Exhibition Finissage: An Evening of Performance with Peng Shuai Paolo & Vanshika Agrawal
Peng Shuai Paolo, Imaginary Natives, 2024
On the occasion of the finissage of the exhibition A Moment in Time: Xu Bing in Rome, we present an evening of performances with artists Peng Shuai Paolo and Vanshika Agrawal curated by Johanne Affricot, Curator-at-Large.
Multidisciplinary artists Peng Shuai Paolo and Vanshika Agrawal have been commissioned two performances as response to the exhibition. The works engage the viewers with notions of memory, time and the transformative nature of cultural exchange. Peng's Imaginary Natives and Agrawal's Feet of Clay both respond to Xu’s work by examining the complexities of human experience through performance art, intertwining material culture into their narratives. Imaginary Natives navigates liminal spaces, challenging European perceptions of Eastern imagery and the notions of what is 'native' and what is 'foreign.' Feet of Clay is an exploration of creation and destruction, symbolizing life's phases and societal norms. Both works challenge viewers to reflect on their own existence and societal division, while showcasing the fragility and richness of human existence within social constructs.
Hours
The exhibition is open until June 29, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 4:00 to 7:00pm.
Artists Biographies
Peng Shuai Paolo is a multidisciplinary artist born in China (Xiangtan) in 1995 and arrived in Italy in 2004. He holds an MFA with Honors in Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice (tutor Riccardo Venturi), Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Italy and a BFA with Honors in Painting (tutors Maurizio Arcangeli and Cristina Muccioli), Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Italy. His diverse cultural backgrounds make the discussion of contradictions and coexistence issues one of the themes of his work. The confusion, exploration and reinterpretation of identity, and the review of self-body and soul constitute his writing method of personal history.
Born in India, visual and performance artist Vanshika Agrawal has a background in green and sustainable design. Working across different mediums like drawing, painting, installations, performance, poetry and photography, she finds a balance between material and immaterial, the spatial relation with the body through embodiment. She holds an MFA in Painting from Rome University of Fine Arts. Currently, she is an Associate Editor at Planted Journal while developing her practice based in Rome. Previous exhibitions include Palazzo Ducale for Lucca Biennale Cartasia 2022, Lucca, La Nuova Pesa and Maja Arte Contemporanea, Rome and Palazzo delle Esposizioni. She is represented by AAIE gallery in Rome.
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