Best Beijing Shows for the City’s Gallery Weekend
Exhibition view: Yang Guangnan, Borderlands, CLC Gallery Venture, Beijing (21 May–30 June 2024). Courtesy CLC Gallery Venture.
This year's Gallery Weekend Beijing (24 May–2 June 2024) brings a host of exhibitions, panel talks, and events to the city. Our editors and Beijing-based contributors selected stand-out exhibitions to see in the lineup, including Jenkin van Zyl at Hua International and Yang Guangnan at CLC Gallery Venture.
Jenkin van Zyl: Limitless Growth
Hua International, D08-3, 798 East Road, 798 Art Zone
24 May–10 August 2024
Expect: an immersive space abundant with the theatrical and illusory, where things undergo a violent process of alienation and metamorphosis.
Jenkin van Zyl's first solo exhibition in China presents an ambitious extension of his film and installation Surrender (2023), in which a rat-faced woman is summoned to a lover's hotel to participate in a week-long dance marathon with other rats.
The artist, whose films exude an anti-utopian, B-movie aesthetic, modelled Surrender, whose previous iterations were shown at FACT Liverpool, Edel Assanti, London, and Hua International Berlin, after the Great Depression-era dance marathons that saw Americans competing for days on end for food, shelter, and a grand prize.
Elements from the film are transplanted into the gallery, where scenes are remixed, flipped, and morphed. Using two-way mirrored glass, for example, the artist revisits the marathon scene from the film, creating the illusion of a never-ending process in a closed space. In this way, van Zyl recreates the incredible ability of human beings to survive under extreme conditions and physical constraints, demonstrating the hope that underlies growing crises.
Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho: Weather Station
Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing, E-1, 798 Art Zone
31 May 2024–9 February 2025
Expect: the artist duo's first exhibition in China, showcasing stunning, post-apocalyptic scenarios in large-scale, cross-disciplinary works.
Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho's Beijing debut evolves from their 2022 institutional survey shows Seoul Weather Station at Art Sonje Center—from which the large-scale works in the present exhibition are adapted—and News from Nowhere at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa.
Their Seoul exhibition recreated a dynamic, interdisciplinary hub to contemplate weather and ecology with specialists across various disciplines. The artists spoke with Ocula Magazine in 2015, explaining how collaborating with architects and designers enabled them to move 'beyond discussions that merely exchange perspectives on issues'.
Among these works, To Build a Fire (2022–24) features a discomposed rock and a robotic dog positioned in front of a film displayed on a long panoramic screen that spans across the wall. This setup invites the audience to view the film from a non-human perspective, exploring the boundless paths of time.
News from Nowhere: Eclipse (2022–2024) depicts yet another post-apocalyptic scene—this time, a survival scenario on the open sea. Set in a space reminiscent of a light cage, the installation blurs the boundaries between reality and virtuality with images displayed on large LED panels synchronised to sound and light.
Yang Guangnan: Borderlands
CLC Gallery Venture, E02, Qixing East Street, 798 Art Zone
21 May–30 June 2024
Expect: an investigation into the urban and suburban changes in China and people's vulnerable physical experience within these landscapes.
While known for her sculpture, Yang Guangnan opens her latest exhibition with a video taken a decade ago. The screen, partially buried in ground bricks, captures street-level views of the now-defunct Heiqiao village, a former haven for artists in Beijing.
Resonating with the video, vibrant wall reliefs from the artist's 'Borderland' series (2023–ongoing) are supported by green iron fences spanning three walls, and positioned below eye level. Their wood panels are bound by acrylic hexagonal mesh, an architectural element Yang has long explored, showcasing fluid colours that evoke today's rapid flow of information.
Translucent PVC curtains further reveal a large-scale bridge installation. A wooden arch reminiscent of a skatepark bump and underlying cave disrupt conventional spatial experiences, as the slick bridge surface proves difficult to navigate, while the cave below induces a sense of isolation and confinement.
Albert Oehlen: Malerei
Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing, 1 Jianguomenwai Avenue
24 May–27 October 2024
Expect: six rarely seen paintings from the Louis Vuitton collection spanning two decades, from 1992 to 2022, by the pioneering German artist.
A student of Sigmar Polke's and a close friend of Martin Kippenberger's, Albert Oehlen was, along with Kippenberger, described as one of the 'bad boys of the German art world'. But while he is internationally recognised, very little of his work has been shown in China.
As such, despite its scale, MALEREI provides an opportunity to consider the artist's work and dwell on the accomplishments of a punk-kind of painting in the face of conceptualism and (neo)expressionism. It is well suited to Espace Louis Vuitton, where the exhibition programme is expansive, both geographically and in terms of style.
Past presentations have ranged from Jesús Rafael Soto's Kinetic art to Sheila Hicks' giant, hand-woven soft sculptures, to Isaac Julien's Ten Thousand Wave. Oehlen's presentation adds to the organisation's strong programme, which appears to be focused on championing excellence over commercial pursuits. Most importantly, it is free to attend, and this show should also be somewhat chill.
Isa Melsheimer & Harald Klingelhöller: All the Metaphors Come True
Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, 307, South Tower of No.01 Business Building, 798 Art Zone
24 May–2 June 2024
Expect: works by two German-born artists exhibited for the first time in China, offering a reflection on the evolution of sculpture in Europe.
How does an exhibition generate dialogues between two artists from different generations? Partaking in Gallery Weekend Beijing for the first time, Galerie Jocelyn Wolff seeks to answer this question by juxtaposing the work of two artists who primarily engage with sculpture, showcasing pieces created over the past two decades.
