In The Collectress (2013), Yan Xing asserted his expertise on fellow artist Duan Jianyu’s paintings—a conceptual nod to her works that blend fiction and painting while satirizing the modern Chinese tradition of landscape painting. By visiting the sites featured in Duan’s landscapes and creating his own series of works, Yan argued that the magical realism in her art stems entirely from her fictional narratives. In their own ways, both artists highlight a canonical method of artistic research in modern China—what might be called caifeng (literally “folk tune extraction”)—which typically involves field research and on-site sketching.
In this research-in-progress presentation, critic and curator Zian Chen explores the enduring practice of Chinese artists using painterly methods to conduct research. Drawing on works by Pang Xunqin (1906–1985), Xu Beihong (1895–1953), Luo Gongliu (1916–2004), and Dong Xiwen (1914–1973), he outlines how their practices, rooted in social science and land reform, helped forge a unique Chinese aesthetic and a canon that appropriated marginal cultural narratives. In exploring its affinity to settler colonialism, one should note that Chen Danqing (1953–) has transformed this legacy into a contemporary visual language. Through the incisive critiques of the Chinese gaze by Tsewang Tashi (1963–) and Duan Jianyu (1970–), a potential pathway emerges toward a new horizon for painting as critical research.
Following Chen’s presentation, ICA‘s director/curator Michelle Yeonho Hyun will respond based on early research gathered through interviews with the participating artists of the ICA’s current exhibition, Vitalisms.
The presentation will be accompanied by English captions, followed by discussion held in Chinese and English with consecutive interpretation.
Free and open to the public.
Space is limited. Registration is required. To register, please click on the “Register” button on the left of this page or scan the QR code below.
In conjunction with Vitalisms, an exhibition by CAI Zebin, CAO Xiang, CUI Jie, GAO Xiaoyi, LI Ran, XIE Lingrou, and ZHENG Zhilin.
The exhibition Vitalisms and related events are presented as the second season of the ICA's artistic research program Lightless Fires (2024–26), exploring fermentation as a figure and technique of collective memory, autonomous archiving, and writing history.
