Maleonn wins prestigious worldwide Photograph of the Year Award in UK

Those of you following Maleonn's career since the gallery introduced him in his first solo show outside Asia (May 2006) and following this blog over the past several months will know that Maleonn is an extraordinary artist who is taking his "star turn" on the world art stage. The latest news is that he has just won one of the most coveted and prestigious worldwide photography prizes, the Spider Awards' Black and White Photograph of the Year.

This meticulously-juried awards competition includes 13 categories, and Maleonn won in the Fine Art Category and then in the overall category for Best Photograph of the Year by a professional photographer. Amongst the features that make this one of the most prestigious awards to win is the jury, which this year included the Head of Photography for the Tate Galleries in the UK, the Program Director of Sotheby's Institute of Art, the Director of Fratelli Alinari Photography Museum in Florence (the oldest photography-focused art museum in the world), the former President of British Institute of Professional Photography, the founder of Galerie Baudoin Lebon in Paris (one of the world's most respected photography galleries). The Canadian dimension of the jury included David Heffel of Heffel Fine Arts, now the leading art auction house across Canada, and Anita Damner, Editor in Chief of PhotoLife Magazine.

The winning photograph was Chinese Story No 2 (above), which Craig Scott Gallery exhibited along with six other Chinese Story series images in Maleonn's Transfigurations exhibition in May 2006. Craig Scott Gallery has the only remaining works in this series, a special format 40 x 60 cm print within the edition of 15 (#2/15) for some of the series images. Chinese Story No 2 itself has not been available for some time.

Maleonn and Craig Scott Gallery highlighted at photoMIAMI

The Press Release for photoMIAMI has highlighted the gallery and Maleonn as amongst a half-dozen features at the upcoming photoMIAMI art fair (Dec 2 - 7). Below are extracts from the press release. If interested to know what works will be at photoMIAMI, including recently released and not-yet-released works and also including a number of works for which only one or two prints remain, please contact the gallery at craigscottgallery@gmail.com.

"New York, NY (September 18, 2008) – photo MIAMI, the leading international contemporary art fair for photo-based art, video and new media returns to the Wynwood Art District in Miami, Florida, home of the 3rd annual photo MIAMI contemporary art fair. photo MIAMI 2008 will showcase works by over 200 contemporary artists at the 40,000 sq. ft. marquee structure located at NW 31st Street and North Miami Avenue, steps away from the Rubell Family Collection and the developing Midtown Miami district. Over 60 new and established galleries will present highly anticipated works- many that will be seen in the U.S. for the first time.

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Galleries represented at photo MIAMI 2008 include: Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain, (Montreal) showcasing four contemporary Canadian artists, including Taiwan born Chih-Chien Wang, Galerie Kashya Hildebrand (Zurich) presenting the US premier of “Borderland” the new series by American photographer Jeffrey Aaronson, Craig Scott Gallery (Toronto), showcasing the U.S premiere of brand new works from Chinese artist Maleonn (Ma Liang); Crown Gallery, (Brussels) presenting Paul Graham’s new series “A Shimmer of Possibility” and U.S. based gallery Lisa Sette Gallery (Scottsdale), presenting new photographs by Julianne Swartz."

Maleonn opens on October 16 at Ogilvy New York

(September 29, 2008)

P R E S S R E L E A S E

Maleonn opens on October 16 at Ogilvy New York;

Rising Chinese art star has first solo show in America

ABOUT OGILVY GALLERY

Ogilvy New York has always been a strong supporter of the Arts, and over the course of a year, has focused on a growing list of curated shows within the agency itself. With a consistent rotation of top artistic talent, working closely with galleries and museums, the agency ensures an interesting and at times provocative line-up of work that aims to inspire thought and infuse discussion.

Works on display on the walls of the agency's 12 floors include Thunderdog Studios, Mint & Serf, Friends with You, Cannonball Press, Bilderklub, Mark Dean Veca, Chris Scarborough with The Foley Gallery, Yee Haw Industries, Henrik Krundsen, Moshe Brakha, Kenji Aoki, The Art Student's League of New York, Yo! What Happened to Peace Collective, Kareem Black, James Rieck and Maleonn.

