OCAT (OCT Contemporary Art Terminal) is is the central exhibition hall in the heart of the OCT-LOFT area, and currently houses this time-spanning exhibition covering the remnants socialist realism from the Communist red era to see how it influences and inspires modern art and then carries predictions of the future. It is important to know where one comes from, and move forward, isn’t it?

I enjoyed the large-scale canvasses myself.

From Shezhen Daily: http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2014-01/30/content_2770271.htm

The exhibition is divided into three sections: “From the Issue of Art to the Issue of Position: Echoes of Socialist Realism,” “Keep the Modern Going: Immersion, Awaiting and Idealism” and “Multi-Future.”

The exhibition, showcasing oil paintings, installations, video, dramas and fine art research in China from 1949 to 2013, attempts to reassess how realism influences and molds art.

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The exhibition also presents some rethinking and reevaluation of old works. It studies Chinese contemporary art as early as the year 1949, instead of starting from the 1980s. “To revisit the past is to rediscover the work and ideas that were yet to be fully explored and recognized. It is to expand the historical dimensions within which we study Chinese art and to position our current work in a richer and more open context,” said curator Lu.

The exhibited Chinese artworks created from 1949 to the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976 reflect the socialist realism style, which often glorifies the roles of the working class. While realistic paintings in the late 1980s and 1990s depict the real, sometimes negative, aspects of life. Scenes that took place in people’s homes, on the streets, in parks and on buses are seen in that era’s artworks.