Media attention to this year’s Gwangju Biennale has for the most part been directed at its curatorial team, made up of six female curators from Mumbai, Qatar, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, and Jakarta respectively. The cities and countries in which these curators live and work roughly cover the most active economic regions, as well as the…

The 2012 Taipei Biennial, “Modern Monsters/Death and Life of Fiction,” is the latest large-scale international art exhibition making a re-examination of modernity. Its mouthful of a title— especially in Chinese— originates from Taiwanese-American scholar David Der-Wei Wang’s book, The Monster That is History. In it, Wang explores the profound relationship between historical violence and literary…

Since giving up the expressionist flairs of academic painting 15 years ago, Liu Wei’s art has evolved. Regardless of subject matter or theme, the mediums used in his work, or the topic he chooses— whether the alienation of individuals or the empathetic identification with others— his art expresses the suppression of individualism and the emergence…

Compared to his “Cola Project” and “Man on the Chairs,” He Xiangyu’s newest solo exhibition presents the persona of a big kid born in 1986: one who loves collecting objets d’art but does not feel obligated toward historical cultural heritage; one who is not a bit serious but rather carefree; and one who shows aptitude…

After the success of “Super-Organism,” the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum (CAFAM) organized “Sub-Phenomena—Report on the State of Chinese Young Art.” Mounting such an exhibition at this time reflects the awareness of the curators in the face of changes and trends in the current context of the art industry. Considering recent actions and discussions…

It was on Saturday, August 25 that I set out to see the 18th Biennale of Sydney, “All Our Relations.” Coincidentally the day was to be shared with the passing of the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong. Though obviously unrelated, the fact remained present in my mind as I traversed the…

If the title “Interweaving” is intended to convey a state of intermingling, then that is approximately the feeling that Li Qing’s solo exhibition ultimately gives the viewer: an encounter with intricate and gentle obscurities. At the very least, I am not able to use clear or precise words to summarize my sensations and feelings. To…

New York is one of those places that are meant for the birth of legendary art moments. “Taiping Tianguo” exhibits the artistic creations— all produced in New York in the 1980s— of four Chinese artists of different backgrounds. The show takes its name from the title of one of artist Martin Wong’s paintings (itself based…

Luxury Logico was formed in early 2010 by two artist collectives: Chang Keng-hau and Chang Geng-hwa’s Luxury and Ken Chen and Llunc Lin’s Logico. These four men, all barely in their 30s, together created the group’s foundation, utilizing their own respective specialties in terms of concepts and execution, ultimately orchestrating high-tech machine-software interactions to produce…

This soft and comfortable Leapleapleap x Dresshead Sleeveless Jumpsuit with Exposed Knees is made of soft, black colored fabric. The neckline has a slash cut which can be pulled down to make a bare shoulder look. This top has long sleeves and a body with a cut which is slightly loose. The front is adorned…

“Unclaimed Objects” features just that: a random assortment of bric-a-brac the young Fujianese artist Yang Jian found on the street, and then brought into the gallery to form this solo exhibition at Where Where Art Space. The modest collection of items in the show was collected between 2005 and the present. They range from the…

In line with the sculptor and installation artist Yang Xinguang’s predilection for referencing classical Chinese, the title of his third solo exhibition at Boers-Li originates in an excerpt from Journey to the West: “As the saying goes, the warrior avoids unnecessary combat; but once I start there’ll be no mercy.” Indeed, the works scattered throughout…

Liu Xinyi’s work is instantly recognizable from within the art environment of China today: an adeptness and integrity of the expression of form, subjects with a high degree of political sensitivity, and a (so far) clear continuity of a personal logic, with touches of obvious yet tempered slyness and dry humor. Liu’s first solo exhibition…

“Share, But It’s Not Fair” is Paola Pivi’s first solo exhibition in China. Her works focus on the power of images themselves, often emphasizing factors like number and size. Because of this, some media coverage employed terms such as “gimmicky” and “wasteful.” Though such skepticism may be simplistic and crude, it also reflects how contemporary…

From 2008 onward, Song Kun began building a new internal reality, related to life but existing through images. This “realism” is alive in the world of her works. In contrast to real life, she weeds out the underbrush and preserves only what is real and essential, allowing the images to emerge transcendent and clear. Her…

The most eye-catching spectacle of Zhang Ding’s “Buddha Jumps over the Wall” can be found atop two monumental metal columns; a lean man, holding a knife and a gun, on a ritualistic platform such that to see him we have no choice but to look up. The subjects of video-looped “sacrifice” must either directly face…

The word “more” is a word full of hunger. It is also a word many Chinese people associate with the American cigarette brand “More”— or “Mó’ěr,” its transliteration in Chinese. In the 1980s and 90s, these slim cigarettes were all the rage in China. A large contingent of teenage boys became fond of collecting the…

Zhao Yao’s latest solo exhibition, “You Can’t See Me, You Can’t See Me,” is an almost total replication of last year’s “I Am Your Night.” It would be easy to take this exhibition as one-time-only event, a disposable strategy; such an opinion would not be baseless. “You Can’t See Me” is a direct attack on…

The title of this year’s Manifesta, “The Deep of the Modern,” has three meanings. The first is related to the setting of the exhibition: the André Dumont coal mining complex in Waterschei, Genk, Belgi…

Seen at the studio or displayed inside a gallery, Zhang Hui’s works always possess the quality of connectivity; each artwork is a branch rooted in and growing from others. A section from one painting becomes the central image for another canvas; one square of color could determine the palette for the next work. These root-and-branch…