Xu Bing’s new towering sculptural masterpiece ‘The Phoenixes” was unveiled at the Today Art Museum in Beijing. Consisting of two 28 meter long birds pieced together from construction debris gathered at the site of the new Beijing World Financial Center, the Phoenix Project will be on display, suspended from cranes in front of the museum until April 6. In addition to the outdoor installation of Xu Bing's phoenixes, The Today Art Museum will also host a document exhibition of sketches, reports and models providing insight into the artist's creative process. Created on his return to China after a prolonged stay in the USA, The Phoenixes is inspired by Xu Bing’s experience of the new Chinese society and the reality of the new Beijing that he found on his return. Xu Bing has devoted all his energies to realizing this work over the last 2 years. The work, which was commissioned by the Taipei-based auction house Ravenel Art Group, examines the realities of modern Chinese society and provokes such questions as what is real and unreal.
