Painting · Fieldwork · Fiction: The Presentation of the Real

In Liu Xiaodong’s creative practice, “the real” has never been a straightforward aesthetic judgment; it is, instead, something to be continuously approached, examined, and rediscovered. As early as 1990, the critic Fan Di’an observed in his essay Liu Xiaodong or the Presentation of the Real that Liu’s paintings always “cling closely to the existence before him,” capturing figures and objects with an irreplaceable sense of presence, thus constructing a distinctive form of “the real” unique to the artist. This essay has since become a crucial reference point for understanding Liu Xiaodong.

Taking “Painting · Fieldwork · Fiction” as its framework, this event invites sociologist He Beili and novelist Tan Bo to explore—from their respective professional and creative perspectives—how we approach and engage with “the real.” Whether through the immediacy of painting, the immersive practice of fieldwork, or fiction’s delicate navigation between reality and imagination, these seemingly divergent paths all relate to how we comprehend the body, intimacy, local memory, and the telling of a person, a community, or an era.

In an age dominated by moving images, short videos, and social media, “the real” is often rapidly produced, repeatedly labeled, and relentlessly consumed. It is precisely in this context that we return to Liu Xiaodong’s visual world and his way of engaging with his subjects—and revisit the question raised by Fan Di’an more than three decades ago: When we speak of “the real,” are we documenting it, or are we reinventing it? And today, does “the real” remain our goal, or has it transformed into yet another system for expressing the world?

The program will take the form of a roundtable discussion, and we warmly welcome audience participation. We hope that “the presentation of the real” will not merely remain an art-historical concept, but become an open question for collective reflection.