When the crane had lifted Shozo Shimamoto, founder of the school
of "concrete art," to a height of ten meters, the Japanese artist
hurled bottles of paint to the ground, creating an explosion of
color.
This was one of the performances during the opening ceremony of
the China-Japan modern art exhibition at the Chinese People's
Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) on
Monday morning.
More than 80 Chinese and Japanese modern art works are being
showcased at the exhibition. CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin said
that the exhibition is important in stepping up exchanges in the
fine arts.
After World War II, Shozo said, Japan created "concrete art," a
new type of modern art, ahead of European and American artists.
Concrete artists try to create a world with "concrete" points,
lines, surfaces and colors, he continued.
"I am happy to see that China has now entered an age of art
innovation," he added.
The exhibition will last three days and is one of the events
marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the China
Friendship, Peace and Development Foundation.
Li voiced her hope that the exhibition could create a friendly
and harmonious atmosphere for art exchanges between the two
countries.
During Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to China in
early October, the two sides agreed to expand exchanges and
cooperation in cultural and artistic fields in the future.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2006)
