Photo: Ola EnstadA Norwegian Man from Chongqing
Last updated: 12/10/2011 //
Renowned Norwegian sculptor Ola Enstad came to China for a 2 month residency at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing in 2005. He liked it so much that he stayed, and has now moved his studio to Beijing. Throughout October and November 2011, his works “Chongqing Man 11” and “Chongqing Man 12” are on display at the First International Sculpture Biennale, which is held in Datong, Shanxi province.
The city of Datong, most famous for its Yunggang Grottoes housing over 51 000 ancient Buddha statues, seems a natural pick for “China’s Sculpture Capital”. The city was awarded the title on 19 September 2011 by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Only a week after, the first International Sculpture Biennale opened, sporting 330 works by contemporary artists from China and among other countries Norway.
Ola Enstad’s works are represented at the exhibition. He is a pioneer among an increasing number of Norwegian sculptors working part-time in Norway, part-time in China. Enstad has been dividing his time since 2005, and claims that the main reasons for this are the good conditions for casting in bronze offered in China, and the high level of skill in the Chinese sculpture environment.