Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang, who have worked on the Chinese contemporary art scene as the “Gao Brothers” since the middle of the 80s, hardly need an introduction. They are already well known in China and abroad as the representatives of a movement uniquely their own, that of the “outsiders” amongst the outsiders. And yet, the ambition of this latest exhibition, in the new premises of the ifa gallery, is to cast a fresh eye on the Gao Brothers’ photographic work on space.

The photographs for “Some Space for Humanity” have been meticulously selected from a large corps of work, allowing us to indulge in a re-visitation of the Gao Brothers’ artistic journey with photography, dating from 2000 up until their more recent work. The five series of photographs presented in the new “IFA house” all relate to research into the human meaning of physical space.

Each series – 2 to 5 photographs – was taken over a period years, revealing the Gao Brothers’ momentary obsessions: they present space that is convivial, restricted, excessive, unfinished, overwhelming - depending on the period and no doubt the creators’ preoccupations at the time.
It is important in this approach to show the early works from 2001, these portray space, such as a “Sense of Space”, a series of magnificent mystical works that define human space in a cupboard, alongside the more recent works that reveal an unrestrained, exploding humanity such as “The Forever Unfinished Building N. 4”. Man, initially central to the works, is lost as the core element in a multitude of possible spaces to become one of many characters in a fresco on the history of humanity that, we get the impression, is in perpetual transformation.
“Some Space for Humanity” was born from the curator’s play on the relationship between the works and the new ifa gallery; this takes the form of a succession of interior spaces on 4 floors of a house that is enthralling to explore. Here it is possible to exhibit the Gao Brothers’ works in a human-scaled space, a humanised context. In this exhibition, there is a particular focus on the Gao Brothers’ artistic research, resolutely turned towards the meaning of humanity, research reinforced over time by their tenacity.

Curated by Bérénice Angremy
with the collaboration of Marie Terrieux

More info: ifa-gallery.com/exhibitions/gaobrothers