China's overwhelming economic transformation is stimulating a flourish of metropolitan culture: consumerism prevails; aspiration mixes with fantasy; fashion supplants poetry; and an illusion of spiritual liberation interlaces with a fantasized vision of a material world.

Contemporary Chinese artists have responded with new aesthetics: outrageous experiments expand the psychological horizons and amazing creativity bursts forth in a chaos of frustration and ambitions, taking the viewer for a ride on a speeding rollercoaster twisting towards an unpredictable future.

Amelie Gallery believes that art curatorial practice by itself is a critical inquiry of social problems. This exhibition, divided into four parts, aims to study the ecosystems of urban culture, including consumerism, the impact of pan-entertainment culture, individual existence and the role of modern artists. Media embrace oil-painting, installation, prints and comic books.

Part 1: Consumerism & Hedonism
-New Aesthetics & Conceptual Experiments

Oil painter Huang Bai depicts pleasure-seeking urban girls whose silhouettes are mosaic of neon lights, ad billboards and illuminated windows of dance clubs, their skins seemingly decorated by millions of fluorescent diamonds and pearls. Indulged in China's flashy consumerism, the virus of desire and sensuality is inflammatory and infectious. Sweetness floats in the cocktail, bubbles overflow; the canvas is illusive and hilarious as if viewed through a kaleidoscope.

Above: Sweetness Series by Huang Bai, Acrylic on Canvas

Part 2: From Spiritual Enlightenment to Recreational Drug
-The Observation of Underground Rock Scene.

No longer the idealists' critical voice in society, China's current Rock Music scene has been reduced to a mere means of entertainment for consoling gloomy or pathetic sentiments. Oil painter Xie Yi spent days and nights in Beijing's underground clubs, where frustrated post-punk musicians gather to drink and perform. In capturing the collective mood of disillusionment and struggle her observation is sensitive and vigorous. She uses scratching and brushes to depict harshly scattering lights and rhythms of rock music, creating a storm of colours. Sorrow echoes despair, demonstrating her sympathy toward a generation of Chinese youth who have compromised their social ideals.

Above from left:
Rock Series by Xie Yi, Oil on Canvas

Night Club by Wu RuiYao, 162x129cm, Oil on Canvas

Part 3: Play in Anxiety
-The Portraits of China Middle-Class & Futuristic Urban Apologue

Lithography artist Fu Bin's bird-faced portraits capture the vivid and iconic mentality of the middle-class Chinese. Dandified in top luxury brand garments and surveying themselves in the exacting gazes into the mirror, vigilant and anxiety-ridden, they are obsessed with appearances.

Artist Li JinRu's futuristic comic book provides a glimpse into the breakdown of interpersonal relationships in urban areas. In his Urban Apologue, a city is inhabited by faceless citizens who tattoo their faces with fashionable flower patterns. Without facial expressions, tattoos are their form of expression; physical intimacy a means of communication. Without lasting memory, tonight's relationship fades away the next morning. Strangers to each other, stone-hearted, they keep each other company at a skin-deep level.

Part 4: The Role of Chinese Artists - Quixote as Buffoon
-Underground new media artist Dai Hua

Artist Dai Hua creates a modern-day Quixote in virtual space. Dragging his lance, the stubborn, passionate character loses direction in his holy quest. He finds himself dejected and abandoned in the darkness. In order to attract attention he behaves like a buffoon, performing dangerous circus acts and flirting with an actress via erotic gestures.

Modern artists may become too eager for quick success, with thoughtful inquiry giving way to impulsive responses to social events. Dai's Quixote is a metaphor for the existence of contemporary Chinese artists struggling in a world where Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame," corrupts integrity.

Above: Quixote at Play by Dai Hua, C-Prints