ARMIN LINKE Travel solo show in China

Hangzhou: 31 Art Space, April 28 – May 10, 2004
Shanghai: BizArt art center, May 13 – May 23, 2004
Beijing: 25000 Cultural Transmission Center, May 29 - June 13, 2004
Guangzhou: Vitamin Creative Space, October 16-31, 2004

Armin Linke was born in 1966 and works in Milan. He has held several solo exhibitions and has taken part in important group exhibitions such as the traveling exhibition “Cities on the Move” (1998/1999), Venice Biennale of Architecture (2000), Bienal de Sao Paulo and Milan triennial (2002), and the 50th Venice Biennale (2003).

After hearing about the construction in China of the Three Gorges Dam in 1998, Linke has been developing a project on the landscapes of huge construction sites in the world, presenting urban development and engineering constructions as semi-divine-icons. This has been a very large and strongly involving project. In the last five years Linke has traveled around the world after his subjects with the precision of a scientist. The urban conglomerates of global cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America fascinate Linke, so that he often takes stills of towns while they are actually being transformed. Shenzen, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Lagos, Kinshasa, Baikonur are just a few of his subjects. Linke gives us a chance to take part in the visions of these places no matter how sad, mysterious, or frightening. Some of the pictures at first can look like a pseudo pop sci-fi vision, artificial and inorganic, but they are simply the reflection of our world and ultimately frank reproductions of reality. Extracts from this production have been published on Flash Art, Purple, Vogue Italia, I-D, Dazed&Confused, Domus, Archis and several other magazines.

In 1993 Linke started to create his own archives, presenting over 50,000 images from his works. His collaboration with young international artists, fashion, architectural, portraits, landscapes, have all become part of his works. 10,000 of these images are available online at www.arminlinke.com. For a new project entitled “Book on Demand,” any viewer, anywhere, can select 20 photos and have a unique book printed for them. Linke has already produced several monographic project books: Instant book 1, Instant book 2, Instant book 1/2/3, 1048 and 4fligh, published and distributed by www.artecontemporanea.com, as well as a general book of his recent work on the landscape, published by Skira.

For his touring solo exhibition in China, Linke chose to present 7 additional 50X40cm books that will be displayed as either an object or sculpture on a long table. Each book contains 20 to 30 double-page images, for a total of around 150 lambda print images, printed on photographic paper from digital file. The books are assembled according to the 7 typologies in Linke’s archives, Landscape/Architecture, Fashion, Interior, Performance, Portrait, Reportage and Still Life. A compilation of short videos shot in Theran, Baghdad, North Pole, Lagos and India will also be projected. The installation is both minimalist and powerful.

For further information please contact us at info@longmarchfoundation.org

Tel 13601289995 Fax 10-64387107