A Tribute to Da Vinci: July 21st - September 21st, 2019, Parrocchia San Leonardo, Cerreto, Guidi, Italy

Honoring Leonardo Da Vinci 500 Years After His Death: Ai Jing's exhibition, "To Da Vinci" opens in Italy 

2019 marks 500 years after the death of Leonardo Da Vinci. Upon the invitation from the Da Vinci International Art Exchange Association, artist Ai Jing opened her solo exhibition “To Da Vinci” on July 21, at Leonardo Da Vinci’s birthplace, in the town of Leonardo of Cerreto Guidi in Northern Italy. At the end of this exhibition, the installation To Da Vinci will be donated to the International Leonardo da Vinci Association into their permanent collection. 

Ai Jing’s solo exhibition takes part in the “Da Vinci International art Festival”. Simona Rosseti, the mayor of Cerreto Guidi, Zhou Xiaoyan, the Chairman of Milan Huaxia Group, the director of the Medici Museum and Don Donato Agostielli of the Church of San Leonardo attended the opening and offered their opening remarks. Simona Rosseti and Don Donato presented Ai Jing with a certificate of donation. Guests attending the opening include the collectors Dominique and Sylvain Levy, as well as Michel Baudson, honorary principal, of the Royal Art Academy in Brussels, curator, and critic. On the same day, at the award concert of the "Da Vinci International Art Festival" held in the town of Da Vinci, the International Leonardo da Vinci Association presented Ai Jing with an achievement award in fine art.

Ai Jing’s tie with Italian art was made a long time ago. She held her solo exhibition “Dialogue” at the Ambrosiana museum in Milan in 2015. Among the collection of the Ambrosiana museum that dates back to 400 years, three classic works of art from the collection inspired Ai Jing to stage a “dialogue” with the works of the maestros across time. On July 21, for the celebration of Da Vinci’s 500 Years passing, Ai Jing’s sound installation To Da Vinci, painting Walking in the Sun, and 3D printed sculpture Ai Play present the same “dialogue” with a century-old historical architecture in the beautiful town of Leonardo of Tuscany.

For the opening remarks of the exhibition, she mentioned her first time visiting this place, and it was in the corridor from the Medici museum towards the Church of San Leonardo, she heard the four musical notes with her friends, and much to her surprise, they were the same notes in the first section of her work To Da Vinci, while this bell chime has sounded in the church for 1800 years. Ai Jing was in awe with this fortunate coincidence! She believes that it was a beautiful opportunity that underscores a kind of good wish and fate. At the same time, this also offered her tremendous courage to establish a dialogue with the greatest culture and history of the world, so she could continue to explore, discover, create and hope!

Ai Jing thanked the mayor of Vinci and Cerreto Guidi municipal government, the Milan Huaxia Group, and the Da Vinci International Art Exchange Association for this opportunity, so she could participate in this great commemorative event. At the same time, she thanked the church of San Leonardo for providing her a studio and hopes to come back to make more work here in the future. She believes that this is the most important journey of her life.

In the end, Ai Jing thanked the Zhongnan Mechanics Factory for assisting to complete the production of To Da Vinci, and all the staff and professionals who have invested their time and effort for this series of commemorative events.

Ai Jing’s exhibition “To Da Vinci” will be on view for three months at the town of Leonardo. 

Ai Jing Studio

July 22, 2019

Note:

 International Leonardo da Vinci Association is a non-profit organization founded in 2018 with the support of the Vinci and Cerreto Guidi municipalities in Italy. The associate aims to bring various forms of art education and initiatives from Italy to China, to showcase the cultural wealth of Italy. At the same time, with this platform, to bring Chinese culture to Italy and the world and bringing new experiences for the Italian cultural aficionados and professionals, to make life better.

This event is hosted by the respected Italian enterprise, Huaxia Group, whose business ventures span across many fields. IN 2015, Huaxia Group organized and supported artist’s Ai Jing’s solo exhibition “Dialogue” at the Ambrosiana museum in Milan, this was named as one of the best art exhibitions during the Milan World Expo.