The Cass Sculpture Foundation has just announced details of an ambitious exhibition, scheduled for 2016. A Beautiful Disorder is being billed as the first major UK exhibition of newly commissioned outdoor sculpture by contemporary Chinese artists. From May to November next year, 15 large-scale sculptures, made in a variety of mediums including wood, stone steel and bronze, will go on display throughout the foundation’s extensive grounds in Chichester, West Sussex, just south of London.
Underpinning the exhibition is the historical relationship between the landscape aesthetics of Britain and China. The show’s title is a quote from a letter written by Jean-Denis Attiret, an 18th-century Jesuit missionary and artist, where he describes the way in which Chinese gardens can provoke powerful sensations and impressions through the use of dramatic framing devices. The works will also reference China’s present state and its relationship with the rest of the world.
So far participating artists include Bi Rongrong, Cao Fei, Cheng Ran, Cui Jie, Jennifer Ma Wen, Li Jinghu, Lu Pingyuan, Made in Company, Rania Ho, Song Ta, Tu Wei-Cheng, Wang Sishun, Wang Wei, Wang Yuyang, Zhang Ruyi, Zheng Bo and Zhao Yao.