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Cao Fei

RMB City Sketch (2008)
Giclee on Somerset Velvet 225 gsm
Edition of 120
45 x 57 cm
Hand signed and numbered by the artist  

Beijing-based artist Cao Fei (born 1978) fused fantasy with the contemporary Chinese city in her construction of RMB City, an experimental art community in the internet-based virtual world of Second Life.

Cao Fei, through the avatar she created called China Tracy, spent a year exploring the possibilities of Second Life and produced the i.Mirror trilogy, 2007, a series of films that documented her adventures, which were presented in the Chinese Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale, 2007.

The Serpentine commissioned the artist to present RMB City in the public space and to continue her investigation of this digital landscape. Once she has completed its construction in Autumn 2008, the buildings of the virtual city were occupied for two years by partners including institutions and individual collectors who hosted exhibitions and cultural activities open to all Second Life users. The project explored the creative potential of an online art community, seeking to create the conditions for an expansive discourse about art, urbanism, economy, imagination and freedom.

Reflecting on China's urban and cultural explosion, the architecture of RMB City was an amalgam of Chinese icons, ancient and modern, from the panda to the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The installation in the Gallery's lobby presented two- and three-dimensional visualisations of RMB City as well as computer access to a virtual viewing platform over the construction site, which featured video updates of the construction process and the project was also accessible via the Serpentine’s website.

 

Cao Fei

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Born in 1978 in Guangzhou, Cao Fei is one of the most innovative young Chinese artists to have emerged on the international scene. Currently living in Beijing, she mixes social commentary, popular aesthetics, references to Surrealism, and documentary conventions in her films and installations. Her works reflect on the rapid and chaotic changes that are occurring in Chinese society today.

Cao Fei’s works have been exhibited at a number of international biennales and triennales, including Shanghai Biennale (2004), Moscow Biennale (2005), Taipei Biennale (2006), the 15th & 17th Biennale of Sydney (2006 and 2010), Istanbul Biennial (2007), Yokohama Triennale (2008), and the 50th, 52nd & 56th Venice Biennale (2003, 2007 and 2015). Exhibitions and screenings of her work have taken place at Serpentine Gallery (2006 and 2008) and Tate Modern in London (2002, 2013 and 2014); New Museum (2009), Guggenheim Museum (2011 and 2018), and MoMA in New York (2016 and 2015); Fondation Louis Vuitton (2016), Palais de Tokyo (2005 and 2017), and Centre Pompidou in Paris (2019, 2014, 2003).

Cao Fei’s recent projects include the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative at Guggenheim Museum New York, a solo show at Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong (2018), a retrospective at K21 Düsseldorf (2018) and a solo exhibition at Centre Pompidou, Paris (2019).

She was a nominee for the Future Generation Art Prize 2010 and the finalist of Hugo Boss Prize 2010. She received the Chinese Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) Best Young Artist Award in 2006 and Best Artist Award in 2016. She was also the recipient of Piedra de Sal Award at Cuenca Biennale in 2016.

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