International Contemporary Metal Art Exhibition in Beijing

Video from the exhibition

"The 2013 International Contemporary Metal Art Exhibition kicked off on Monday at the China Millennium Monument in Beijing. The exhibition is an important part of this year’s International Cultural Industry Fair, to be held on Wednesday. More than 400 metallic creations will be on display, all under the theme of 'Pushing Boundaries and Chasing Challenges'.

Metal. Perhaps not the most appealing of materials for artists to work with. But now aluminium, copper, steel and all things metallic are centre stage at an art exhibition.

This year’s International Contemporary Metal Art Exhibition, allows visitors to see the various metal creations of artists from 19 countries and regions.

When you look at the human history, particularly the Bronze and the Iron Age, you’ll see that metal plays a tremendous role. And metal art is probably the most versatile of all art forms because there’s various metals and even more ways to be creative with them.

One center piece here is this wall of aluminium model planes. According to the artist, the installation aims to offer an interactive experience.

International Contemporary Metal Art Exhibition opening in Beijing.

"The installation is called 'swarm', like the insect swarm, instead of insect swarms we have planes, the symbol of humans who are flying all over the world, all the time. And one special thing is that it’s an installation and jewellery. So you can pin them or wear them as pendants like me, or you can wear them as earrings, as you wish," said the artist Nanna Melland.

For visitors, this has been an eye-opening experience as they see work made from unusual metals, other than the traditional silver and gold.

"We can see innovative use of metal from other countries. Like the combination of lacquer and metal. It’s interesting."

The Beijing International Contemporary Metal Art Exhibition was first initiated in 2009 and has seen more participants ever since. Visitors have until November 15th to explore this massive metal art collection." By CCTV reporter Shen Li