About the artwork
Another custom from Ming Dynasty which is knitted by the hands of the artist accurately in honor of the preciousness in Chinese traditional customs is presented in Contemporary Art exhibitions and appreciated by many famous groundbreaking art collectors, because of how it humbly transforms into a contextually valuable masterpiece when within the use of its materials, the artist Wang Lei, courageously provides an unusual choice in order to discuss different cultural layers of China from past to present, and how this vast country has influenced and has been influenced because of its geographical conditions.
About the artist
Wang Lei was born in 1980 in Henan, China, and is one of the
most prominent contemporary artists in China. Wang Lei has an eye for intimate details and subtleties. He brings an art piece to life by
absorbing all historical and social factors as a subtle culture within layers of time. We see this not only in the context of his artwork but
also in the process of designing and creating. Wang Lei’s artworks succeed in
its contemporary agenda to communicate with a vast range of audiences from
different backgrounds.
He uses paper and twists it into long, delicate threads which are then woven into reproductions of Chinese robes. The manipulation of this tough-textured paper into the composition of such an exquisite garment highlights the problems surrounding the relationship between viewer perceptions and reality. Wang Lei also draws attention to the often-disputed interconnectedness of traditional and contemporary art, focusing on the reverence for history and tradition as a central obstacle which hinders the acceptance of contemporary art in China.