Leap, revue internationale sur l’art contemporain chinois et asiatique, première édition française :« Chine : les communautés flottantes » (édition bilingue français-mandarin, Beijing-Paris, 2015, 220 pages, 12 € – www.leapleapleap.com) Leap – entendez « Le bond » ou « Le saut »– est une revue internationale sur l’art contemporain chinois et asiatique. Elle paraît depuis…

LEAP: « Empires » : telle est la thématique choisie pour cette édition 2016 de Monumenta. Le dossier de presse parle d’ « une installation immersive de grande échelle ». Comment doit-on comprendre ce terme d’immersif? Huang Yong Ping: Cet adjectif souligne le fait que les spectateurs doivent cheminer au sein de l’installation. Ca ne signifie…

Le 27 janvier 2016 s’est ouverte l’exposition « BENTU（1）, des artistes chinois dans la turbulence des mutations », organisée par la Fondation Louis Vuitton en collaboration avec l’UCCA de Pékin. En parallèle de cette exposition, la Fondation présente des œuvres issues de son fond d’art contemporain chinois ; c’est la première fois que l’ensemble du…

Cet article traite d’une question classique, à savoir que le fait de corriger ou reconsidérer l’Histoire ne se limite pas à un objectif politique. En réalité, il s’agit d’une attitude admise et adoptée par la société toute entière. Tout un chacun se trouve généralement attiré par une réalité ou un récit idéalisé sur le plan…

A stopped truck carries a huge oil painting stretching across the foreground. In the distance there is a newly built city, a vision almost exactly the same as the one portrayed in the painting. This is Liu Xiaodong’s poster for his solo exhibition. Here the artist nearly entirely confirms the essential elements we have become…

The title “Twin Tracks,” originating in a Chinese proverb, usually refers to the difficulty of reaching a goal when one is heading in the wrong direction. Yang Fudong’s exhibition guides the audience …

WEB EXCLUSIVE Although still in the process of receiving her BFA degree, Singapore-based artist Jennifer Mehigan (b. 1988, Ireland) has managed to make a splash with her work in both physical and virtual space. Using online platforms such as Tumblr, Instagram, and Vimeo as conduits, Mehigan’s multimedia practice, with its signature pastel palette and organic,…

                                        LAST WEEKEND, ICA London hosted a Lunch Bytes event inviting writer/ artist/ curator Holly Childs, theorist Florian Cramer, artist David Jablonowski, artist Cally Spooner, and writer/ poet Elvia Wilk to moderate a discussion on linguistic…

WEB EXCLUSIVE Avery Singer (b. 1987, lives and works in New York) is known for her monochromatic airbrush paintings that manage to simultaneously raise philosophical questions and poke fun at the clichés of contemporary art. Her most recent show, “Pictures Punish Words” at the Kunsthalle Zürich, which will soon travel to the Foundazione Sandretto Re…

HOW DO YOU occupy something as abstract as capitalism? This was one of the main questions posed by the Occupy movement in its quest towards an alternative system; one that was more sustainable, democratic, and just. A system run by corporations directs our understanding and representation of the world. To fully understand a system you…

I first met Kai Kawus on the internet. That was his username, but I’ve continued calling him Kai even after meeting face-to-face, which makes me realize that I have never asked for this old friend’s real name. This could be because my English still isn’t up to scratch. Truthfully, much of the time silence relieves…

Nine years ago, Zhai Liang called a selection of his works the “Decisions Collection.” They are small watercolors, mostly of scenes from daily life. Some include human figures and some are simple scenes. Titles such as Tian’anmen Square, Dancing to Sounds, The Ambush, and Massive Dust Particles emphasize the narrative force of the paintings. As…

吴俊勇，《马上火》，2014年，纸本水墨，由《艺术界》委托创作 Wu Junyong, Horse on Fire, 2014, watercolor on paper, commissioned by LEAP…

SU WEI When we work together, many ideas, anxieties, and problems are interrelated and sometimes projected onto each other. Though these connections are not always apparent, our collaboration has been based upon a common ground we share when we discuss, initiate, and explore things together. Looking back on our past collaboration, I would say what…

Dear Lee Kit, You may be surprised to receive this somewhat sudden letter. I’ve been doing this letter exchange project for four years now, which will be published as a compilation this year. I’ve always wanted to translate the project into English, and after discussing it with a LEAP editor I have decided to try…

Chen Zhou holds a knife to his wrist but doesn’t press down. This event early in his new film seems to express the artist’s present state more precisely than anything else—“I want to, but I can’t.” In Chen’s previous work Spanking the Maid, the same “inability” can be found, only on this occasion, the identity…

THE BODY, AS the most apparent symbol and object of all the various forms of conscious- ness and conceptual undertakings, along with the evolution of modern industrial society and contemporary consumerist culture, has itself become a prominent discursive object, which is continuously being redefined, rewritten, and disciplined. Of the artistic practices that correspond to or…

THE 1966-1976 Major Events Pavilion, located in Anren, Dayi County, Sichuan, is built across a river and thus serves as a footbridge— hence it being called the “Museum-Bridge.” The museum houses relics from the Cultural Revolution collected by Mr. Fan Jianchuan. Everything about this building, from its shape to its name, hints at a sense…

In all eras we have expected art to fulfill some extremely practical roles. In this sense, the so-called“contemporary art” we have now could be understood as presently useful art, a little like a folk…

This farmhouse is similar in size to those around it. Its foundation rests on a space of about 10 by 30 meters and sits squarely in front of a field. The outer surface is neatly lined with red bricks, interrupted by evenly spaced openings in the shape of small crosses, standing out among the other…