A gleaming and shiny sculpture, Artificial Rock #143, has found a new and old home in downtown Vancouver.
Artificial Rock #143 was created by Zhan Wang, and Cadillac Fairview is partnering with Downtown Van and Vancouver Biennale to bring it to the city.
The piece is in the public plaza at 200 Granville Square at the north end of Granville Street.
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Artificial Rock #143 (Vancouver Biennale)
Artificial Rock #143 was Wang’s debut when it was installed in 2009 for the 09-11 Vancouver Biennale exhibition. At that time, it was located at Granville and Georgia streets, and Vancouver Biennale says it became a gathering hub during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Vancouver Biennale also calls the piece “globally significant.”
Vancouver Biennale hails Wang as one of the most renowned sculptors working in China today, representing “the emergence of contemporary Chinese art onto the world stage.”
Vancouver Biennale
Artificial Rock #143 is stainless steel and reflective, “literally and metaphorically,” says Vancouver Biennale.
“Traditionally, Chinese artists have situated rockeries and gnarled stones in front of important buildings and in gardens for decoration and meditation. In Mandarin, such stones are called jiashanshi, which literally translates as ‘fake mountain rocks.'”
Vancouver Biennale says that those fake mountain rocks are called scholar’s stones in the west.
The stones “symbolically represent mountain landscapes and contain the power to connect man with nature. The practice of placing these stones dates back to the Han Dynasty over 2,000 years ago.”
Vancouver Biennale
“Having supportive property developers like Cadillac Fairview, championing the city’s arts and culture scene, makes it possible to bring projects like this to life,” Downtown Van Interim CEO Jane Talbot said in a statement.
Some of Wang’s other pieces have a similar vibe to Artificial Rock #143.
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Wang has created many unique pieces, like this one involving a cat.
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