"The Way of Chopsticks: Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen"
2006-06-20 until 2006-07-28
Chambers Fine Art
New York, NY, USA United States of America

Chambers Fine Art is pleased to announce the opening of The Way of Chopsticks, a collaborative exhibition by prominent experimental artists, Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen. This exhibition is a continuation and variation on the theme of Chopsticks explored in their first exhibition at Chambers Fine Art, in which the artists united to explore philosophical and sociological ideas embodied in a mundane object. In this exhibition, the artists transcend their original chopstick ideologies to reveal more powerful, spiritual relationships. The Way of Chopsticks elicits an entirely new philosophy of creation.

Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen drive the idea of collaborative work to a new level where trust becomes invaluable. In one project, they individually create an 8-meter long chopstick without revealing or discussing aesthetics or process with each other. The pairing of the chopsticks is unveiled at the exhibition. Other ideas presented in this highly anticipated exhibition are realized through video, paintings, and installations.

Their first Chopstick exhibition in 2002 was the celebration of their ten year anniversary as a married couple and the first joint project between the two independently successful artists. They transformed the gallery into a ritual space presenting chopsticks as simple everyday objects and as a metaphor for the personal bonds that unite them. Their theme focused on eating, drinking, playing, and happiness. On a metaphysical level, the duality of chopsticks parallels their inseparable nature.

After graduating from the Fine Arts Department of Capital Normal University of Beijing in 1989, Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen rejected their academic training in painting to investigate experimental art forms such as performance and video. Both artists achieved international fame independently before deciding to work together, confronting social issues through intense gestures and actions that have deep personal meaning.

Together, Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen present The Way of Chopsticks as a means of creating a new visual identity as a team. Their refusal to adhere to a singular style or formula allows them to explore a wide range of conceptual ideas, together and independently. This exhibition is a further exploration of their highly distinctive individual approach to the making of objects as well as a moving expression of their interdependence.

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