Beijing-based contemporary art gallery Tabula Rasa Gallery takes its name from the philosophical concept of the ‘blank slate’: the idea that we are born with a blank state and that our knowledge derives exclusively from experiences and education.
Read MoreThe gallery’s aim is to challenge viewers' preconceptions, to allow artists to experiment with new ideas. Established in 2015 by Sammi Liu—gallerist and founder of Almost Art Project (AAP) art festival—and friends, the gallery supports the work of emerging and mid-career Chinese and international contemporary artists. From its gallery space based in a former industrial building in Beijing’s 798 Art District, the gallery seeks to promote its variety of artists through a combination of exhibitions, talks, research, and in-house publications.
Defining its vision from the start, Tabula Rasa Gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Inframince: Aura of Nature (2015), brought together works by artists who carved out new means of expression between Chinese landscape painting and Western forms of media. Though none can be said to be particularly young, the featured artists—Shang Yang, Qiu Shihua, Liang Quan, Liu Guofu, Jiang Jian, and Shen Qin—displayed fresh approaches to visual language in their work.
Working with a broad selection of mainly Chinese emerging and mid-career artists, the roster of artists represented by Tabula Rasa Gallery covers a diverse range of media. From Anusman’s internationally sought-after comics to Li Tao’s material-oriented installations and Nathan Zhou’s distinctive graffiti and collaged works, the gallery’s artists explore the language of art in regards to their medium. Among the gallery’s artists are several widely exhibiting contemporary artists such as Liu Zhibang, Wang Ziyue, and Yuan Yuan, whose works have been seen across the Asian and international art scene.
Tabula Rasa Gallery makes its presence known at the heart of the Beijing art scene, participating in events like Gallery Weekend Beijing and hosting shows as part of the AAP art festival. The gallery has also been participating in major international art fairs across the China region, including ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Art Shenzhen; Art Basel in Hong Kong; and West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai.
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