Shen Shaomin at the Eli Klein Gallery

Shen Shaomin is a brilliant and accomplished artist from China with a resume of solo shows scattered throughout Asia and Australia. His newest show, his first in the New York, debuted last night at the Eli Klein Fine Art Gallery in SoHo, where you can find it until August 21st. His art is coexisting with an exhibit by Zhang Dali, another Chinese contemporary artist and a friend of Shaomin’s. Both men have been called two of the most influential Chinese artists of their generation. When we first meet the strong, canvas hat-and-vest clad man, who makes art from rabbit skulls and bone meal, we are a little intimidated. But his presence is as warm as it is fierce. After marveling at the nearest bonsai wrapped in wires and pulleys, we head to the back room to sit down with the artist and his translator.

Was there a particular moment or incident that inspired the bonsai project?

I found a book in the barn at work about binding feet. This inspired me to make a piece about binding feet, but later, when I tried to find material, I happened to see a book on how to make a bonsai tree. I discovered that the processes were very alike. Binding feet is about dragging and twisting human limbs, and making bonsai trees is about dragging and twisting the branches of the plant. So I wanted to show the process and let people know what a brutal process it takes to make bonsai, and how people manipulate nature according to their own interests.

How do you hope your pieces will affect the audience in New York in particular, since it is so fast-paced and urban?

The artist is primarily responsible for raising questions. Our behavior and our environment, are under control. When we were born, we were controlled by our parents, then when we went to school we were controlled by our teachers, then we go to work, and we’re controlled by our bosses. We are all creatures under control, but we also want to manipulate other people to get what we want. Like how America wants to control the world. We always live in an environment where we are controlled, but meanwhile we are all trying to manipulate others, and manipulate nature to suit ourselves.

Do you see art more as a way to express your political views, or politics as something to give meaning to your art?

An artist cannot live without politics. No one can.