Tales of Our Time
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Transcript of Tales of Our Time
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古根海姆美術館呈現大中華地區以「故事探索地
緣」的新藝術 「何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃」 的第二回展覽聚焦將納入古根海姆館藏的委約作品 展覽： 「故事新編」 場館： 所羅門•R•古根海姆美術館 地點： 塔樓4樓、5樓展廳 時間： 2016年11月4日至2017年3月10日
(紐約，2016年11月3日)—— 所羅門•R•古根海姆美術館呈現展覽「故事新編」，匯集了來
自中國大陸、香港、臺灣的藝術家受委任全新創作的九件作品。本次展覽是「何鴻毅家族
基金中國藝術計劃」的第二回合。「何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃」是一個對中國當代藝
術的長期研究、策劃和藏品建設項目。 儘管參展作品在題材與策略上充滿多樣性，它們都貫穿著藝術家們以獨特視角，通過「講
故事」的方式來審視和認知「地緣」的實踐。使用繪畫、動畫、錄像、攝影、雕塑、裝
置、和參與性介入項目等，藝術家們探討並重審地理與疆域的概念，他們所關注的可以
小至一個具體的地方，比如藝術家居住與工作的地點，也可以大至中國本身，這個在他們
看來不僅是一個國家，更是常常被質疑且不斷被重新闡釋的概念。藝術家們突破邊界，在
過往與當下、神話與事實、現實與夢想、理性與瘋狂、個體與集體等看似對立的關係中遊
刃有餘地自由穿梭，構建連接。 參與「故事新編」的藝術家們是饒加恩、闞萱、 孫遜、孫原&彭禹、曾建華、陽江組和周
滔。 本次展覽是「何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃」的第二回合。作為一個對中國當代藝術的長
期研究、策劃和藏品建設項目，「故事新編」由何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術副策展人翁笑雨
和何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃策展顧問侯瀚如策劃。亞洲藝術助理策展人安輝景（
Kyung An）為本次展覽提供策展支持。何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃是古根海姆的亞洲藝
術計劃的一部分，由古根海姆三星亞洲藝術高級策展人兼全球藝術高級顧問孟璐 (Alexandra Munroe)主持。所有委任作品都將進入古根海姆館藏。 "策展人翁笑雨和侯瀚如的合作充滿活力，他們與接受委任的藝術家們緊密合作，深入了
解了驅動受委任藝術家們進行創作實踐的話題與洞見。我們希望通過這些作品，以現今的
中國文化角度，為全球當代藝術提供具有批判性的嶄新理解，”所羅門•R•古根海姆美術
館暨基金會館長Richard Armstrong指出，“古根海姆美術館對何鴻毅家族基金一直以來對此
目標的大力支持表示由衷感謝。”
何鴻毅家族基金行政總裁黎義恩(Ted Lipman)恭賀眾藝術家並表示：「中國當代藝術及其
掀起的話題，是塑造國際文化景觀的一股多元而重要的推動力。基金與古根海姆美術館透
過這中國藝術計劃，力圖為中華文化及其與當代社會的關聯，提供嶄新觀點。我們希望這
計劃能產生深遠的影響。」
“「故事新編」中呈現的藝術家的創作與觀點極具多樣性，”翁笑雨說，“但他們都持有一
個能夠將中國的文化、歷史與社會現實置於一個更廣闊的世界之中的開放性視角。像當今
的許多藝術家那樣，他們對表達普通人之個體經驗與主流敘事、權力傳統之間的張力與衝
突倍感緊迫。” 關於展覽 展覽的題目取自1936年出版的短篇小說集《故事新編》，作者是對後世產生深遠影響的中
國現代主義者，社會活動家，文學巨匠魯迅先生。在這本書中，魯迅將中國的古代傳說和
歷史神話改編成為短篇小說，他認為這些故事並不僅僅代表一種文學體裁，同時也是通過
講故事的方式對社會現狀進行批判，重塑歷史的方式。 「故事新編」展覽在美術館塔樓的兩層中呈現。參觀者可以經由一段走廊進入塔樓第四層
，走廊兩側是孫遜（出生於1980年）受到自然景觀的啟發而創作的一個“奇幻世界”，由以
中國古典風格繪製在傳統樹皮紙上的繪畫構成。孫遜的裝置作品《通向大地的又一道閃電
》（2016）圍繞著他的故鄉，中國東北部的阜新展開。這是一座依靠煤礦業而建設的城市
，曾經是中國工業化過程中的驕傲，但是藝術家在這裏僅僅將它描繪成一個跨越千年的飛
逝場景。展覽中孫遜的第二件大型裝置繪畫描繪了一幅超現實的史前風景。兩個錄像投影
在畫作的表面，通過動畫效果，各種奇異生物在靜態的紙本繪畫上翻轉騰躍。 《計程車》（2016）是一件錄像裝置，錄像呈現了藝術家饒加恩（出生於1976年）與臺北
的計程車司機之間的對話。藝術家讓司機帶他去城中那些具有歷史爭議的場所，譬如一所
彰化銀行，這個地點在1947年曾經爆發過大規模的抗議活動，並遭到蔣介石軍事政權的鎮
壓。除此以外還有中華民國總統府，圓山飯店，以及國立臺灣博物館。影片使用紀錄片的
風格拍攝，藝術家與司機之間的對話穿越了台灣現代歷史中的艱苦記憶，包括日佔和戒嚴
時期，直至當下面臨的種種境況。藝術家還制作了一面旗幟《紋徽 編號：31》，以設計
紋徽的傳統來表現臺灣社會的許多方面，其中包含其原住民社群。通過探詢歷史和故事敘
述之間的有力聯系，饒加恩創造出了一幅臺北的精神地圖，向個體記憶與經驗致敬。
在《計程車》的旁邊，是由周滔（出生於1976年）創作的一件充滿未來感的錄像裝置，它
在一個由藝術家設計、形似豆莢的影院中播放。《咽喉之地》（2016）聚焦中國當下的城
市化建設中的典型現象：在建設新事物之時對土地產生的轉化。分別投影於懸掛在影院兩
