Immediate Release 2009/12/04
Yang Fudong: The General’s Smile December 19 (Sat.), 2009 – March 28 (Sun.), 2010
1. The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in Japan by Yang Fudong, a Chinese film artist who has been highly active on the international scene in recent years. As an artist with a strong attachment to 35mm film, Yang creates films that are noted for their unique, finely grained textural quality and the use of highly refined and perfectly composed imagery. His films--at times documentary in tone, at times theatrical--depict fragments of contemporary Chinese society, transforming at dazzling speed, and the people who live within it. This exhibition introduces the magic of Yang Fudong’s world by presenting a number of his cinematic gems, some being shown in Japan for the first time. These include The General’s Smile (2009), a large-scale video installation about the universality of human life presented in a scene of a banquet held for a senior military officer, and Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest Part 3 (2005), one part of a series that depict well-educated, modern-day young urbanites as they reveal their inner thoughts in various situations modeled after the popular tale of seven famous intellectuals in ancient China who seek refuge from the world in a bamboo forest where they engage in intellectual discourse. Exhibition title: Yang Fudong: The General’s Smile Dates: December 19 (Sat.), 2009 – March 28 (Sun.), 2010 Organized by: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art Supported by: Japan Arts Fund, MRA Foundation Japan Cooperation provided by: NEC Display Solutions, Ltd., Ufer! Art Documentary, Super Factory, SUZUKI EIGA, ShanghART Gallery Place: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, 4-7-25, Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001 Tel 03-3445-0651 Fax 03-3473-0104 E-mail info@haramuseum.or.jp Website http://www.haramuseum.or.jp Mobile site http://mobile.haramuseum.or.jp Hours: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm, Wednesdays (except when it falls on a national holiday) until 8:00 pm *last entry 30 min. before closing Closed: Mondays (open on January 11 and March 22) and December 28 - January 4, January 12, March 23 Admission: General 1,000 yen; Students 700 yen (high school and university) or 500 yen (elementary and junior high); Free for Hara Museum members, students through high school every Saturday during the school terms. 100 yen discount per person for groups of 20 or more. Related Event: December 20 (Sun.) 2:00-3:30pm Artist Talk: Yang Fudong Chinese/Japanese Place: The Hall at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art Fee: General 2,000 yen Members and up to 2 guests 1,000 yen (per person) Museum admission is included. Please contact us for reservations and details. Tel: (03) 3445-0669 E-mail: info@haramuseum.or.jp