EXHIBITION & SCREENING / CINE TAMARIS - KAIGUAN CULTURE

"The beaches of Agnes Varda in China, 1957 - 2012".

Cinema, Photo, Video installations.

In 1957, Agnes Varda was invited by the Chinese Government for a two months photo report trip. She was the first foreign female photographer to capture the country through her lens with amazing black & white pictures and also color pictures.

55 years later, this major figure of the French Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) comes back to China to present a unique retrospective gathering movies, photos and video installations. Film-maker, photographer but also a talented visual artist Agnes Varda offers a complete presentation of her art in Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai in a two months span.

This journey leads us into her inner world, between fiction and reality, melancholy and happiness.

Agnes Varda

Born in 1928 in Ixelles (Brussels) Agnes Varda spent her childhood in Belgium with her 4 brothers and sisters. In 1940, due to the war, the family moved to the south of France. She spent her teenage in Setes, then Paris, Baccalaureat, where she studied at the famous institution Ecole du Louvre and also the Vaugirard School in the photo department. Since 1951, Agnes Varda has been living in Paris, Rue Daguerre. She began with a photographic career in 1949 and joined the Avignon Festival upon the request of Jean Vilar and the Theatre National Populaire where Gerard Philipe was a central figure.

She held her first solo show in the courtyard of her house, and then accomplished several photo reports for which she went to China and Cuba. Along her trips and encounters she photographed anonymous characters and also famous figures.

In 1954, she shifted to cinema without any training. She launched Cine Tamaris Company to produce and direct her first film La Pointe Courte. Later on, she will be considered and named as the New Wave Grandmother.

Her most famous works include Cleo from 5 to 7, The Happiness, Without Roof No Law (Golden Lion Venice Mostra 1985), Jacquot de Nantes, The Gleaners and I.

She was the wife of Jacques Demy who passed in 1990. Together they raised Rosalie Varda-Demy, costume designer, and Mathieu Demy, actor and film maker.

In 2003, Varda began her third career as a contemporary artist. Her installations were exhibited in Venice and Lyon Biennales, in Gand S.M.A.K, the Fondation Cartier, Aboucaya Gallery, Basel Art Fair 41st edition, Nathalie Obadia gallery Bruxelles and the Paul Valery museum in Setes

The retrospective in China is the occasion to discover the different faces of this 83 years old artist in perpetual creation. The exhibition of her works will be held in Beijing at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum with famous director Jia Zhangke as the ambassador of the opening ceremony. The exhibition and screenings will continue in Hubei Fine Arts Museum (Wuhan) as well as in Shanghai.

THE EVENTS:

"Agnes Varda, visual artist" will present ten installation-works created in the recent years with a fun set design. Agnes was able to combine the techniques of film and photography to create a unique world, where mirth and melancholy are intertwined.

"Agnes Varda, photographer" presents several series of photographic works from Self Portraits to Broken Portraits or the more contemporary Portraits of celebrities.

The Chinese Gate is an installation designed specifically for the Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. It functions as a display installation to present Varda’s photographs taken during her trip in 1957, when she took part to a French delegation invited by the Chinese government.

"Agnes Varda, Filmmaker" offers a complete film cycle in each city, ranging from her early works of the 50's, such as La Pointe courte and Happiness, to her recent autobiography, The Beaches of Agnes.

Besides the exhibitions and screenings, a series of public and academic events will take place during the opening week in Beijing. The Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing will host a series of master classes moderated by French cinema critic Jean-Michel Frodon and Ning Ying, film maker and dean of the cinema department of Beijing CAFA in presence of Agnes Varda.

The Short Film Discovery award is also a key activity of the programme. A competition is open to the students of the CAFA cinema department students. Agnes Varda will select the best short film and will award the laureate. The winner will be offered a trip to France.

INFOS:

CAFA Art Museum in Beijing

From March 10th to April 18th 2012

Address:No.8 Hua Jia Di Nan St., Chao Yang District.

Public program at master CAFA Art Museum in Beijing

Master classes and discussions

March 12th at CAFA Art Museum Cinema:

1. Jean-Michel Frodon presents French Nouvelle Vague, its influence on European and Chinese cinema.

From 14 :00 AM to 16 :00 AM

2. Fiction and reality in cinematographic work, a conversation between Agnes Varda, film maker Ning Ying and Jean Michel Frodon.

From 17:00 to 19:00 PM

March 13th at CAFA Art Museum Cinema :

1. Guided visit of the exhibition by Agnes Varda.

From 11: 00 to 12: 30 AM

2. Agnes Varda and Jean-Michel Frodon talk about creation : cinema–photo.

From 14 :00 to 16 : 00 PM

3. Agnes Varda Independent Short Film Awards Ceremony.

From 17:00 to 18:00 PM

FILMS SCREENINGS:

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA)

UCCA: 798 Art District, No. 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District.

March 3rd 17:30 Jacquot de Nantes

March 4th 14:00 Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse

March 4th 19:00 Sans toit ni loi

March 10th 16:30 Cleo de 5a7

March 10th 19:00 Varda Tous Courts

Presented by Agnes Varda

March 11th 16:00 Les Plages d'Agnes, followed by a talk with Agnes Varda animated by Zhang Xianmin and Jean Michel Frodon.

CAFA Art Museum & Broadway cinema. (Schedule TBA in March)

WUHAN

Hubei Museum of Fine Arts:

Exhibition: 30 march - 6 May 2012 (official grand opening 14 April in the presence of Agnes Varda)

SHANGHAI

Film Retrospective (in the framework of Shanghai 7e Art Film Festival)

Screenings & Talks: 17-19 April 2012

Organizers : En Chine: CAFA Museum , Musee des Arts du Hubei , Kaiguan Culture.

In France : Cine-Tamaris, Paris.

With the support of: Embassy of France in China, Institut francais-Ministry of Foreign and European affairs, Lenovo, Citroen, Vanke, Sohu.com, The Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art-Paris and the Nathalie Obadia Galerie-Paris.