THE MALEONN EXHIBITION

Jun Lee, Art Curator at Ogilvy New York, presents a range of works by Maleonn (nom d'artiste for Ma Liang) from several series created between 2005 and 2008. The show opens October 16 and runs for three months.

As Peter Goddard, the visual arts critic for the Toronto Star (the largest-circulation newspaper in Canada), has written, Maleonn is the "reigning fabulist among today's new crop of photographers with an almost child-like imagination producing lyrical digital fantasies." Maleonn's photography - alternately (and often simultaneously) playful and edged with the macabre - juxtaposes with singular artistic power widespread feelings of dislocation and unease at the pace of change in today's China, on the one hand, and the welcoming of new horizons of self-expression and cultural vitality, on the other. Many of the works in the show explore the evolution of Chinese identity. His works narrate the intersection of multiple contemporary influences (from various globalizations to China's frenetic capitalism) and deep historical currents (from traditional culture to the Mao period). For his most recent show at CraigScottGallery in Toronto, Maleonn commented on his theatrical and painterly photographic world by saying that it "cannot be completely classified." He turns to aesthetic expressionism "to demonstrate the labyrinth of our spirits," preferring his work "to be the same as my spiritual world: complex and profound, kind and wicked, naïve and cruel, suspicious and trustful, painful and happy, all existing at the same time and becoming more real by virtue of their interaction."

ABOUT MALEONN

Born in 1972, Maleonn resides and works in Shanghai. After graduating from the Fine Arts College of Shanghai University in 1995, he went on to become a director of short films including television advertisements. His artistic and unique style made him a well-known figure, and even a sort of cultural icon, in the creative community in Shanghai and to some extent to the wider populace to whom his commercials appealed. In 2004, Maleonn turned to photography-based art and mixed-media works (photography and painting). He has appeared in numerous group exhibitions worldwide as well as solo exhibitions in China, Singapore, Canada, Thailand and the United States. Work has been featured in group exhibitions in important museums such as, in 2008, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville. Between the Ogilvy New York show and the end of 2008, Maleonn has a solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum in November and a feature appearance in the Craig Scott Gallery exhibit at the photoMIAMI art fair in early December.

Biography has clearly played a shaping role in Maleonn's art. Maleonn's father was Shanghai's leading opera director at the time of his and his family's banishment to a re-education camp during China's Cultural Revolution, and his mother was a well-known screen actress. Both the theatrical and the filmic are clear influences in his work. But so is a resolute independence of mind and freedom of spirit that must partly stem from being separated from his interned parents while being raised by extended family. From the intersection of these influences and propelled by sheer innate artistic creativity and technical talent, Maleonn has emerged as a major artist and cultural figure in 21st Century Shanghai.

ABOUT CRAIG SCOTT GALLERY

Craig Scott Gallery has represented Maleonn since late 2005, the first gallery to represent him (soon followed by Aura Gallery in Shanghai). The gallery is located in downtown eastside Toronto. A regular schedule of exhibitions sees eight to ten solo or two-person shows per year. Works in a broad range of media and styles are exhibited. Apart from promoting top-drawer emerging and under-recognized Canadian talent, Craig Scot Gallery introduces exceptional artists from around the world to North America. In 2006, the gallery gave Maleonn his first solo exhibition outside Asia. Artists such as Uttaporn Nimmalaikaew (at age 28, already two-time recipient of Thailand's National Art Prize in Painting) and Gianni Pennisi ("the greatest collagist in the world": Joseph Beuys, 1979, to the media and critics at Beuys' retrospective show at the Guggenheim New York) have also been introduced or re-introduced to North America by the gallery.

To see images of Maleonn's work, please click here.

Craig Scott Gallery at photo MIAMI 2008 with Maleonn

Some super news just in today. The gallery has been admitted to one of the premier photo-based art fairs in the world, photo MIAMI, for the December 3-7, 2008 fair. photo MIAMI takes place at the same time as the Basel/Miami Beach and Art Miami fairs (as well as the ten or so other satellite fairs). We are looking forward to presenting Maleonn to a new audience during what is widely recognized as the most important single art-fair weekend in North America in the annual fair calendar.