頭的屏幕上，兩個同步的錄像由拍攝於中國廣東和美國亞利桑那州的素材構成，比如一頭
拴在廢棄的工業洗衣機上的牛向著另一側荒蕪寂靜的風景哞哞直叫；工人們奔湧出施工場
地；孩子們漫無目的地玩耍；狗和老鼠在釣魚點附近徘徊遊蕩；深圳的救援人員在2015年深圳土石坍塌事件現場，等等。 闞萱（出生於1972年）居於北京和阿姆斯特丹之兩地。在五個月的時間中，她走訪了110個中國偏遠地區的古城，對這些地方進行拍攝和調研，創作出了名為《圐圙兒》的多媒體裝
置，這件裝置位於塔樓第四層。在一面展墻上，11個平板顯示器有節奏地循環播放著不同
長度的錄像，每一個錄像中都包含成百上千張闞萱在旅行途中用手機拍下的這些古城的照
片。藝術家對照片的顏色進行了處理，並將它們編輯成定格動畫的風格。在附近的地面上
，一個顯示器倚靠著一個斜放在地上的投影幕布，形成裝置的另一個部分。投影上是藝術
家根據記憶中的地點繪製出的古城周邊地圖，而顯示器中傳出的是兒童遊戲摔泥巴的啪啪
響聲。旁邊還展示了一組石質雕塑，它們糾纏的形態呼應著那些曾經護衛失落之城的圍欄
。相較於提供歷史信息或是事實數據，闞萱選擇通過私密浪漫的個體情感和經驗來介入中
國廣博的王朝歷史和疆域演變，提醒我們那些集體的記憶與忘卻。 由鄭國谷（出生於1970年），陳再炎（出生於1971年），和孫慶麟（出生於1974年）成立的
藝術家小組陽江組在「故事新編」中構建了一個小小的烏托邦。《無法不破》（2016）被
安放在塔樓4層的環形區域的一側，俯瞰中央公園。這個建築細節體現了美術館建築師弗
蘭克·勞埃德·賴特（Frank Lloyd Wright）的精心設計。人們將身處於一個環繞著書法作品和
中國庭園的環境中，可以在簡單製作的膠合板家具上享用茶飲，並從空間內部觀賞外面陽
臺上的庭園，其中有竹子，灌木，一座微縮橋和一個池塘。作為一個參與性互動裝置，觀
眾可以在進入這個區域前後分別測量自己的的血壓和心跳，並記錄下來。這當然是陽江組
的幽默，他們試問如果將茶會放入一場當代藝術展覽中，能在多大程度上達到舒緩人心的
效果呢？一幅綠白相間的巨型牆上書法作品連接美術館的幾個不同樓層，從天花板直到地
面。中國南方沿海的小城陽江是這個藝術家小組的根據地，自從2002年起，他們 就開始
邀請當地的居民參與包括飲茶，踢足球，寫書法，晚飯聚會在內的各種日常活動。陽江組
象徵性地將這一小樂土搬到了紐約，在這一過程中，他們沒有丟掉自己的幽默，也沒有捨
棄對於構建一個無國界，無隔閡的烏托邦公民空間的渴望。 《難自禁》（2016）在塔樓第五層的空間展出，這是一件由孫原&彭禹（出生於1972年和
1974年）創作的機械臂機器人裝置作品。孫原&彭禹長期合作，生活和工作於北京。機器
人被放置在透明的亞克力幕牆後面，通過編程來完成一個特定的動作：用它經過改造的前
臂“看守”一灘暗紅色的黏性液體。當紅色液體緩緩流淌並且超出一個預先設定的邊界時
，機器人就會發狂般地將其鏟回。久而久之，液體在地面上留下如乾涸血跡般的斑駁痕跡
。這場景不難讓人聯想到當下現實中的監控和戰爭。孫原&彭禹以大膽幽默又暗喻暴力的
形式來表現具有挑釁性的主題而著稱，在《難自禁》中，他們將問題拋給觀眾：機器人重
復的動作到底體現著荒謬還是專制？抑或是兩者皆有？
在塔樓第五層的一個昏暗的空間中，一個大型沈浸式的投影畫面裏播放著表現岩石，船隻
，海洋，還有海浪的圖像。這件由香港藝術家曾建華（出生於1976年）創作的、名為《In The End Is The Word》（2016）的六頻道影像裝置將現成影像片段、聲音以及光效編織為
一體。作品以一個看似平庸的海域場景作為起始，而這片海域便是至今仍處於中日兩國爭
端中的釣魚島所在之處（日本稱之為尖閣列島）。這些圖像隨之變得越來越抽象，在光線
昏暗的房間中，同步投影到墻壁和地面上的影像創造出了視覺特效：卷繞成帶的字詞從二
維的圖像中傾瀉而出進入到空間裡。但這些像素點最終沒有消失,而是不停地堆積,直到視
頻結尾,變成一片明亮空白的光域, 指向「輪迴」（Saṃsāra）的可能——這一梵語詞意為在
人世的苦海中永遠循還。 除了《In The End Is The Word》以外，曾建華還創作了一件名為《No(thing/Fact) Outside》（2016）的刻字文字裝置，這件作品延伸到展覽指定的展廳之外——蜿蜒盤旋於美術館往
往被人忽略的墻面和地面上，比如電梯和樓梯間。這件作品反映出曾建華對於整個展覽的
思考，也從空間上和觀念上將「故事新編」中參展藝術家們所講述的故事寓言串聯了起來
。 關於展覽畫冊 展覽畫冊由翁笑雨與侯瀚如共同編輯，作為對展覽概念的延伸，它將傳統的美術館出版物
與一部小說合集結合在一起。畫冊收錄了展覽策劃文章以及藝術作品介紹，這些文章對參
展藝術家的實踐提供了獨具特色的分析和批判性的思考。穿插在文章之間的是七篇委任華
裔和美國小說家完成的短篇小說，這七位小說家分別是韓松，韓麗珠，劉宇昆，李娟，駱
以軍，王梆，以及穆柏安。展覽和畫冊由此勾勒出一幅有關中國當代藝術與文化的豐富圖
景，突出個體敘事與主流歷史之間的張力關係，同時探索協調兩者之間矛盾的可能性。
公共項目 在 11 月 4 日（周五）的下午 4 點，展覽「故事新編」的第一個公共教育項目聚焦視覺藝
術、城市化與文學等議題，帶來一場跨學科的講座。演講嘉賓為 Cosmin Costinas 和 David Harvey。從 11 月 5 日開始的每周六將會有以中文普通話進行的特別導覽。自 11 月 9 日開
始的每周三下午，在陽江組的互動裝置作品《無法不破》裡的中式花園中（美術館四樓），
紐約的茶藝師將舉辦茶會雅集，邀請參觀者進行對話並欣賞書法作品。 了解所有項目信息，請訪問：guggenheim.org/calendar 何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃 何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃於2013年啟動，是古根海姆致力於促進區域與全球的現代主
