About Tang Contemporary Art

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.

Artists

Tang 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.

Exhibitions and fairs

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).

Image courtesy Tang Contemporary Art.

The Armory Show (5–8 March) features presentations by leading international galleries, innovative artist commissions, and dynamic public programs. The 2020 edition of The Armory Show, welcomes 183 exhibitors from 32 countries, convening Midtown Manhattan at Piers 90 and 94.

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.

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...