Lawrence Weiner

American artist Lawrence Weiner visited my studio on Sunday. It was such interesting and good feeling to talk to an artist who can usually be read in the art history books. Surprisingly down to earth, Lawrence is a modest, humourous but intelligent man who doesn't appear as a contemporary master. It's such a sharp contrast from the image of those successful artists, especially those in mainland China.

It's my good fortune to have him visited.


PRESS RELEASE

LAWRENCE WEINER

Opening: 1 March 2007 6:30pm , exhibition runs until 15 April.

Artist's Talk: 27 February 2007, 7pm at
1907AB, Hong Kong Art School Learning Centre – 19/F Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, HK. reservation essential.

Para/Site Art Space is delighted to present American conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner's first solo project in China. Known for his radical use of language, he will produce a wall installation in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese specifically for this exhibition. There will be an artist talk held in conjunction with his presentation.

Born in New York, Lawrence Weiner is one of the most iconic artists of our time. A central figure of Conceptual Art since the 1960s, he concluded that viewers could experience an artwork simply by reading a verbal description of it . Not long after this, Weiner turned to language as the primary vehicle for his work, declaring with his statement of intent in 1968 that:

"(1) The artist may construct the piece. (2) The piece may be fabricated. (3) The piece may not be built. [Each being equal and consistent with the intent of the artist, the decision as to condition rests with the receiver upon the occasion of receivership.]"

Like other Conceptual artists who gained international recognition in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Weiner has investigated new forms of display and distribution that challenge our traditional assumptions about the nature of the art object and its relationship with the viewers. Wall installations, consist ing solely of words and punctuation painted on walls in his signature font, have been his primary medium. He believes that the artist himself needs not do the lettering itself, as long as the sign painter complies with the instructions dictated by the artist. Although his work s focuses on the potential for language to serve as an art form, the subjects of his epigrammatic statements are often directly related to the physical arrangement of the letters on the wall or to the viewers experience of reading these statements.

Lawrence Weiner has exhibited in many major international museums and will have a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in the end of 2007.

Para/Site Art Space , G/F, 4 Po Yan Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong,

Contact & reservation for artist's talk: info@para-site.org.hk Tel. +852 25174620