義及當代實踐歷史交叉以及與全球範圍內的藝術家，學者，及策展人合作的最新計劃。這
個國際策展項目主要得益於何鴻毅家族基金的贊助，著力於委任出生於中國大陸，臺灣，
香港以及澳門的藝術家為古根海姆永久館藏創作作品。經由這一計劃創作的所有作品將組
成何鴻毅家族基金在古根海姆的館藏。通過對大中華地區的重要藝術家，藝術創作，以及
焦點問題的選擇，何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃力圖加強古根海姆學術網絡在中國藝術界
內的聯繫，拓展現下對於當代藝術的論述以及研究。作為此項計劃的三個展覽中的首個，
“汪建偉：時間寺”於2014年10月至2015年2月在古根海姆美術館展出，汪建偉是中國重要的
觀念藝術家之一，此次展覽展出了一件雕塑裝置，多幅繪畫，一部電影，以及一次行為表
演。 何鴻毅家族基金 成立於2005年的何鴻毅家族基金，是香港獨立慈善團體。基金肩負雙重使命，一方面推進
世界對中華文化藝術的賞析，同時致力深化當代社會對佛理的理解。基金在香港以至世界
各地從事策略性長期計劃， 鼓勵國際觀眾認識古今中華文化藝術，並使之與當代生活接
軌。基金亦推動具原創性的藝術創作、展覽和出版、以及優化和普及中華文化藝術的學術
研究。基金深信，佛理可幫助現今社會面對各種挑戰，因此致力促進社會對佛教思想的理
解 : 在學術上，建設佛學研究國際網絡以提升水平; 在藝術上，探索佛教與藝術之間的關
聯，為佛教藝術發展意念新穎的展示方式。瀏覽基金網站：www.rhfamilyfoundation.org 關於所羅門•R·古根海姆基金會 所羅門•R•古根海姆基金會創立於 1937 年，致力於通過展覽、宣傳、研究和出版刊物來推
進人們對文化藝術，尤其是現當代藝術的理解和鑒賞。古根海姆美術館群始建於 20 世紀 70 年代，威尼斯佩吉•古根海姆收藏館於當時加入紐約所羅門•R•古根海姆美術館，此後
加入古根海姆美術館群的還包括畢爾包古根海姆美術館（1997 年開館）和阿布達比古根海
姆美術館（正在營建中）。古根海姆基金會通過不斷開展館內及外展國際合作項目，大力
弘揚當代藝術、建築和設計。基金會還通過以下項目來扶持全球藝術領域的研究、展覽以
及收藏，其中包括亞洲藝術計劃（2006年成立）、古根海姆UBS MAP全球藝術計劃（2013年成立）以及何鴻毅家族基金中國藝術計劃（2013年成立）。請瀏覽 guggenheim.org，了
解關於所羅門•R•古根海姆基金會的更多詳情。 參觀信息 門票：成人 25 美元，學生及 65 歲以上年長者 18 美元，12 歲以下兒童免費。古根海姆免費
導覽將在入場後提供，可供下載到個人電子設備上，提升觀眾的觀展體驗。該導覽包含特
別展介紹，可用來查閱超過 1,500 件古根海姆永久館藏作品。此外，還以英語、法語、德
語、意大利語和西班牙語提供美術館的地標性建築等相關資料。特定展覽也將為盲人或視
障參觀者提供語音影像導覽。古根海姆導覽由彭博慈善基金會 (Bloomberg Philanthropies) 提供支持。 開館時間：周日 - 周三上午10:00 - 下午 5:45；周五上午10:00 - 下午 5:45；周六上午10:00 - 下午 7:45；周四閉館。周六下午自 5:45 開始，美術館實施“自願捐贈入場”。詳情請撥打 212 423 3500 或瀏覽美術館網站： guggenheim.org guggenheim.org/social #TalesOfOurTime 如需查看宣傳圖片，請瀏覽 guggenheim.org/pressimages 密碼：presspass
有關更多信息，請聯繫 Anne Edgar, Anne Edgar Associates 1 646 336 7230；[email protected] Kris Parker，高級公關 1 212 423 3840；[email protected]
Tales of Our Time
Chia-En Jao
Arms no. 31, 2016
Cast aluminum, textile patchwork, display case with fabric swatches, and
paper handout with text
flag: 91 3/4 x 129 3/4 inches (233 x 329.5 cm); pole (length): 153 inches
(388.6 cm), pole (diameter): 3 inches (7.6 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.36
Chia-En Jao
Taxi, 2016
Color UHD video, with sound
edition 1/5
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.37
Sun Xun
Mythological Time, 2016
Two-channel color HD animated video projection, with sound; and powdered
pigments in gum arabic and casein paint on mulberry bark paper
edition 1/5 (video)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.38
Kan Xuan
Kū Lüè Er, 2016
13-channel color video installation, with sound, and stone and marble
edition 1/3
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.39
Sun Yuan and Peng Yu (b. 1972)
