Galleria Borghese + Corraini Edizioni, Rome+Mantua—Italy, 2019
96 pages — 22×28 cm
The book Bird Cage, a temporary shelter. Zhang Enli is dedicated to the installation by the Chinese artist, curated by Geraldine Leardi and Davide Quadrio, for the Galleria Borghese. The site specific work was part of the Committenze Contemporanee programme, designed and developed by Anna Coliva with works by contemporary artists inspired by the Galleria Borghese as an exceptional artistic venue.
The work of Zhang Enli, who lives and works in Shanghai, reflected on the relationship between architecture and the artwork: in a game of transpositions, historical echoes and hybridisms, the artist created four symbolic structures to show the viewer unexpected narratives, speaking of distant lands and contaminations, and transferring the complexity of the past in the equally stratified reality of the present.
Zhang Enli’s work, one of China’s most important contemporary painters, is explored in depth in the previously unpublished contributions included in the books. In addition to the photographs of the installation, which also document the installation phase, the book contains images of works belonging to the earlier Space Painting series and an artist biography.
The book accompanied the exhibition of the same name and it is published by Corraini Edizioni.