XU Zhen and the MadeIn Company’s art production is more like a company of luxury goods. Compared to other manufactures, this company’s products are more artistic with experimenting traits. Their goal might be the economic JDP value, or the development into a global company that with worldwide recognitions. It is an ambitious goal, but how can you judge that this is not art?
When considering “making art” as a mode of production, the uniqueness and cultural value of artworks become the core competition for companies. The aesthetic quality of the products are expressed in their design, production, circulation and marketing. Just as the three curved vases represent, they are a new style of porcelain vases. The style, size, pattern and materials strictly follow traditional classic masterpieces, but they curve the neck of a vase to form a new shape. Different from other antique businesses, which imitate classics unconditionally, Xu continually challenges classical canons in a sarcastic, critical manner. His conceptual interests are represented by reforming traditional formal qualities in his works, making new form in connections with the contemporary social milieu in its visual appearance. The value, created by audiences and art critics, has also been incorporated into Xu’s work as a background decoration.