The Australia China Art Foundation (ACAF) is delighted to have a presence at SH Contemporary in 2012. This is great opportunity to showcase the work of Australian and Chinese artists connected with the various programmes of the Foundation.

ACAF will be presenting exciting works by Qin Chong, Wu Daxin, Pei Pei He, Song Ling and Sonia Payes.

Song Ling is well known in China for his work with the New Wave movement in the 1980s but until some early paintings recently came onto the secondary market in Hong Kong, many collectors were unaware that he moved to Melbourne, and after long hiatus, he has re-established himself as a significant artist in Australia.

Sonia Payes is a Melbourne based photo-media artist who will be the first artist to take up a position at the ACAF Beijing Residency Programme. Another artist from Melbourne, Pei Pei He embodies the spirit of a Chinese-Australian artist. Her work is sometimes presented on traditional rice paper scrolls but her subject is the crowded streets of her adopted hometown.

Qin Chong lives and works between Berlin and Beijing, creating works in many media. Here we present photo documentation that gives almost a frame-by-frame account of the critical moments of one of his performance pieces. And Wu Daxin has created another of his intricate and fantastical ‘time machine’ mechanical clock sculptures for Shanghai.

Is there a joint future for Chinese and Australian art collectors?
The Australia China Art Foundation brings together a panel of experts to discuss this question and others in what we hope will be an informative and provocative discussion, of interest to all prospective and established collectors.

John McDonald – Writer and critic for the Sydney Morning Herald
Shen Shaoming – Chinese-Australian artist resident in Beijing
Song Ling – Chinese-Australian artist living in Melbourne
Geoff Raby – Former Australian Ambassador to Beijing and art collector

This panel discussion is presented as part of SH Contemporary Conversations on Saturday 8 September 2012 from 4 - 6pm.