Lu Yang, DOKU The Self, [2022], HD video, color, sound, 36’ © Lu Yang, Courtesy of the artist and the Society, Berlin

The Centre Pompidou and the West Bund Museum will present a joint exhibition on the young contemporary Chinese art scene as part of a Sino-French curatorial partnership at Centre Pompidou in Paris. Drawing a subjective portrait of this new generation of Chinese artists for the first time in France, this multidisciplinary exhibition features works by 21 artists and it encourages the french and international public to discover the Balinghou generation: those Chinese artists born between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, exploring their link to the global artistic ecosystem and their desire to express themselves through a large variety of media. The exhibition will be on view from October 9, 2024 to February 3, 2025.

The Chinese character 目 (mù) means “eye” and refers to vision and the eye’s ability to organize reality. It is an essential element of Chinese writing and is used in many other sinograms. Themed on this topic, the exhibition presents works by selected artists of the Balinghou generation. This generation grew up in the era of China’s reform and opening-up, developed international trade and enjoyed strong economic growth. The significant technological and social developments of this period allowed China to become the world’s second largest economic power and profoundly changed its view of itself and the world.

Their works cover a wide range of practices – video, painting, sculpture, installations, photography and new media – and focus on recent works from the last few years. In the post-Covid international scene, these works have not enjoyed much visibility abroad, but the Centre Pompidou has bolstered ties with this art scene during this period, thanks to the Centre Pompidou × West Bund Museum Project partnership in Shanghai. Amid this teeming diversity, the exhibition homes in on salient themes regarding the artists' practices.

Amidst this great diversity, the exhibition focuses on the key themes of the artists’ working methods. Among the core themes explored in the works of many of these artists are China’s interaction with the rest of the world, reflections on globalization and worldwide challenges, particularly environmental breakdown.

This generation of creators has also tapped into fertile themes such as the major changes and recent developments in Chinese society, especially incessant transformations in lifestyle in ever-sprawling, urban agglomerations and the shifting paradigm of regulation of various flows and activities. The awareness of China's extraordinarily rich cultural and aesthetic heritage provides structure to the work of some artists, who strive to place it in perspective and give it a fresh twist in a contemporary context. 

Lastly, the exhibition devotes a large section to new media, a particularly dynamic field in a country that has undergone swift, massive and intense digitisation of both its economy and society.

Artists on display:
aaajiao, Alice CHEN, CHEN Fei, CHEN Wei, CHU Yun, CUI Jie, HAO Liang, HU Xiaoyuan, LI Ming, LIU Chuang, LU Pingyuan, LU Yang, MIAO Ying, Nabuqi, QIU Xiaofei, SHEN Xin, SUN Xun, WAN Yang, YAO Qingmei, YU Ji, ZHANG Ding

Curators:
Philippe Bettinelli, Curator, new media department, Centre Pompidou – Musée national d’art moderne
Paul Frèches, Managing Director of the Centre Pompidou x West Bund Museum, Shanghai
Gu Youyou, Director of the exhibitions department, West Bund Museum, Shanghai

About the Exhibition

Dates: October 9, 2024 – February 3, 2025

Venue: Centre Pompidou

Courtesy of Centre Pompidou, edited by CAFA ART INFO.