Constant Experimentation: Art, Cinema and Philosophy in the 1990s

In the early 1990s, Liu Xiaodong rapidly emerged as a prominent figure through a series of solo exhibitions, becoming a representative of Chinese contemporary painting in the international arena. Meanwhile, Wang Min’an distinguished himself amid a renewed wave of interest in Western philosophy within Chinese intellectual circles, garnering widespread attention with his unique interpretations of thinkers such as Nietzsche, Benjamin, Foucault, and Roland Barthes. Whether in contemporary art, “Sixth Generation” cinema, philosophical writing, or art criticism, both were pioneering witnesses and active participants of that era. Over the following three decades, they have sustained a profound intellectual dialogue and a genuine friendship. In this special conversation, these two distinguished guests will draw on their personal experiences to take us back to the 1990s—a period now being reexamined. The audience will hear firsthand accounts of how they engaged with the transformations of the day, how they grappled with the “unfinished” projects of art and thought, and how their insights contrast and collide with contemporary perspectives, sparking new inspiration.