By coincidence, all guests of the Holiday Inn East Century City were invited to visit the 4th annual Chengdu Biennale “China Narratives”…View image… being held in the International Exhibition Center…View image, and arranged by Chengdu Contemporary Art Museum at no charge. Well, we had nothing to do today and walked over after breakfast to see what this was all about.

The “China Narratives” purpose was to detail in contemporary art, China’s amazing sociological and economic changes over the years. The rapid reconstruction of China…View image, rockets…View image, modern conveniences…View image. Pictures of icon Mao adressing the people….View image, Tienanmen Square…View image, the Communist Party…View image, and Communist leaders…View image. A heap of old bicycles on the floor at the entrance…View image, an overturned car wreck…View image, a 20-foot tall, gigantic plexiglass pig with what appeared to be a fairy and balloons on its back (I have absolutely no idea what this was supposed to mean), and a subway car filled with people going to work…View image.

China’s youth, Art Exhibition in Chengdu 

a person riding a pig in the China Narratives Art Exhibition, Chengdu
A compelling exhibit that not only held our interest but kept small children fascinated with one lone exception, a little girl who was more interested in eating a hot dog. There were times I enjoyed watching them as much as looking at the exhibits. There was one darkened room with life-size and life-like statues and when the children peered in, they screamed and jumped..View image. Since nothing was in English, we could only stand and guess at exactly what the artist’s interpretation/meaning was.

educators in China,  Art Exhibition in Chengdu 

mother and child,  Art Exhibition in Chengdu
Expressionism, abstracts, realism, soft and hard sculptures, depictions of war…View image, famine, decadence…View image… in oils, acrylics, photographs…View image…. all juxtaposed together.

It was one of the best contemporary exhibits we’ve seen since the Pompidou Museum in Paris a few years ago. The perfect and unexpected finish to this journey. And with the semi-circle of dogs lifting their legs…View image….Zai jian, China.

A guess…is the artist saying “p” on you China?  Art Exhibition in Chengdu