In 1973, the artist Cheo Chai-Hiang set down his thoughts on art and its predicaments at some length. The text was written in Chinese and titled (in translation) “Written for the Occasion of 8th Moder…

ON RADICAL ART: The 80s Scene in Shanghai is a historical reflection on the paucity of language and ideological resources. Despite its title, On Radical Art: The 80s Scene in Shanghai covers a period …

At the opening of “Topophilia,” bottles of Taiwan Beer and cartons of Long Life cigarettes set on round tables at one end of the gallery gave viewers momentary pause. The scene, straight out of a home…

Bharti Kher’s first solo exhibition in China brings together her most representative works. The perplexing title of this exhibition is shared by an installation at the entrance, that of a hyena (more …

How do you pull off a solo exhibition with painting as its core in a 400-square-meter gallery with a ceiling that reaches 12 meters high at its peak? This space has previously hosted massive, visually aggressive, and spatially oppressive installations, such as Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s contemporary spectacle Freedom, macro-narrative fabrications like Huang Yong…

The Beijing and Zurich-based curator Li Zhenhua has nearly 15 years of experience working in new art, and to some extent has become a spokesperson for the field. He explains, “In my work, I attempt to…

The use of the term “digital art” in “The Wrong— New Digital Art Biennale” is intriguing. Evoking a medium specificity that recalls the often maligned, dated domain of new media art, but suggesting a …

IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN countries that declared independence after the Second World War, it is not uncommon for the government to take charge of national literary and artistic development. Whether they are…

Since the 1990s, few events happening on the street or in public space in China have officially entered the public view. For the majority of people, the word “public space” seems to carry little meaning. The terms quanzi (circle) and jianghu (rivers and lakes), on the contrary, make a strong impression. Quanzi in Chinese society…

How long is mourning? (Dictionary, Memorandum): eighteen months for a father, a mother ——Roland Barthes, Mourning Diary, October 29, 1977 Roland Barthes started writing his Mourning Diary, October 26,…