State of the Arts: Five Exhibitions To See in Beijing This Winter
State of the Arts is our regular arts column whereby we take a look at the newest moves in Beijing's creative scene and highlight art news as well as exhibitions, artists, and openings that you should seek out.
The weather outside is… sort of frightful… but also not entirely bad, which means venturing out and about isn't too terribly difficult. That being said, though, winter is still a season to be spent indoors – especially if there’s an odd day when it actually is too chilly or suddenly snows – so why not while away the time inside with a bit of art?
Here’s a list of five exhibitions going on in Beijing right now, as well as one that is set to start soon but ends quickly, for your viewing pleasure.
Maurizio Cattelan: The Last Judgment
This first Chinese solo exhibition from Maurizio Cattelan, the Italian artist who shook the art world when he duct-taped a banana to a wall and called it “art,” goes beyond the shock factor of the act. Featuring 29 works from the artist’s three decade long career, this exhibition seeks to ask questions about death, social mores, art history, and the nature of art in contemporary society.
UCCA
Duration: Until Feb 20, 2022
798 Dashanzi Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu
酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区
The Persistence of One Minute: A Salvador Dali Exhibition
This exhibition, showing for a limited time only, allows visitors to experience the works of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali with a catch: they can only be viewed from 10pm-6am and each visitor can only view a piece for one minute each. Oh, and the whole thing is taking place in a nightclub. All viewer reactions will be recorded, as an experiment to see how different people react to works of art. This is one not to be missed for lovers of surrealism and oddball events.
PH Beijing
Duration: Dec 17-20
1F, 6 Workers’ Stadium West Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工体西路6号一层
Xu Bing: Art Beyond the Kármán Line
China has been big on space lately, and artist Xu Bing is using the interest to formulate new art. This project is the product of an earlier piece, a rocket the artist sent into space covered in passages of Chinese text inspired by an earlier work which was created more than 30 years prior and consists of “words” that look like Chinese characters but have no meaning strung together from floor to ceiling.
The launch of the rocket and its subsequent crash landing back on Earth is explored in this exhibition, which takes its name from an imaginary line in the atmosphere that separates Earth from outer space, and uses it to explore what results from sending human creativity – in this case Xu’s work – into space.
Red Brick Art Museum
Duration: Until Apr 12, 2022
Hegezhuang Village, Cuigezhuang Township, Chaoyang District
朝阳区崔各庄乡何各庄村
Italian Renaissance Drawings: A Dialogue with China
Co-hosted by the British Museum – with sponsorship from Land Rover, for some reason – Dialogue With China seeks to find a connection between the sketches and works of Italian Renaissance painters and artists in China, mainly focusing on the former’s influence on modern and contemporary Chinese art.
MWoods Longfusi
Duration: Until Feb 20, 2022
Bldg 3, 38 Qianliang Hutong, 95 Longfusi Street, Dongcheng District
东城区隆福寺街95号钱粮胡同38号3号楼
The Artist's Way of Vincent Fang
Taiwan based lyricist, musician, and artist Vincent Fang creates art inspired by calligraphy, music, and machinery intermixed with Chinese art traditions. This exhibition takes a closer look at some of the artist’s – known more famously as a longtime lyric writer for rapper Jay Chou – significant works, which seek not to turn Chinese art on its head, but to reinterpret ancient art and literary practice into something capable of carrying contemporary weight.
Soka Art
Duration: Until Feb 20, 2022
2 Jiuxianqiao Road, 798 Arts District, Chaoyang District
朝阳区酒仙桥路2号大山子艺术区
READ: Show on Japanese Architect Tadao Ando Sheds Light on his Genius
Images: Beijing LOOK, Playhouse Global
