Iaphet Elli (NEW YORK, NY—November 3, 2016)—The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presents Tales of Our
Time is an exhibition showcasing nine newly commissioned works by artists from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. This marks the second exhibition of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative, a long-term research, curatorial, and collections-building program at the Guggenheim Museum.
Although the subjects and strategies are diverse, these works are connected by the artists’ use of storytelling to offer alternative perspectives on place. Through drawing, animation, video, photography, sculpture, installation, and participatory intervention, the artists address geography and territory in ways ranging from specific localities to the broader concept of China, continually questioned and reinvented. These artists cross divides to explore the tensions between past and present, myth and fact, reality and dreams, rationality and absurdity, and individuality and collectivity.
The artists featured in Tales of Our Time include Chia-En Jao, Kan Xuan, Sun Xun, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Tsang Kin-Wah, Yangjiang Group, and Zhou Tao.
Tales of Our Time is curated by Xiaoyu Weng, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art, and Hou Hanru, Consulting Curator for the initiative. Kyung An, Assistant Curator of Asian Art, provides curatorial support. The initiative is part of the Guggenheim’s Asian Art Initiative, directed by Alexandra Munroe, Samsung Senior Curator of Asian Art and Senior Advisor for Global Arts. All commissioned works will join the Guggenheim’s collection.
Curators Xiaoyu Weng and Hou Hanru have adopted a dynamic and collaborative approach, working closely with the commissioned artists to explore the questions and insights driving their art practices. Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, stated, “We hope these works will foster new understandings of global contemporary art through the lens of contemporary Chinese culture. The Guggenheim is grateful to The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation for its sustained commitment to this effort.”
Ted Lipman, CEO of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, congratulated the artists and noted, “Contemporary Chinese art and the dialogue around it are dynamic and increasingly important forces shaping the global cultural landscape. The Chinese Art Initiative at the Guggenheim aims to offer a fresh perspective on Chinese culture and its relationship with contemporary society. The Foundation hopes this initiative will have a lasting impact.”
“The artists featured in Tales of Our Time vary greatly in their practices and viewpoints,” says Xiaoyu Weng. “Yet they share a broad perspective, placing China’s culture, history, and social reality in a global context. Like many artists today, they express discomfort with the tension between personal experiences and the dominant narratives and power conventions.”
Exhibition: Tales of Our Time
Venue: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York
Location: Tower Levels 4 and 5
www.guggenheim.org