Up close with the burning man, artist Cai Guoqiang
His works normally go with a bang, but Cai – in Hong Kong to receive an award – is a soft spoken and calm, if not self-effacing man
Cai Guoqiang is best known for his pyromaniacal use of gunpowder and fireworks, but in person he is as calm as the pleasant surroundings of the Asia Society. There, the artist answers all questions in a soft, soothing voice, his patient smile never wavering. He quotes an ancient Chinese saying to explain his zen-like calm: “A real recluse can live in the busiest of cities”.
That firework display he did for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games? “It was creative, technically and visually very meaningful,”he says.
The new exhibition of Chinese art he’s put together for Qatar’s Al Riwaq Art Space? Apparently, Sheikha Mayassa Al Thani, sister of the ruling emir and head of the Qatar Museums Authority, couldn’t wait for its March 14 opening.
Last year, “the whole of Japan” was excited about his show at the Yokohama Museum of Art. “NHK did a total of seven television programmes on it,” he says.
A super-sized ego is required to pull off super-sized projects, perhaps. No matter what he creates – he paints, performs and makes installations – there is always drama.