Juchuan Li: Concrete Architecture 1994.5 – 1996.4

Juchuan Li: Concrete Architecture 1994.5 – 1996.4

By Juchuan Li

Translation by Meng Jiang and Xinyi Ren

Published by SLEEPCENTER

Year: 2019

Dimensions:

Cover: Paperback

Pages: 25 p.

Binding:

Color:

Language: English

Edition size: limited edition of 50

Juchuan Li: Concrete Architecture 1994.5 – 1996.4 is the documentation of the practices and ideas of Juchuan Li during 1994 – 1996. As one of the earliest Chinese artists to carry out performance in urban spaces, Li used a red brick as the symbolic, structural, and material tool to reinvent both architecture and life forms in a series of performances. By focusing on temporality and his own body, Li has set his work to the contrary of common architectural practices. Inspired by the “Concrete Music” movement, Li wrote his manifesto Toward a Concrete Architecture upon the completion of this series of works.

Juchuan Li: Concrete Architecture 1994.5 – 1996.4 contains the photo and text documentation of the six earliest performance works by Juchuan Li: Living with a Brick for One Week (Performance, 1994), Urban Dwelling 1994 (Performance/Photography, 1994), Wuchang City Wall 1995 (Performance, 1995), (Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge)’ (Performance, 1995), Bus No. 43: The Wuchang City Wall from 2:02 pm to 2:42 pm, Mar 12, 1996 (Performance/Video, 1996), Shacking Up with Kika (Performance/Video, 1996), and his manifesto Toward a Concrete Architecture (1996). Notable exhibitions featured works mentioned above include: Demonstration of Video Art ’97 China, Gallery of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1997; Moving Image in China: 1988 – 2011, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China, 2011; “International Experimental Film & Video Festival in Seoul”, Seoul, Korea, 2016; and Society Guidance: Part II, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China, 2019.

Juchuan Li: Concrete Architecture 1994.5 – 1996.4 is part of Wuhan Club, solo exhibition of Juchuan Li at SLEEPCENTER New York, 2019; which also marks the first publication the book in the print edition. The book had been previously printed by the artist for private circulation between friends and professionals in late 1996. The electronic version was exhibited at the group exhibition Society Guidance: Part II, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, 2019.

Limited edition of 50, available in English and Chinese.