Can't Help Myself, 2016
Industrial robot, stainless steel and rubber, cellulose ether in colored water,
lighting grid with visual-recognition sensors, and acrylic wall with aluminum
frame
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.40
11/2/2016 Page 1 of 2
Tales of Our Time
Tsang Kin-Wah
In The End Is The Word, 2016
Six-channel video installation, with sound
edition 1/3
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.41
Tsang Kin-Wah
No(thing/Fact) Outside, 2016
Vinyl
dimensions variable
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.42
Yangjiang Group
Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken, 2016
Plants, pond, wooden bridge, wooden tables and stools, teaware and
accessories, and tea gathering performance; blood pressure monitor and
record chart; acrylic latex paint; and acrylic on foam
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.43
Zhou Tao
Land of the Throat, 2016
Installation with two-channel color HD video, with sound
edition 1/5
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family
Foundation Collection, 2016
2016.44
11/2/2016 Page 2 of 2
PRESS IMAGES
Tales of Our TimeNovember 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Online Photo Service for Press ImagesImages for current exhibitions may be downloaded free of charge through our website• Visit guggenheim.org/press-images/tales-of-our-time• Enter the following password: presspassAll images are accompanied by full caption and copyright information.The publication of images is permitted only for press purposes and with the corresponding credit lines.Images may not be cropped, detailed, overprinted, or altered.E-mail [email protected] with any questions.
For more information, and to view videos of the artists and the making of Tales of Our Time, please visitguggenheim.org/tales
1 | Tales of Our Time
Chia-En Jao (b. 1976, Taichung, Taiwan)Taxi, 2016 Color UHD video, with soundSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Chia-En Jao
Chia-En Jao (b. 1976, Taichung, Taiwan)Arms no. 31, 2016Cast aluminum, textile patchwork, display case with fabric swatches, and paper handout with textSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Chia-En Jao Installation View: Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Photo: David Heald
2 | Tales of Our Time
Kan Xuan (b. 1972, Xuancheng, Anhui Province)Ku Lüè Er, 2016 (details) 13-channel color video installation, with sound, sandstone and marbleSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Kan Xuan
