CAI GUO-QIANG 2018

This contemporary artist has featured several times in our blogs over the years as he uses firework/gunpowder in almost all his art installations and projects.

This 60-year old Chinese artist has been wowing visitors to his exhibitions across the world with his unique and often touching stories and depictions he has brought into the limelight over the years.

This year his exhibition goes to the home of Renaissance Art – Florence where he will show pieces alongside the beautiful Primavera and the Birth of Venus by Boticelli – the man who is said to epitomise the Renaissance movement.

To celebrate the opening of Cai’s exhibit he launched a staggering 50,000 fireworks which represented a ‘City of Flowers in the Sky'. The artist’s work, including around 60 of his installations vary quite dramatically in size, giving visitors the opportunity to see the broad spectrum of huge work to igniting gunpowder on canvas and paper and other samples of this work.

The sound of rolling thunder with silver flashes of light and brightly coloured smoke filled the air. I for one have a special fascination for daytime fireworks which are rarely used and today feature mainly in advertising and special one off events.