Laputa Art Center Description

This exhibition is the first exhibition of Shanghai Laputa Art Center. It was named Laputa, probably after borrowing the name of the fictional flying island in his novel "Oliver's Travels" by the British writer Jonathan Swift. Later, the godfather of Japanese cartoons Hayao Miyazaki performed a more imaginative flying island in "Castle in the Sky", and this visual prototype became a household name in China. The name of Laputa therefore has a utopian temperament, like the "City in the Sky". It is far away from reality and has the power to influence the world. Isn't art like that? 

The exhibition organizer invited Huang Laiduo, Wang Chaogang, Liu Jun, Wang Jianuo, Wang Liwei, Zhang Feng, Yang Xishenger, and Miquel Gelabert to participate in the exhibition. The works are not limited to a single category, but they all reflect the emphasis on "form". They are impressive in terms of color, composition, shape, space, and material characteristics. It appeals to the viewer's perception in an intuitive way, and does not focus on thematic literary narrative, which reflects the formalist aesthetics upheld by the participating artists. Three sculptors such as Liu Jun, Wang Liwei and Zhang Feng have worked hard on the texture of materials, the relationship of space, and the aesthetics of modeling. 

本次展览是上海拉普达（Laputa）艺术中心的首展。将其命名为拉普达，大概是借鉴了英国作家乔纳森·斯威夫特（Jonathan Swift）在其小说《奥列佛游记》中虚构的飞行岛的名字。后日本动画片教父级人物宫崎骏又在《天空之城》中演绎了一个更具想象力的飞岛，这个视觉原型因此而在中国变得家喻户晓。拉普达之名由此而具备着乌托邦气质，如“天空之城”那样，它既远离现实又有着影响世界的力量。艺术不正是如此吗？展览主办方邀请了黄来铎、王朝刚、刘军、王加诺、王立伟、张峰、杨悉圣儿、米凯尔·格拉伯特多位艺术家参展。作品并不局限于某单一门类，但皆体现出对“形式”的重视，它们在诸如色彩、构图、造型、空间、材质特征等等层面让人印象深刻。以直观的方式诉诸于观者的感知，并不着力于主题性文学叙事，体现出参展艺术家们所秉持的形式主义美学。如刘军、王立伟、张峰四位雕塑家，在材料质感、空间关系、造型美感上颇下功夫。