About Vermilion Art
John McDonald
In the 21st century China’s economic growth has stunned the world, but the ascendency of Chinese contemporary art has been hardly less impressive. From the time of the ’85 New Wave to the present, Chinese artists have consistently shown themselves to be bolder, more ambitious and imaginative than their western counterparts.
In Sydney that still-breaking wave has been celebrated by Judith Neilson’s White Rabbit Gallery – home of the world’s largest private collection of contemporary Chinese art, and by Vermilion, which has made new Chinese work accessible to Australian collectors.
Yeqin Zuo opened her enterprising commercial gallery in October, 2015, and has since showcased a broad range of actvities by Chinese artists based on the mainland, and in Australia. There have been exhibitions by renowned figures such as Cang Xin and Fang Lijun, and by local artists such as Jason Phu and Liu Dapeng.
Playing the role of a mini-museum, Vermilion has hosted a succession of group exhibitions selected by guest curators. For Zuo it’s a way of signalling the gallery’s openness to new media and ideas. A typical show might include not only painting and sculpture, but video art and other innovative forms. To take a more conservative path would be to misrepresent the relentless shape-shifting and experimentation of contemporary Chinese art. Ultimately it’s not just objects that Vermilion is selling, it’s pure energy – the excitement of a culture in constant flux.
John McDonald is art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, film critic for the Australian Financial Review, and principal writer for Artist Profile magazine.
John McDonald
In the 21st century China’s economic growth has stunned the world, but the ascendency of Chinese contemporary art has been hardly less impressive. From the time of the ’85 New Wave to the present, Chinese artists have consistently shown themselves to be bolder, more ambitious and imaginative than their western counterparts.
In Sydney that still-breaking wave has been celebrated by Judith Neilson’s White Rabbit Gallery – home of the world’s largest private collection of contemporary Chinese art, and by Vermilion, which has made new Chinese work accessible to Australian collectors.
Yeqin Zuo opened her enterprising commercial gallery in October, 2015, and has since showcased a broad range of actvities by Chinese artists based on the mainland, and in Australia. There have been exhibitions by renowned figures such as Cang Xin and Fang Lijun, and by local artists such as Jason Phu and Liu Dapeng.
Playing the role of a mini-museum, Vermilion has hosted a succession of group exhibitions selected by guest curators. For Zuo it’s a way of signalling the gallery’s openness to new media and ideas. A typical show might include not only painting and sculpture, but video art and other innovative forms. To take a more conservative path would be to misrepresent the relentless shape-shifting and experimentation of contemporary Chinese art. Ultimately it’s not just objects that Vermilion is selling, it’s pure energy – the excitement of a culture in constant flux.
John McDonald is art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, film critic for the Australian Financial Review, and principal writer for Artist Profile magazine.
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Contact us
info@vermilionart.com.au
Gallery Director
Dr Yeqin Zuo 左業勤 yzuo@vermilionart.com.au T +61 (2) 9241 3323 / M +61 408 993 049 |
Gallery Manager
Man Luo 罗曼 mluo@vermilionart.com.au T +61 (2) 9241 3323 / M +61 451 941 017 |