“It is extremely difficult to gain artistic freedom, and the Stars had the courage to pay the price for it. The Stars were not there to prove that the road to success was by practicing their art. They were just free spirits, which have gone hand in hand with their success.”

- Huang Rui

"Every member from the Stars is fighting freely on their own path, we haven't lost our original intention for 40 years and this is the spirit of the Stars."

- Ma Desheng

“Stars 40 years, Stars are forever Stars.

Whether day or night, black sky or white nights, the Stars always shine in the sky.

They can be very far but they always emit their own light.”

– Wang Keping

1979 The Stars Group and The Stars Exhibition – The Beginnings of Chinese Contemporary Art

10 Chancery Lane Gallery presents at Art Basel in Hong Kong the 1979 Stars Exhibition founders, artists Huang Rui, Ma Desheng and Wang Keping with photo documentation by Liu Heung Shing.

The artworks of The Stars Group were born from the defiance of their youth. This trio of avant-garde artists challenged the status quo to initiate free artistic expression in the post-Mao era. Their works were a voice of the future within a China that was on the verge of transformation.

On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of China’s historically important art event, the 1979 ‘Stars Exhibition’, the early works of Huang Rui, Wang Keping and Ma Desheng as well as photo documentation by acclaimed photographer
Liu Heung Shing are assembled with archival materials that chronicle the journey through the transformative movement of contemporary art of China. The Stars inspired generations of artists that followed, carving the path of artistic freedom in China. 10 Chancery Lane Gallery presents a historical journey of the early years of Chinese Contemporary Art.