Cai Guo-Qiang

This is a study of the work of Cai Guo-Qiang, one of the most important Chinese artists to have emerged in the 1990s. Best known for his spectacular firework projects, Cai has explored a diversity of media and artforms.

Cai Guo-Qiang is one of the most important Chinese artists to have emerged internationally in the 1990s. Best known for his spectacular firework projects at locations ranging from museum entrances to the sites of land art works such as Robert Smithson's "Sprial Jetty", Cai has explored a diversity of media and artforms. These have included works such as an extension to the Great Wall of China, designed to be seen from outer space by extraterrestrial beings; feng shui arrangements of private living spaces both in Japn and New York; participatory projects with kites, jacuzzis and mini golf courses, and sculptures constructed from melted-down cars or abandoned boats. His projects are strongly influenced by their location and the works are frequently altered or developed as they are exhibited at new sites. Unifying Cai's wide-ranging work is his consistent investigation of humanity's place within the universe.

Interview
Curator Octavio Zaya discusses with the artist his working practices and the continuity in his methods and attitude toward his work over the years. Survey - Curator and critic Dana Friis-Hansen traces the development of the artist's work from the early oil paintings, which he produced while living in China, to the complex and ambitious projects which he now conducts world wide. Focus - Curator Takashi Serizawa analyses a single work from the artist's Projects for Extraterrestrials series, Project to Extend the Great Wall of China by 10,000 Metres (1993). Artist's Choice - The artist has selected extracts from a contemporary Chinese manual of military strategy by Qiao Liang and Wang Xianhui. Artist's Writings - Cai Guo-Qiang's writings range from project notes, which detail the methods and thinking behind his works, to a new text on his unrealised and failed projects, and the role of chance in the creative process. Chronology and Bibliography