Imagine our future together, through other ways of showing, experiencing, sharing, and inventing art.
Through a series of exhibitions, site commissions and educational projects involving the Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation collection, Chinese artists of today and tomorrow, the newest generation of art lovers and the top tier of contemporary art collectors, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art is opening its door to the future of art in China.
I – Our Future
Our Future: The Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation Collection, July 19 – October 12
Our Future: Site Commissions (semi-permanent)
II – Sideline Projects
Yin Xiuzhen’s Introspective Cavity, July 17 – September 7
An exhibition by the young artist Ji Zhou, curated by the artist Wang Du, July 17 – August 17
Our Future: The Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation Collection
While UCCA’s inaugural exhibition ’85 New Wave: The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art leapt into the past to examine the foundations of Chinese contemporary art, the Our Future exhibition will give wide-angle view of the work and artistic practice of several generations of artists. Through special commissions and new acquisitions, work rarely seen before will be viewable to the public.
With its fourth exhibition, UCCA reasserts its aim to put China at the heart of its activities by developing an open platform of dialogue between China and the rest of the world.
Featuring around 60 Chinese artists, the exhibition will present no less than 92 works by such prominent names as Chen Zhen, Gu Wenda, Huang Yong Ping, Wang Guangyi, Wang Du, Zhang Xiaogang. New projects, performances and educational works from Cao Fei, He Yunchang, Qiu Zhijie and Yang Jiechang have been especially created for the Our Future exhibition. Recent acquisitions never seen as part of the Ullens Foundation collection from Chu Yun, Yang Fudong, Wang Jianwei, Xie Nanxing and Wu Chi-Tsung will also be shown. Tentacule, a new commission by Shen Yuan, will be on display in the Nave along with a new work by Yin Xiuzhen.
This exhibition is co-curated by UCCA Director Jérôme Sans, UCCA Chief Curator Guo Xiaoyan, and UCCA International Curator Kate Fowle.
Our Future: Site Commissions
Pursuing the long-term commitment of Guy and Myriam Ullens to support Chinese artists through the Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation collection, UCCA’s Director Jérôme Sans has commissioned installations, murals, paintings and sculptures especially designed for the site by major and emerging artists such as Ai Wei Wei, Michael Lin, Wang Du, Wang Jianwei, Wen Fang, Yan Lei and Yan Peiming.
Throughout the interior and exterior of the building, UCCA will pay tribute to the work these artists have accomplished over the past two decades in bringing Chinese contemporary art onto the international art scene by devoting its entire 8,000 square meters space to sustain their artistic creations, beyond the exhibition halls.
II – Sideline Projects
Ji Zhou’s exhibition, curated by the artist Wang Du, is the beginning of a series of projects where leading artists will mentor and curate exhibitions of younger artists’ works. The exhibition runs from July 17 to
August 18.
Created especially for UCCA and running from July 17 to September 7, Yin Xiuzhen’s installation, Introspective Cavity, curated by UCCA Curator David Spalding is a large, tent-like structure covered in pieces of flesh-colored, used clothing. Inside, visitors will find a space of soft repose, where they can relax to the sounds of gently running water. The installation is designed to create a soothing experience that encourages one to take a break from Beijing’s hectic urban environment and look inward, toward one’s own hopes, memories and daydreams. Introspective Cavity is the latest in an ongoing body of work by Yin Xiuzhen that transforms used clothing in sculptural material.
UCCA is a non profit, comprehensive art center founded in Beijing by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in November 2007. UCCA presents exhibitions of established and emerging artists and develops a trusted platform to share knowledge through education and research.
