In this painting by Deng Cheng Wen, a group of men and women is seen walking on top of a building, close to the edge, all blindly following each other and oblivious to their imminent fall. This compelling and pertinent work reflects the artist's generational ideals. The grimness he depicts in his walkers' attitude is evident in the landscape - with calamity all around, they are falling into a city of fire and destruction. Dark and eerie, the surrounding seems to be covered in ash, having suffered from a destructive fire. Where everything evokes desperation and distress, belief is suggested in the artist's depiction of the sky: clear blue, free from clouds or pollution of the city, sparking hope. However, if indeed hope is present, Deng shows no intention of removing the walkers' hands from their eyes, nor does he intend to bring them away from these dangerous settings, aware that changes can only occur within the blind walkers themselves.
In 1981, Deng Cheng Wen was born in Guangdong Province, China. He graduated from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 2006 and his works have been exhibited worldwide in places such as Hong Kong, Beijing and Miami. Deng Cheng Wen's "Blind Walking" series captures the collective ambition, ignorance and emotional flurry within the young Chinese of his generation. His works adopt a concept-based approach in order to seek a depth and complexity, at a level that causes some of its viewers to recognize personal truths while standing before the art. Read More
Blind Walking and Its Meaningless Text
Deng Chengwen's blind walking series is about the allegorical theme of the survival of the next generation. He uses stimulating visual situations to describe the lost mental state of Chinese youth after globalisation.
In 2007, a few of Deng Chengwen's "Blind Walking" pieces were on show at the first 798 art festival which I organised. The scene was of several stern-looking young people who looked like they were playing a game of feeling their way around in the dark, standing in a line, with the last person in the line covering the eyes of the first. This image was the starting point of this whole series - when the piece first began it started off with just two or three people on a freehand empty background of grey nothingness. Later, the number of people was increased to seven or eight with a specific city, wasteland, river and country road background painted in. "Blind Walking" depicts the new generation and their surrounding landscapes after the rise of China. The temperament of the new generation in Deng Chengwen's works already possess the same post-globalization characteristics as young people all over the world; not having the special political naivete of those born in the 50's and 60's, nor the adolescent cruelty accumulated during the preliminary stages of capitalism of those from the 70's. Due to their excellent material standards and robust bodies, they have good skin and fashionable clothing, with some young people even dyeing their hair to become a blonde colour similar to Westerners.
2014
"The Lightness Of Seeing" - Ode To Art Singapore
2013
"Carrying the Tiger Down The Mountain" Central Art Academy Beijing
2012
"Made in China" London Contemporary Art Exhibition
"WEIBO" - Song Zhuang Museum, Beijing
2009
Solo Exhibition at Ode to Art Gallery, Singapore
Adjacent Exhibition of "State" Art in Beijing
2008
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, America
2007
"MirrorStage, Fable and Lie" at 9 Art Space, Beijing
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