Tales of Our Time

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presents Tales of Our Time, an exhibition featuring nine newly commissioned works by artists born in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. This is the second exhibition of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative, a long-term research, curatorial, and collections-building program at the Guggenheim Museum.

Though diverse in subjects and strategies, the works are united by the artists’ use of storytelling to propose alternative ways of looking at place. Working in drawing, animation, video, photography, sculpture, installation, and participatory intervention, the artists in the exhibition address the concept of geography and territory in ways as specific as where they are based or as big as China itself, which they see as a concept constantly being questioned and reinvented. These artists freely cross divides to examine the tensions between past and present, myth and fact, reality and dreams, rationality and absurdity, and individuality and collectivity.

The artists represented in Tales of Our Time are Chia-En Jao, Kan Xuan, Sun Xun, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Tsang Kin-Wah, Yangjiang Group, and Zhou Tao. Interviews with the artists are available online.

Tales of Our Time is organized by Xiaoyu Weng, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art, and Hou Hanru, Consulting Curator, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. Kyung An, Assistant Curator, Asian Art, provides curatorial support. The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative is part of the Guggenheim’s Asian Art Initiative, directed by Alexandra Munroe, Samsung Senior Curator, Asian Art and Senior Advisor, Global Arts. All commissioned works will enter the Guggenheim’s collection.

“The artists represented in Tales of Our Time vary greatly in their practices and viewpoints,” says Xiaoyu Weng. “But they share a broad perspective, one that places China’s culture, history, and social reality in the context of the wider world. And like so many artists today, they register acute discomfort with the tension between the personal experiences of regular people and the dominant narratives and conventions of power.”

Public programs
On Friday, November 4 at 4pm, the public programs accompanying Tales of Our Time begin with a discussion about the intersections of art, urbanism, and literature, featuring Cosmin Costinas, David Harvey, and Ou Ning, and moderated by Howard French. Special exhibition tours in Mandarin occur on Saturdays at noon starting November 5. And on Wednesday afternoons beginning November 9, local tea brewers serve tea in a gallery on the museum’s fourth floor, inviting visitors to converse and contemplate calligraphy and a Chinese garden as part of Yangjiang Group’s participatory installation Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken. For all programs, visit guggenheim.org/calendar.

About the Initiative
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative at the Guggenheim supports a curatorial residency, three exhibitions and publications, and commission-based acquisitions. Designed as a dynamic collaboration between artists, curators, and educators, the initiative actively participates in the creation of contemporary art and critical discourse. By presenting new commissioned works by artists born in Greater China, the program provides an international platform for artistic experimentation and encourages the public to question assumptions about the region.

Coupled with immersive educational experiences and a commitment to advancing conversations about contemporary art, the three exhibitions offer fresh global outlooks on modern-day Chinese culture. The featured works enter the Guggenheim’s permanent collection, expanding the museum’s focus and further enabling research in the field.

Together, the Guggenheim and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation believe in the power of art to set the stage for thoughtful encounters that stimulate social awareness, cultivate community, and broaden perspectives on the art and culture of our time.

Tales of Our Time is made possible by The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.