The beauty of Chinese contemporary art has arrived at Gustavus. The Hillstrom Museum of Art is now home to the exhibit Pull Left-Not Always Right: Emerging Contemporary Artists in China until Nov. 9.

The exhibit features 15 different artists from China and presents such works as “Skin Weave No. 4,” “There Are Stones Below,” “Automatic Arms,” and “Breath–A Group of Waste Bricks.” Funded largely by Taikang Life Insurance and supported by a grant from the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, Pull Left hosts a wide variety of art and is dedicated to promoting new Chinese art.

All of the artists presented in Pull Left are under the age of forty to give a survey of the artistic vitality among present-day young artists in China.The exhibit also shows how some of these young artists are moving away from traditional Chinese art and are becoming more globally engaged.

Chris Koivisto, exhibition advisor for Pull Left and Gustavus Alumni, is an art professor at Vermillion Community College in Ely, MN. He studied abroad at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, People’s Republic of China in 2012. Koivisto brought the exhibit to the attention of Donald Myers, the director and chief curator at the Hillstrom.

Myers has been director of the Hillstrom Museum since the museum opened in April of 2000. He was very excited to be able to host Pull Left and jumped at the opportunity.

“It’s really quite an exciting exhibit. Our goal is to present high-quality work from a wide variety of periods and cultures and in a wide variety of media. We are certainly very eager to show an international perspective. Past exhibits have included works from Russia, Sweden, and Peru. So when the opportunity to exhibit works from China arose I was quite eager without even having seen what the exhibit was about. I’m very pleased to be able to present access to these works to whoever comes to visit.” Myers said.

The exhibit opened on Sept. 22, and will have another reception during the upcoming Nobel Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Hillstrom Museum is the second stop in Pull Left’s national tour, which began at the Ohio State University Urban Arts Space.

However, there were some concerns about shipping the exhibit to the United States from China. Many of the pieces of art in the exhibit are fragile and so there was some worry over the risk of them being damaged. Thankfully, all pieces made the journey safely and will hopefully continue to do so throughout the rest of the tour.

“The biggest challenge was to get museums in the U.S. to take on the exhibit because of the distance and challenges of taking on emerging contemporary art,” Koivisto said.

Many students and faculty members attended the opening reception in which the artists and their pieces were presented.

“I was excited to see the Chinese artists here,” Koivisto said. “And now I’m excited to go back to China.”

For those unable to make the opening, pamphlets and catalogs for Pull Left are available at the Hillstrom Museum. The catalogs are $20 and include information and details about the pieces in the exhibit, short introductions from some of the those involved with putting on the exhibit, and interviews with the artists.

One of the many interesting pieces in the exhibit is “Oh, Be Sweet,” by Mia Qiushai. The work consists of several power tools and machines like chainsaws covered in soft fur on a polyethene resin board. Chained to the wall. This particular piece tends to shock and scare viewers.

“The cute and soft machine tools, kind of metaphor suggests a female artist’s inner peace. However, once the motors start to work, the noise and danger make everyone nervous. As the rink is gradually destroyed, an interesting contrast inside the materials (machines, boards, etc.) appears,” Taikang Space wrote in the exhibit catalog.

“I really love being able to work closely with great artworks and also with artists. I also really love being able to, when we’re successful, convey the aesthetic thrill that I get from works of art to others who come to see our exhibits. If I can help others to have that kind of feeling and experience it’s really gratifying,” Myers said.

All students, facultry and visitors are welcome to exhibit Pull Left-Not Always Right: Emerging Contemporary Artists in China until Nov. 9 located on the lower level of the Jackson Campus Center near The BookMark and Health Services.

-Kim Krulish