The Craig Scott Gallery proposal for a Maleonn solo exhibition was received with great enthusiasm by photo MIAMI, which is first and foremost a contemporary art fair (versus a 'straight' photography fair like some of the other leading photo-based fairs). This makes it a perfect venue for showcasing Maleonn's extraordinary work.

Look for more in future blogs with respect to the works that we plan to highlight at photo MIAMI (both work from Maleonn's first four years of production and new work being released this fall).

Maleonn with Ogilvy New York show in September

Just a teaser posting today. Stay tuned for information on a solo show in New York for Maleonn opening (at last word) September 24 or 25. It is curated by Ogilvy New York, the advertising agency, in their 8th floor non-profit gallery space. Ogilvy New York prides itself on showcasing artists who deserve to rise above the New York crowd, and we expect this exhibition to be one more stage in the rapid rise of Maleonn on the global stage, especially following so closely on standing out as a discovery artist at the Victoria & Albert's CHINA DESIGN NOW exhibition and on BBC's The Culture Show highlighting him as "one of the most exciting artists of his generation" (not to mention leading into a major museum exhibition later in the fall -- more on that at a later stage). Meanwhile, enjoy a selection from two of his most recent series, "Little Flagman No 2" and "Secondhand Tang Poems No 4."

Maleonn picked by Kanye West

A week ago today, Kanye West profiled Maleonn on West's much frequented (and influential) blog. Before a series of images he reproduces, West offers this perceptive summary of Maleonn's trajectory from leading commercial filmmmaker to rising (perhaps "risen" is the better word) global art star:

Maleonn, a Shanghai-based former advertising director decided 4 years ago to become a photographer. Maleonn was tired of trying to fit in, tired of catering to other peoples needs. Putting all practicality and financial security aside, he decided to pursue his desire in creating experimental photography, and the results speak for themselves. Portraying a very theatrical and often very abstract style, his work is highly emotional and attention catching and has gotten him recognition in many corners of the world.

West highlighted 12 Maleonn works. West's selection is impressive. (This blog profiling is not simply the results of his researchers: West is personally a major art collector, including such artists as Murakami in his collection.) Of all the images highlighted I would draw particular attention to one, for which a single print remains at the gallery. It is called "My Circus No 10 (Fire)" (below) and the available print is 40 x 60 cm in an edition of 15. (Of the 12 images, three are no longer available in either of their two editions and two are gone in at least one of the two editions; five are from very recent series and still generally available.)

This My Circus series was exhibited at the gallery in Transfigurations, Maleonn's first solo show outside Asia and "My Circus No 10 (Fire)" was a favourite work amongst gallery clients. My Circus was also the series that CBC and the New York Times highlighted in the "City of Dreams" show within the four-part China Rises series (first airing January 2006). (Note CBC is using his transliterated real name, Ma Liang, whereas his nom d'artiste is Maleonn.)

By the way, if you are not familiar with Kanye West, take a look at the magazine covers he has graced (including TIME, Rolling Stone, Ebony) and at his Wiki entry . West is a fascinating figure in the music world not least for his assumption of a moral leadership role such as his outspoken criticism of homophobia in some rap.

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By the way, in the last blog posting I noted the BBC Culture Show profiling of Maleonn. The Maleonn segment can now be viewed on YouTube. It is about three minutes and really worth viewing. He offers some interesting perspectives on his work and you see shots of his studio and his preparations for his unique staged photography that is at once theatrical, filmic and painterly. Below are several shots I took on my visit with Maleonn last October in his Shanghai studio.

Update on Maleonn on the BBC's Culture Show in China

As I noted in my posting of a few days ago (last Thursday) Maleonn has been featured on BBC's The Culture Show programme, which last week focused on China to coincide with the Olympics. The show did not air here in Canada when it was scheduled to; it seems that the South Ossetia conflict between Georgia and Russia caused BBC World News to go much longer than scheduled Saturday morning. But, even though I have yet to see the episode personally, I am very reliably informed that the show did air. A correspondent writes from the UK: "At the end of the program one of the presenters singled [Maleonn's] work out as one of the standouts from her experience while there. It was shown on BBC World this evening which was when I caught it. " If and when I am able to access a video version of this episode of The Culture Show, I will direct readers to it. At the moment, the online video function is blocked for viewing outside the UK (at least that is what the pop-up window currently says).

