Engaging with the World

The exhibition, which runs until 12th January, 2024, is drawn from the collection of the Taikang Insurance Group, and features a selection of 101 works, covering a century of history, in a range of media including painting, installation, photography and video. The exhibition charts the development of modern and contemporary Chinese art since the beginning of the 20th century, from two principal perspectives: ‘art and humans’ and ‘art and society’.

The exhibition focuses on modern and contemporary Chinese art’s distinctive nature of ‘engaging with the world’ throughout the 20th century, and explores the historical process in which artists and their works became increasingly closely connected to social reality. The exhibition’s theme, ‘Engaging with the World’, has its origins in two areas of exploration in the artistic creative process: the individual liberation of artists, and the close links between art, society and reality. Individual liberation refers to artists being freed of restraints in modern society, being able to freely express their own ideas and feelings, and pursue their individual artistic goals. The close ties between art, society and reality are evidenced by the way in which the artworks reflect social change, and people’s concerns for reality.

The exhibition takes a broad historical perspective: against the backdrop of both the wave of global expansion produced by western industrial civilization during the 19th century, and the transformation of Chinese society and reforms of the nation’s education system in the 20th century, it examines how artists — themselves representatives of the modern intellectuals of the era — responded to the changing times. An important section of the exhibition, entitled ‘Artists’, features some approximately 20 self-portraits or portraits of artists. Faced with the challenge of rampant western expansion, late Qing dynasty society introduced reforms of China’s domestic and foreign policy, including such important measures as the abolition of the civil service examination system in 1905, and the subsequent reforms of the education system, which led to a thoroughgoing transformation of society and culture. During the course of this century of societal change, alongside the evolution of artistic techniques and language, modern and contemporary Chinese artists also displayed a radical shift in consciousness and ideas. Through their unique creative techniques and language, they express their reflections on, and investigations of, the profound influence of society, culture, economics and the like, while also demonstrating a fundamental difference between their work and the creative approach of traditional literati artists.

The exhibition highlights the inherent motivation, innovation and evolution of Chinese art against  the backdrop of the 20th century, and shows how artists explored the space between China’s indigenous tradition and western influence, giving rise to the diverse nature of modern and contemporary Chinese art. Furthermore, the exhibition presents the investigations of artists of different eras into issues including the portrait, the body, reality, life, lyricism, and the pioneering spirit. It breaks through the limitations of the traditional research methodology of separating artists into different eras, employing an interlinked display approach to bring home to the audience the sustained, profound reflection of successive generations of artists on the relationship between ‘art’, ‘humans’ and ‘society’.

As well as revealing a contrast with China’s thousands of years of artistic tradition, the works featured in the exhibition also reflect the influence of various international art movements and styles, during different periods, and demonstrate a wide range of creative techniques and media characteristics. Through in-depth research, the exhibition traces the history of modern and contemporary Chinese art, and presents the various stages of its development. At the same time, it also focuses on the profound integration and interaction between contemporary Chinese art and international art. The exhibition features a number of works by heavyweights of the international art world, including Gerhard Richter, Nam June Paik and Anselm Kiefer.

The Taikang Art Museum is dedicated to tracing back into the past, researching and displaying the art of the modern era, as well as contemporary art and the new art of the future. It emphasizes a historical approach to research, and focuses on the central role and cultural self-confidence of Chinese art amidst changing times. Its opening exhibition, ‘Engaging with the World’, tells the story of modern China through art, offering visitors a visual feast spanning a century.