Thomas Schmidt, AU class of 2009, writes: “For the last year I have been collaborating with my friend Jeffrey Miller (AU class of 2009) on a project documenting our lives in China through material experiments. The work produced for this exhibition (“Recycled China”) was made at an aluminum foundry in northern Beijing following a recent show at The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art.  While normally producing parts for machinery, this factory agreed to let us use the site for a series of material experiments with the aim of producing art objects and architectural tile.”

“Recycled China” opens July 6 and runs through July 24, 2012 at the Matthias Küper Gallery in Chao Chang Di, 249-3 Change Di, Airport Service Road, Chaoyang District, 100015 Beijing. For more information, go to the gallery Website at: www.galerie-matthiaskueper.de.

Thomas continues, “We selected four materials to work with: Discarded porcelain plates
from a factory in Jingdehezen, coal-ore used to heat houses in the village near the studio, glass from a small workshop making windows and doors, and dirt from the floor of the aluminum factory. These materials were shattered, crushed, or sifted into molds onto which molten aluminum was poured, as a material response of our experiences living in China.

To see  images and info, visit http://%a2%;also visit http://www.thomasschmidt.org.