"Arts Speaks" Exhibition in Orangeburg, NY

November 18, 2018 – January 6, 2019

V°LITION gallery presents "ART SPEAKS"; an exhibit organised to promote the art and creativity of individuals who are affected by autism and other developmental delays. Includes artists from Pure Vision, NYC.

Bell-ans Center of Creative Arts
4 Bell Lane, Orangeburg NY
www.bellans.com

Out There Art Fair, London

Out There Art Fair 2017, photo: Adam Tiernan Thomas

November 23–25, 2018

Join ActionSpace artists for another rendition of Out There Art Fair, the yearly exhibition ActionSpace holds at Cockpit Open Studios. Once again, ActionSpace artists will be showing unique works made in the studio for the duration of the fair.

ActionSpace
Cockpit Arts, Cockpit Yard, Northington Street, London WC1N 2NP
actionspace.org

Miniature Raw Vision #1!

All subscribers will receive a free miniature facsimile of Raw Vision #1 in their copy of RV #100.

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Issue 99 Out Now!

Raw Vision 99 Article Preview

REPAINTING MEMORIES

The modern power of the silver paintbrush: an older artist based in China

Author: Yuan Liu
Translation by Wei Ran

China has the largest older population in the world – by 2017, there were more than 150 million people aged 65 and over. The everyday life of this enormous-but-largely-silent community is shockingly homogeneous. The majority of senior citizens in China continue their roles as family caregivers, helping their children with household chores and looking after their grandchildren. Their free time is usually spent on fitness-related activities as they try to battle old age, ailments and feelings of emptiness by sticking to healthy routines and diets, travelling, being physically active, and spending time on some kind of hobby. For 71-year-old Shao Bingfeng, however, life after retirement has meant much more. She became an artist ten years ago, and today her work is on show in galleries in Paris and Beijing.

Four Heavenly Kings, 2016, 27.2 x 36.2 in. / 69 x 92 cm

A petite woman with grizzled hair, Shao is full of energy and looks younger than her age. She lives with her daughter’s family in the suburban town of Yanjiao. After minor surgery last year, she decided to settle in the area for easy access to the hospital. The town is about 20 miles from Beijing and the low house prices have turned it into a satellite city that has attracted a lot of artists who work in Beijing. During the day, the residential area is very quiet. Shao’s daughter’s apartment is on the ground floor and has a small backyard filled with plants. Shao’s room faces the yard, and her bedside work table is covered with art supplies – a convenient setup for her to continue painting after her siesta. When she is working, Shao stands with unwavering concentration, sometimes all afternoon. Her daughter wishes she would not work so hard, but Shao thinks there’s no better way to relax than painting.

Writing in a Difficult Way, 2018, 27.2 x 27.2 in. / 69 x 69 cm. All works are Chinese ink on rice paper

An iPad on Shao’s work table stands out among the palettes and brushes, with an image on its screen: a girl in black (who appears to be Eastern European) lies on her side on top of a low cabinet. A leopard inside the open cabinet seems to be fascinated by the girl’s hanging braid. Shao’s painting of this image retains the same basic composition, but the Eastern European girl has been replaced by a Chinese country lass in a floral print dudou (traditional Chinese bodice), the pillow and the cabinet have been decorated with finely crafted traditional patterns, and a few more leopards with surprised expressions have joined the lone one in the original picture.

Happy Circus, 2016, 27.2 x 54.3 in. / 69 x 138 cm

Shao uses traditional Chinese pigments and thin ink brushes for colouring, which produces an unassuming tone that nonetheless serves to create tension and depict all kinds of eerie scenes. Those who see Shao at work for the first time would probably be intrigued by her method, but she has been working this way for more than a decade: she is not really duplicating, because her creations are completely different from the references she uses. A painting takes Shao a week to a month to finish, and sometimes she recolours old works long after they are completed if she spots something unsatisfying. Over 500 completed rice-paper works have already come out of Shao’s daily exercise, all with a distinct, unified style that belongs to her and her alone.

Read the rest of this article in Raw Vision 99, out now!

Calling All Film Makers!

Raw Vision is excited to announce a short film competition! Don't miss this exciting opportunity to have your film promoted online, screened at the Outsider Art Fair in New York, and win $2,000!