mc2gallery inaugurates the new exhibition season with a collective dedicated to oriental artists. Although almost all of them grew up or live in Europe or America (such as Loan Nguyen, Trong Gia Nguyen, John Clang and Chan Hyo Bae), some live or have returned to live in their home countries (such as Tiffany Chung, in Viet Nam or Chen Nong and Yang Yongliang, in China). However, they all keep their origins and the culture of belonging very present and at the center of their work.
Historical/political cultures that have marked them both as children of exiles, raised in Western countries (think of the Vietnamese who fled to America after the fall of Saigon in 1975), and as citizens of countries dominated by a strong political ideology and pressing censorship , such as China. Where making Art often becomes political dissidence.
Failed the ideologies of the maximum systems, Communism and Capitalism, those distant and fascinating worlds that we simplistically define the East (that is, the countries of Asia), have always attracted Western aims. First for economic interests, then cultural.
Today instead in the new millennium, these countries with a difficult historical past and once closed to the West have filled a technological/cultural gap thanks to their new market economies, which in defiance of “archaeo-ideologies” have created a new form of capitalism -socialist, who brought wealth and luxury to the new generations, long denied them and today a true status symbol of the neo-rich. Thus a curious phenomenon of economic colonialism in reverse is taking place. True historical nemesis, where the West is conquered. Confirming their new economic strength this year was the acquisition by ART BASEL, the most powerful fair in the world, of the Hong Kong fair brand, which from next year will become Art Basel Hong Kong.
New “Eastern Winds” that blow from afar, but arrive with all the strength and charm of these ancient distant lands.
