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Art Forum Berlin 2003

The International Fair for Contemporary Art
October 1 - 5, 2003
Vernissage: September 30, 2003

The eighth annual ART FORUM BERLIN, the International Fair for Contemporary Art, sets standards within a continuously expanding art fair landscape. Since its inauguration in 1996, ART FORUM BERLIN has become renowned as one of the most important cultural events in Germany, drawing thousands of contemporary art collectors from both the private and public realms, museum officials and other art-lovers each autumn to participate in the city's vibrant international art scene. This year ART FORUM BERLIN has successfully been consolidated and presents its customary program in a compact new guise. For the first time since its founding, ART FORUM BERLIN is able to present itself in its long-desired location; the most courageous and innovative fair for contemporary art on the European continent is now moving into halls 18 - 20 of the Berlin Fairgrounds. With their generous windows and adjoining winter garden, the Palais am Furkturm, the historically protected, Richard Ermisch designed halls offer the ideal location for the display of contemporary art from around the world. 99 galleries from 23 countries will show work spanning the entire range of artistic mediums. Video, along with photography, painting, sculpture and installation will be represented. The trend towards painting which was already apparent last year will continue to grow stronger. In addition to that, room-spanning installations also promise to attract much attention. In addition to the many other events and exhibitions that will be taking place in Berlin parallel to the fair, ART FORUM BERLIN also holds a series of engaging panel discussions, the ART FORUM BERLIN TALKS, in which guest speakers from across the globe bring their particular insights and expertise to the podium.

Fair Dates
Fair Days: October 1 - 5, 2003
Preview: September 30, 2003, 2:00 p.m.
Vernissage: September 30, 2003, 4 until 9:00 p.m.
October 1 - 4, 2003, 12 until 8:00 p.m.
October 5, 2003, 12 - 6:00 p.m.

Location:
Messegelände Berlin (Berlin Fairgrounds), Halls 18 to 20
Entrance on Masurenallee

Zheng Xue Wu

Solo Exhibition
September 18 - 28, 2003
Shanghai, China

Forty-year old Harbin artist Zheng Xue Wu’s traditional, yet constantly evolving abstract style combines traditional Chinese aesthetics with contemporary language and motifs. Within his mixed media work, images, words, and numbers always repeat – in rows, in flows. His compositions are assembled from elements that have been used over and over again as representations, each time in a different context, each time functioning a little differently. No one element in these compositions is able to claim uniqueness, no one element is beautiful in itself. The work is teeming with letters, numbers, characters, pictures, diagrams, maps, and symbols.

As early as 1990, Zheng Xue Wu began experimenting with different techniques and media, including traditional and contemporary Chinese printing, manual application of color, a combination of Chinese characters and English letters, along with abstract drawing and stamps. The result, when seen from a distance, is of strong contrasts of colors and shapes that beckons you closer to find deeper intricacy in the characters, motifs and symbols. The artist describes the process of his work, “I apply prints based on my own aesthetic feelings and freedom, and I apply paint wherever I see fit, giving my artwork is own, unique style. My art breaks away from is traditional origins.”

Although he welcomes viewers to interpret the characters within his work as they like, Zheng does not promote symbolism within his own artwork. His desire is for the viewer to be “visually pleased by the beautifully sophisticated combination of technique, media color patterns and design.”