commencing her art career at Central Saint Martins. Working primarily on large-scale oil paintings, her works have been shown at prestigious institutions such as the National Gallery.
Special Screening
FRANCESCA HUMMLER
Francesca Hummler (b. 1997, German) is a visual artist and researcher working with photography and moving images currently based in London. Interested in
issues regarding identity, she draws from her experience as the daughter of German immigrants in the United States to explore the archive, familial intimacy, and generational trauma. Influenced by the concept of phototherapy, Francesca often utilises self-portraiture to untangle her sense of self.
ABOUT THE CURATORS
Exhibition Curator
Marjorier Ding (b. 1998, Shanghai China) is a Chinese contemporary art curator and advisor who works and lives in London. In 2021, she founded Tiderip, a curating collective that has hosted numerous exhibitions and art fairs across London and China. Marjorier graduated from the Royal College of Art in MA Curating Contemporary Art in 2022. Alongside her multidisciplinary background in media, marketing, and production, as well as international work experience both in commercial galleries and non-profit art institutions out of many others, her practice is mainly focusing on experimental curation and exhibition future.
Screening Curator
Linlin Zhu (b. 1998, China) is a Chinese documentary filmmaker and moving image curator, currently residing and working in both London and Beijing. Boasting 6 years of valuable experience in the Film/TV industry, her productions have graced the screens of over 10 prominent broadcasting and streaming platforms, including Paramount, CCTV, Tencent, Youku, and Bilibili. She actively contributes to the promotion of experimental video projects while aiding artists in translating their artworks into captivating multiple experiences.