Community of Tastes
The Iberia Center of Contemporary Art opened April 15 with a group exhibition of sculpture, painting, video and installation that featured an all-star lineup of Chinese artists including Ai Weiwei, Cao Fei, Zhou Tiehai and Liu Wei. The show mostly consists of veterans from the game, but at the center of the exhibition is an installation by young art sensation Xu Zhen, whose resume includes sawing 1.86 meters (his height) off the top of Mt. Everest.

Xu’s installation at Iberia consists of weight lifting machines, each configured with hydraulics and powered by a corresponding retro style remote control. For an interactive kinetic sculpture, the piece is successful as a fun and clear cut work with technical potency. Though it's hard to overlook its close attachment to current and influential new art trends from the West, Xu Zhen's work embodies some of the freshest ideas found in contemporary Chinese art. And with not one but two trips to the Venice Biennale, Xu doesn’t have much else to prove.

"We not only want Iberia to be a place for Spanish artists to show in China, but a platform for young curators to collaborate with other international curators as well," explains Zuo Jing, art director of Iberia. Iberia plans to work with European museums in the future and will be bringing co-editor of Frieze Magazine Jörg Heiser's curated hit show, "Romantic Conceptualism" to the Iberia by early year. With a huge space to play in and an independent film program to incorporate, the curatorial team will certainly have their hands full. With such a strong inaugural exhibition as Community of Tastes, Iberia is poised to become a powerful force in Beijing’s contemporary art community.

Bradford Kessler