GROUP EXHIBITION

Curated by Shi Qing, STUDY II brings together works by eight artists or collectives: Cao Shu, Cheng Xinhao, Chen Zhe, Assembly, Guo Cheng, Xin Yunpeng + Ye Qiusen, Yu Ying, and Zhang Wenxin. Through the intersection of various media such as video, installation, text, archives, and painting, the exhibition invites audiences to enter an open discussion site, while collectively experiencing the perceptual understanding and expansion surrounding the concept of ‘study’ in contemporary art production.

Undoubtedly, the development of contemporary art today is closely linked to current forms of knowledge production, which has brought the ‘study’ activities that artists engage in alongside their practice to the forefront. This, in turn, interacts with the transformation of art education mechanisms globally. In the first edition of the STUDY exhibition, which took place in Shanghai in 2021, the core discussion focused on ‘individual learning’ and ‘collective learning’ centred around the artist as the main subject; The upcoming STUDY II happening at ShanghART Beijing in May this year can be seen as a reboot of this project, attempting to address topics related to artistic action and knowledge systems within the context of technological philosophy and ecology.

STUDY II is a forum-like exhibition that presents a state of work in progress; a site that reveals the backend of practice; a gathering at the moment when new knowledge and new technologies converge; and a mechanism for collaborative learning and reporting. The artists or institutions invited to participate in this exhibition are all active contributors in these areas. ‘Study,’ as an ancient technique and action, has accompanied every process in the history of human thought, including art. This method of ‘study’ has long existed in the formal or informal exchanges between artists, and artists’ understanding and expansion of ‘study’ always take place within their sensory practice. Contemporary art itself is a production of ‘exceptions’ and possibilities, and its value lies not in creating a closed loop of a certain logic of knowledge but, in most cases, presenting a vivid and continuous concrete form. It can be said that the ‘study’ process of artists is also an alternative mode of practice.