Make Art Not War: Art School Grads Find Art in Chaos

Description

Supported by the Osage Art Foundation after the closure of their university exhibit hall, four Master of Fine Art students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong are putting on their graduate show Make _ art Not War.  The title is an artistic spin on the famous 1960s slogan “make love, not war,” an apt description of how the graduates cling to art for solace amidst the despondency of mankind and our world, shown in their works.

The art on exhibit cover thought-provoking, heavy topics. Sculptures of bodily fragments explore the limits of man’s physical and psychological states and our ability to find meaning in a seemingly fruitless life. Vivid, surreal paintings depict the wrestling between humans and animals for living, even breathing space in our cramped cities.

Paintings of ruins delve into the gaps in our memory and the way they are filled by imagination, much like how the history behind ruins can never be seen, only imagined. And on a slightly lighter note, microscopic observations of a printing factory lead to a tale of how industry has evolved through the years, arguing that the only way to break free from and reconstruct social narratives is through observation of minute details.