UPDATING OF POST: The Culture Show segment, minus the host's end-of-show comments (see above), is now up on YouTube at Maleonn on The Culture Show. It is just under three minutes. It also shows Maleonn's studio, and is very good for some overview comments from Maleonn on his family background and on his thinking behind the Days on the Cotton Candy series (just shown at the Victoria and Albert). Part of the commentary from the BBC host includes the observation that Maleonn is now thought of as "one of the most exciting new photographers of his generation" -- not only in China but outside.

Maleonn: From Recognition at the Victoria & Albert to the BBC Culture Show during the Beijing Olympics

Today's posting is a quick one. This morning I saw one of the works from Maleonn’s Days on the Cotton Candy series flash up on a BBC World News trailer (channel 194 in Toronto). It was so fast I did not firmly register which work, but it seemed to have been Days on the Cotton Candy No 6 (reproduced above).

That work and others will be profiled as part of BBC’s The Culture Show in China, which airs Eastern Standard Time at 10:10 on Saturday, August 9. It will include an interview of Maleonn and shots of his studio in Shanghai. If you happen to be around the TV for the Beijing Olympics, you may want to channel surf to BBC to see how they use his work in their show.

This series is (at least, on the surface) the most pop-culture-y of all Maleonn's series to date, and very different from a series like Secondhand Tang Poems (about which more in later blog), but, as with all his work, there is more sub-text than first meets the eye. Certainly, from an external perspective, the series' location at the intersection of fine art photography and (theatrically constructed) design caught the eye of the curators of the recently-ended huge CHINA DESIGN NOW exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Four works from Days on the Cotton Candy were displayed, and one of them (Days on the Cotton Candy No 4, below) was given pride-of-place treatment in the book published by the V and A to coincide with the exhibition by having a section of the work being reproduced as a full two-page spread as the first photograph in the 158-photo, 190-page book, immediately after the Table of Contents: Zhang Hongxing and Lauren Parker, China Design Now (London: Victoria and Albert Publishing, 2008).

Magically realist - Maleonn alongside Colville in South Korea

Public Art, now one of the leading art magazines in South Korea, has recently come out with its May 2008 issue on the theme of SURREALISM and Maleonn is one of seven artists who are the focus of a 10-page editorial feature text-and-images essay, “Magic Realism,” on the global art scene. Alongside three reproduced images of Maleonn’s work are five images of Michael Parkes, two images by Vladimir Kush, two images by George Tooker, one image each by Patricia van Lubeck and Peter Blume, and four images by hyperrealist Canadian artist Alex Colville.

Although we tend to prefer the terms "fantastical" or "fabulist" to describe much of Maleonn’s body of work (as indeed noted by the Public Art editorial with its article byline, “Looking for fantasy in daily life, feeling the marvelous in reality…the world of ‘magic realism’”), Maleonn’s work is also most definitely connected to the “surreal” art tradition. The works selected for commentary in the editorial and as examples of Maleonn’s work are at p. 60 “Shanghai Boys No 10 (Dancing With Eyes Shut)” (the same work chosen for full-page reproduction by Enroute magazine in spring 2006; image to the right); “Unforgivable Children No 1 (Love)” at p. 61; and “Portrait of Mephisto No 5” at p 62 (image below). (“Magic Realism,”, Public Art (South Korea), Issue 20 (May 2008), pp 56-65. )

Incidentally, readers may be interested to learn that “Portrait of Mephisto No 5” was refused by the Paris-based International Herald Tribune for use in a booked Craig Scott Gallery ad in an art advertising section of the IHT. The gallery cancelled the booking, not without noting to IHT the irony of Western corporate (media, no less) censorship of a boundary-pushing Chinese artist.