What About the Art? Contemporary Art from China

What is the state of contemporary art in China? How do Chinese artists contribute to the creativity of contemporary art? Regardless of the specific circumstances of China, what artistic value do works have to show for the soaring prices they’ve fetched? What about creativity? Critical reception of contemporary Chinese art from inside and outside of China has focused largely on sociopolitical issues, national historical events, narratives of popular culture, and record market prices. However, limited consideration has been given to contemporary Chinese artists’ artistic value and originality.

Commissioned by Qatar Museums, contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, who serves as the curator of this exhibition, has devoted three years to research and development of What About the Art? Contemporary Art from China. The exhibition will open on March 14, 2016 at Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq, featuring works by fifteen living artists and artist collectives born in Mainland China: Jenova CHEN, HU Xiangqian, HU Zhijun, HUANG Yong Ping, LI Liao, LIANG Shaoji, LIU Wei, LIU Xiaodong, Jennifer Wen MA, SUN Yuan & PENG Yu, WANG Jianwei, XU Bing, XU Zhen, YANG Fudong, and ZHOU Chunya. This large-scale exhibition examines the artist’s individual pursuit of creativity in terms of artistic methods and methodology, attitudes, and concepts.