The Today Art Museum is host to Xu Bing’s phenomenal installation Aerial Phoenix. Xu Bing is one of the godfathers of Chinese contemporary art. He gained international recognition with his installation Tianshu which he created in the late 1980s. To cement his position in the Chinese contemporary art scene, the illustrious Central Academy of Fine Arts gave him the prestigious position of Vice President in 2008.

Ravel, the Taiwan auction house is responsible for bringing this massive 15 meters (49 feet) tall, 28 meters (92 feet) long and 8 meters (26 feet) wide installation to Beijing. The two birds are held in the sky by six large cranes in the commercial center known as CBD.

These magnificent birds are constructed from waste materials gathered from construction sites. Just like the phoenix, who rises from ashes: New China has risen from the wastelands of these sites.

“These two phoenixes were given their souls by the hands of a million construction workers” Xu Bing

The following picture is a close up image of the head.

Xu Bing has spent that last 2 years on this project. This impressive creation is owned by the famous Chinese collector Berry Lam and was commissioned by the auction house. This ushers in a new era of collecting art for the Chinese.

Auction houses take note: commission and exhibit monumental works in China to entice Chinese collectors. According to Artprice.com China’s annual revenue from Fine Art in 2009 is 830 million USD representing 17.33% of the global market versus 7.83% in 2008 therefore placing China as the third largest consumer at auction, right behind the USA and the UK.

Today Art Museum
Xu Bing Official Website
Jing Daily: Revenel Unveils Xu Bing Masterpiece
More Chinese collectors consider art as an investment vehicle
Artprice: China Advances