Chao Art Center, Beijing
December 11 – 12, 2016
Visionaire celebrated 25 years of iconic art, fashion, and design, for 25 hours at CHAO Art Center in Beijing, China. The event included original commentary by Visionaire founders Cecilia Dean and James Kaliardos; an exhibition of Visionaire's limited editions and recently released 25th-anniversary book; and special screenings of a year-long series of commissioned "Artist Commercials" inspired by the Visionaire editions themselves.
For the first time, VISIONAIRE exhibits its exclusive limited editions and its newly released 25th-anniversary book at CHAO Art Center in Beijing, China. Join us for 25 hours to celebrate 25 years of iconic art, fashion and design from New York’s original maverick publication, VISIONAIRE. Co-founders Cecilia Dean and James Kaliardos met as teenagers in the mid-1980s. By 1991, they had embarked on an experiment-turned-adventure. VISIONAIRE has taken the shape of everything from a leather-bound portfolio to 12-inch vinyl records to a collection of dolls. Placed in critical context with current events, the Book contains 1,453 images selected from 65 issues produced by an astounding cast of artists, photographers and designers that delivers a rich panorama of over two decades of media and fashion revolution from the perspective of independent publishing. Original commentary by Dean and Kaliardos provides unprecedented access to a pivotal New York scene and the creative life behind VISIONAIRE as it anticipated and shaped the fashion zeitgeist, propelling emerging voices and exceptional content while challenging the limits of print media with every issue.
In celebration of VISIONAIRE’s 25th anniversary, Visionaire commenced a year-long series of “artist commercials” inspired by select TV commercials from the 1970s: an advert for a Japanese department store starring Faye Dunaway eating a boiled egg; Andy Warhol’s commercials for Burger King and TDK; and Salvador Dali’s piece for Alka-Seltzer. These “artist commercials” are entertaining, enduring, and challenging. Each artist or filmmaker selected an issue of VISIONAIRE, whose themes—DESIRE, POWER, PRIVATE, FANTASY and many more—provide the inspiration to create these evocative and unexpected films. Ranging from 15 seconds to 4 minutes, the outcome is open to the artist’s personal interpretation and is reflected in the series’ dynamic variation. This concept of combinatorial variation through an open-ended editing process lies at the core of the VISIONAIRE ethos, with the publication providing a creative playground for its contributors, free from the constraints of criticism and traditional commercial endeavors. Here, in this exhibition—and with a certain sense of irony—VISIONAIRE muses further upon this notion of artistic freedoms vs commercialism through the tongue-in-cheek oxymoron of an “artist commercial”. Where under normal circumstances, a commercial is for commerce, these works are intended purely as experimental art and non-traditional film, reflecting VISIONAIRE’s incessant expanding of the boundaries of what is considered publishing and the way we view and experience art and fashion. In pushing the boundaries of what is possible with publishing, Visionaire is akin to a two-dimensional art center.
As a brand dedicated in creating new creative, cultural and lifestyle experiences, CHAO also aims to create a platform for people to experience art and lifestyle in more non-traditional formats. CHAO’s flagship project is located in the lively and creative Sanlitun neighborhood – the cultural & commercial center of China’s capital – fully integrating a 3000m2 Art Center along with a member’s only Clubhouse and a 180-room boutique hotel with an array of food & beverage offerings, event gathering spaces and facilities. 25 years in 25 hours not only celebrates the past achievements of Visionaire, but it is also about forward looking towards the future, officially launching a partnership between CHAO and Visionaire to collaborate on more boundary pushing experiences in art, fashion and creativity in the coming years.
Special thanks to Louis Vuitton, Absolut Vodka, Ink Pak Communication Group, and Shelly Verthime.
CHAO × VISIONAIRE CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF CREATIVITY IN 25 HOURS
Chao Art Center, Beijing
December 11 – 12, 2016