The Plague of Fantasies

Osage Shanghai will present The Plague of Fantasies from 1st November to 3rd December, 2008, featuring photography by Gao Lei and Dai Mouyu, paintings by Zhao Yang and Zheng Qiang, and video art by Jin Shan.

As more and more exhibitions and art venues open in the city, artworks have suddenly taken over our life. Under all kinds of invitations, we travel between exhibitions, receiving visual bombardments, and trying to decode ideas and fantasies behind countless concepts. The information explosion has short-circuited our brain, leaving us aesthetically exhausted and sensually numb. We have almost forgotten the freedom and pleasure that art brought us a long time ago, when our ancestors dwelling in confined rooms were able to depict their inner landscape, achieving in this process an understanding of the universe and the spiritual world. To them, artworks as the end result are not as important. However, our society has stepped into an age of consumerism, and our needs and satisfaction can no longer be defined by the terms of traditional political economics. Our relationship with products has evolved into one that fits into the inner logic of a capitalist society. In this age of consumerism, our practical needs are replaced by stimulated and fabricated desires. Everything in life is consumable, and art is not excluded. Under such circumstances, how should one carry out artistic creation as an individual? This is the theme we attempt to tackle and is the reason why these five artists have been invited.

About Osage Osage is a dynamic international gallery group with exhibition spaces in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore. We aim to promote outstanding artists from Asia, and through close cooperation with internationally renowned curators, artists and art historians, we organize and present exhibitions that address global themes.

Osage has been dedicated to promoting the most progressive Chinese contemporary art, with a special focus on artworks that stimulate imagination and celebrate diversity and difference. Through the exhibitions, we strive to bring the public new voice, new vision, new conceptions and new styles.

The Plague of Fantasies Artists: Dai Mouyu, Gao Lei, Jin Shan, Zhao Yang, Zheng Qiang Curator: Ella Liao Venue: Osage Shanghai Address: 93 Duolun Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai 200081 Date: 1st November, 2008 - 3rd December, 2008 Opening Party: 4:00pm, 1 November 2008 Telephone: 86 21 56713605

The Plague of Fantasies
Kurator: Ella Liao

Künstler: Dai Mouyu, Gao Lei, Jin Shan, Zhao Yang, Zheng Qiang