When art is a party

Visitors view the painting, The Lipstick Girl, which is one of Zhao Bandi's earliest works. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Beijing-born artist Zhao Bandi says he uses a party as a metaphor for society. The 51-year-old adds that at a party he is able to observe what is happening and keep some distance from it.

His performance-like project Underwater Chopin Party staged on the outskirts of Chengdu in September 2016 was attended by friends, curators, gallerists and collectors.

The party was at a villa with a pool. There, 13-year-old Hu Tianke played Frederic Chopin's works on a piano placed in the water. Zhao, who was also standing in the pool, painted on a canvas while she played.

The project generated two products－a video recording of the Chengdu party and an oil painting depicting the girl playing in water. They are now on show at Zhao Bandi: China Party at Beijing's Ullens Center for Contemporary Art.

Zhao says that like at a party there are a lot of elements and bustle in Chinese society, beneath which he sees worries and uncertainties.

The exhibition covers his 30-year career. Oil paintings from the late 1980s to the early 1990s are displayed.

They provided him initial fame as a realist painter, who uses rigid composition and measured brushstrokes.

Also on show is his Giant Panda series. Works are presented as performance-art videos, short films, installations and fashion designs that have made him controversial.