First established in Bangkok in 1997 by Zheng Lin, Tang Contemporary Art now has two additional spaces in Beijing and a fourth location in Hong Kong. The gallery hosts a range of curatorial projects and exhibitions with a dedication to furthering the practice of contemporary art.
Read MoreTang Contemporary Art represents some of the most important Chinese contemporary artists, beginning with the pre-eminent artist and political activist Ai Weiwei, whose sculptural installations, photography, film, performance, and works in other media merge the personal with the social, political, and cultural.
A number of other artists on Tang Contemporary Art’s roster rose to prominence in the early 1980s in China as part of various avantgarde art movements. Consider the artist couple that was comprised of the late Huang Yongping and Shen Yuan: separately represented by the gallery, Huang was founder of the Xiamen Dada movement of 1986 and known for his paintings, sculptures, and site-specific installations that combine irony, humour, and politics; while Shen, whose installations explore the complex realities of contemporary society, often highlights marginalised communities. There is also Chen Shaoxiong, who, emerging out of the underground art scene in Guangzhou in the mid-1980s, has examined the impact of rapid globalisation in China in his video, photography, performance, and installation work; and Yang Jiechang, who draws from the Chinese ink painting tradition to address socio-political conflicts of the present day.
Tang Contemporary Art works extensively with international artists, among them H. H. Lim, a Malaysia-born, Rome-based artist known for incorporating elements of the everyday into his artworks; Rirkrit Tiravanija, an Argentina-born artist of Thai descent whose often interactive projects offer alternatives to traditional modes of the art object and experience; and Heri Dono, a leading Indonesian contemporary artist whose playful installations and paintings bring together folk and contemporary art.
Tang Contemporary Art is known for organising riveting exhibitions that facilitate conversations between regional and international artists at each of its locations. S.E.A.—New Generation (2019), for example, brought the work of nine Southeast Asian artists to Bangkok, while Everlasting (2017) showcased works by seven United States-based artists in Beijing.
The gallery participates in numerous art fairs, whether in mainland China (such as ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair; Art Shenzhen; and West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai) or abroad (such as Art Basel in Hong Kong; Art Busan; Art Jakarta; Frieze New York; and ASIA NOW, Paris).
Exhibition view: Group exhibition, Shining Moment 光輝, Tang Art Foundation, Hong Kong (15 May–17 July 2021). Courtesy Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong.
Ocula Insight Rodel Tapaya’s Random Numbers By Diana d'Arenberg, Hong Kong Rodel Tapaya's latest paintings are an explosive collision between humanity, the natural world, and the human-made.
Ocula Feature Gallery Weekend Beijing: Shows to See By Tessa Moldan, Beijing Ocula Magazine present a selection of highlights at this year's Gallery Weekend Beijing.
Ocula News Rirkrit Tiravanija Joins David Zwirner, Proffers Pad Thai Hong Kong, 21 April 2021 The artist's first solo exhibition with the gallery will show in Hong Kong early next year.
Ocula Feature Bangkok Art Biennale Escapes Lockdown By Rémy Jarry, Bangkok The second Bangkok Art Biennale brings together 217 artworks by 82 artists from 35 different countries across 10 venues in the capital.
Advisory Perspective The Ocula Advisory team select their picks from Art Basel Hong Kong, running between 21 and 23 May 2021, with preview days on 19 and 20 May 2021.
Related Press Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Announces 7 Site-Specific Installations 5 December 2019, The New York Times The artists are El Anatsui, Byung Hoon Choi, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Olafur Eliasson, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Cristina Iglesias and Ai Weiwei, and they were commissioned to create a mix of sculptures, light installations and suspended artworks for the 14-acre premises, known as the Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus.
Related Press What Happens When Artists Run Restaurants? 5 July 2019, Frieze Last month, a new sake bar opened at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts: a softly lit tunnel of booze that promises the kind of entrancing conversation one can never quite remember the next morning. A permanent installation designed by the artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled 2019 (the form of the flower is unknown to the seed) is furnished...
Related Press Stars Art Group, China's artistic freedom fighters, celebrate 40th anniversary 29 March 2019, The Art Newspaper On the eve of Art Basel in Hong Kong's private view on Wednesday, the Beijing-based artist Huang Rui took to the streets of Central for a paint-splashed performance about the cyclical nature of history. The piece was a tribute to Lee Wen, the pioneering Asian performance artist who died early this month.
Related Press 'One Second • One Year': Chinese artist Zhao Zhao’s depictions of time 30 September 2018, Art Radar Journal Zhao Zhao had formerly been Ai Weiwei's studio assistant for seven years; they had first met in 2004, a year after Zhao had graduated from the Xinjiang Arts Institute. Ai Weiwei's close friendship with Zhao Zhao is very much in evidence in this particular essay that Ai Weiwei wrote for Zhao Zhao; in it, he recounts the various projects that Zhao...
Related Video & Audio Fairy Tale - Lí Wei 30 November 2020, Tang Contemporary Art Tang Contemporary Art is proud to present the latest solo exhibition of Lí Wei, Fairy Tale, from 5 September to 18 October 2020 in the gallery's first space in Beijing.
Related Video & Audio Racket of Cobwebs: Chinese Contemporary Art Group Exhibition 31 July 2020, Tang Contemporary Art This group exhibition curated by Amy Lee features remarkable pieces by 14 Chinese contemporary artists with their classic and innovative art.
Related Video & Audio Mount Gui: Mao Xuhui and His Students Group Exhibition 20 July 2020, Tang Contemporary Art Curator: Dai Zhuoqun Bangkok Mao Xuhui continued to bring his students from Yunnan University to Mount Gui year after year to allow his students to explore their creative voices and artistic processes, and these trips to Mount Gui have become an integral part of his teaching method.
Related Video & Audio Echo among Geographies exhibition tour (19 March–18 April 2020) | 地缘间的回音, 中文导览 31 March 2020, Tang Contemporary Art 当代唐人艺术中心荣幸地将于 2020年 3月 19日于香港空间推出本年度重点群展 -「地缘间的回音」，展出七位享誉国际的当代艺术家的创作。
