Dai Guangyu
b. 1955, ChinaDai Guangyu was born in 1955 into a scholarly family in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. From childhood he was trained in calligraphy, painting and literature, and his career as a contemporary artist is comprised of his longstanding practice as a visual and performance artist, a curator and cultural critic, and a poet. His work engages Chinese art history, ink painting culture, as well as Chinese poetics and politics, and his sustained public performance art practice changed the course of performance art in China.
One of the main leaders of China’s pivotal ‘85 New Wave movement in the southwest, he organized and participated in Red Yellow Blue – Young Artists of Sichuan, the first modern art exhibition in Sichuan province, at the Sichuan Art Gallery (1986), and participated in the landmark 1989 China Avant-Garde Exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. After the demise of the 1989 student movement protests, when Chinese art went into a withdrawn, depressive state, Dai Guangyu continued his active interventionist work, curating exhibitions and public performance interventions away from the capital. In 1990 and 1991, he organized exhibitions that had a major impact on the developmental trajectory of contemporary art in southwestern China, including a three-person solo, and the group show 000,90 Modern Art Exhibition at the prominent Chengdu Art Salon space. In 1992, he was selected by curator Lü Peng for The First Chinese Art Biennale of the 1990s in Guangzhou, winning the Award for Excellence there.
Courtesy INKstudio
Explore and Follow Artists Shaping Contemporary Art
A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services