Isa Melsheimer (b. 1968, Neuss) presents works on paper with distinctive figures and mixed-media sculptures. For example, in Salton Sea (2007), the artist combines wood, mirrors, foam, and glass fibre reinforced plastic to form an enigmatic, muddy relic that evokes moments of the past.
Contrasting Melsheimer's frilly sculptures, Klingelhöller (b. 1954, Mettmann) showcases works mostly in geometric forms and a deadpan palette. Titles prompt the viewer to consider the connection between the sculpture's physical form and the mental image it evokes. Take Next to Woburn House, Double, Floating Between People of Every Number, Shadow Version Triple over Platforms Quadruple, M>1:1<1:20 (2021), a large-scale, black, kinetic sculpture, or I am Here, You are Here (Shadow version) (2014), a glossy metal box in the shape of three stacked cardboards. Through this juxtaposition, the artist transforms a minimal visual language into emotionally charged expressions, inviting viewers to invent their own narratives.
— Ye Su
Roksana Pirouzmand: on my mother's lap
SPURS Gallery, D-06, 798 Art Zone
25 May–7 July 2024
Expect: performances that speak to the installation and paintings on site, which integrate personal histories and call for resonance.
Iranian American artist Roksana Pirouzmand, who moved to California in 2012, caught the art world's attention at Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. biennial in 2023, with the installation and performance Between Two Windows.
The performance saw the artist standing between two windows embedded in gallery walls, one replicating her own in L.A. and the other resembling the window in her grandmother's house in Iran. Strong winds, recreated using a fan, scattered family letters and photographs around the space. An outdoor sculpture, Until All Is Dissolved (2023), elevated ordinary figures to monumental status in a public pond, exploring themes of worship and prayer.
These themes carry into the artist's debut exhibition in China, which follows a six-week residency in Jingdezhen where she worked with clay. Titled on my mother's lap, the exhibition's central installation features a negative derivation of sculpture that symbolically embraces past and future generations, evoking an epic lineage of maternal ancestors while creating the illusion of residual images.
Timur Si-Qin: A Vision of You
Magician Space, 798 East Road, 798 Art Zone
24 May–13 July 2024
Expect: multi-media works calling for a nature-centric spirituality that celebrates all indigenous cultures safeguarding our planet.
Timur Si-Qin's first solo exhibition in China since 2018, A Vision of You, follows the New York-based artist's travels to the Hengduan Mountains in Western Sichuan, one of China's most biologically and culturally diverse regions, in the autumn of 2023.
The artist combines his experiences with the visual language depicting the sacred in Sanxingdui civilisation and Dunhuang murals, to advocate for an accented nature-centralism rooted in local ecologies, histories, and cultures.
As a result, the exhibition brings together a series of natural and artificial landscapes—from cuckoo branches protruding from walls, stones sitting on an electronic stream, to brass branches shrouded in sacred fire—that appear both strange and familiar.
Distinct from the prevalent 'ecocritical art' that attempts to inspire action through fear of crisis, Timur's work adopts a relatively gentle approach. His newly created landscapes evoke the exploration of neglected environments often replicated in open-world video games. The artist suggests that to reconsider and improve the relationship between human and nature, one must first observe and meditate on nature.
Kang Chunhui: Observing My Distant Self
INKstudio, B1, Red No. 1, Caochangdi
25 May–18 August 2024
Expect: 'I found myself in a landscape reminiscent of the Western Regions, particularly the ancient city Loulan that has long since vanished. I stood atop a hill, observing my distant self—undeniably me—I turned my attention to the setting sun.' – Kang Chunhui
Kang Chunhui's research-based project addresses the cultural and geographical complexity of Xinjiang, where the artist was born and raised, while simultaneously challenging the conventions of traditional ink painting.
The exhibition centres Observing My Distant Self 73°40′E～96°23′E 34°25′N～48°10′N (2023–2024), eight paintings and videos documenting Kang's journey to rediscover her hometown, from the Kumtag Desert and the enigmatic, desiccated Lop Nur, to the Kizil Caves, where Kang sourced the natural minerals used in her paintings. Each piece resonates with its corresponding video displaying the painting in natural environments in terms of compositions, colours, or metaphoric fluidity.
On the third floor of the gallery, a series of paintings reverses the traditional use of blank and inked spaces, exploring negative space while incorporating diverse cultural elements—from Buddhism and Han folktales to Christian mythology. In these works, Kang interrogates the mark-making traditions of the male-dominated history of Chinese ink painting. Feathers morph into chrysanthemum petals, peonies shapeshift into folds of clothing and female organs, challenging and expanding the medium's narrative scope.
Christine Sun Kim & Thomas Mader: Lighter Than Air
White Space, F1, D7, Yard No.3, Jinhang East Road
23 May–13 July 2024
Expect: a multimedia exploration of actions, organs, languages, and memes related to breathing in and out, materialising subtle, unseen moments.
Following the artists' decade-long collaboration, Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader's latest exhibition, Lighter Than Air, reflects on the mechanisms of contemporary communication through a variety of forms including drawing, installation, and video.
In Lighter Than Air, the artists delve into how attention control—defining the media age—renders people's communication and judgement more procedural. Inspired by two signs from American Sign Language, the kinetic installation Attention (2022) visualises attention through two large inflating and deflating arms touching a stone repeatedly.
The exhibition's title suggests that the silent moments in life are not devoid of content. By giving form to subtle emotions through indirect communication, with works that convey words, gestures, sounds, and facial expressions, the artists encourage us to reconsider the categorised functions of organs and rediscover their potential.
— Ye Su
