Is breaking from our predetermined paths the only way to true awakening? In Veering, the artist Hu Xiaoyuan presents seven newly commissioned works, weaving together installation, sound, painting, and video to reveal the complex relationship between human destiny and natural evolution, addressing ultimate questions of individual survival and the meaning of life.
Hu Xiaoyuan, Corolla on a Wasteland II (details), 2024. Courtesy of Hu Xiaoyuan.Hu incorporates everyday materials like Aerospace grade aluminum, sea shells, organza silk, and corn fibre in her works. Through translucent drapes and lighting design, she creates unique pathways that blur the line between day and night, creating an ambiguous spatial experience. This setting guides visitors to reflect on enduring themes such as time, materiality, existence, and consciousness.
Hu Xiaoyuan, Corolla on a Wasteland II (details), 2024. Courtesy of Hu Xiaoyuan.
Veering is part of Tai Kwun Contemporary's new Breakthrough series, which underlines emerging artistic positions through solo presentations, commissions, and innovative formats. For Spring 2025, Hu Xiaoyuan: Veering is presented alongside Alicja Kwade: Pretopia and Maeve Brennan: Records. These solo exhibitions by three female artists explore materials and storytelling through diverse approaches.
Hu Xiaoyuan (b. 1977) often draws from her own nuanced perception and philosophical reflections on human nature, combining traces of the everyday and natural materials with traditional artistic mediums, blending in an acute sensitivity of material contrasts. Through an interdisciplinary practice that spans installation, video, sculpture, and painting, she creates a distinctive aesthetic that transcends specific experiences, probing the complex meanings of time, space, reality, and migration, along with other concepts embedded within existential themes.
About the Exhibition
Curators: Pi Li with Shuman Wang
Duration: 24 January–13 April 2025
Venue: Tai Kwun Contemporary
Courtesy of the Artist, Beijing Commune and Tai Kwun Contemporary.