Sun Xun (b. 1980, Fuxin, Liaoning Province)Mythological Time, 2016 (details)Two-channel color HD animated video, with sound, and ink, graphite and acrylic on mulberry bark paperSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Sun Xun
Sun Yuan (b. 1972, Beijing) & Peng Yu (b. 1974, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province)Can’t Help Myself, 2016Industrial robot, stainless steel and rubber, cellulose ether in colored water, lighting grid with visual-recognition sensors, and acrylic wall with aluminum frameSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Sun Yuan & Peng YuInstallation View: Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Photo: David Heald
Sun Xun (b. 1980, Fuxin, Liaoning Province)Mythological Time, 2016 (details)Two-channel color HD animated video, with sound, and ink, graphite and acrylic on mulberry bark paperSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Sun XunInstallation View: Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Photo: David Heald
3 | Tales of Our Time
Yangjiang Group (est. 2002, Yangjiang, Guangdong Province)Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken, 2016Plants, pond, wooden bridge, wooden tables and stools, teaware and accessories, and tea gathering performance; blood pressure monitor and record chart; acrylic latex paint; and acrylic on foam© Yangjiang GroupInstallation View: Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Photo: David Heald
Tsang Kin-Wah (b. 1976, Shantou, Guangdong Province)In The End Is The Word, 2016 (detail)Six-channel video installation, with soundSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Tsang Kin-WahInstallation View: Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Photo: David Heald
Tsang Kin-Wah (b. 1976, Shantou, Guangdong Province)No(thing/Fact) Outside, 2016 VinylSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Tsang Kin-WahInstallation View: Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 4, 2016–March 10, 2017Photo: David Heald
Tsang Kin-Wah (b. 1976, Shantou, Guangdong Province)In The End Is The Word, 2016 (detail)Six-channel video installation, with soundSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Tsang Kin-Wah
4 | Tales of Our Time
Zhou Tao (b. 1976, Changsha, Hunan Province)Land of the Throat, 2016 Installation with two-channel color HD video, with sound Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection© Zhou Tao
Chia-En Jao 饒加恩
Kan Xuan 闞萱
Sun Xun 孫遜
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu 孫原 & 彭禹
Tsang Kin-Wah 曾建華
Yangjiang Group 陽江組
Zhou Tao 周滔
The artists in this exhibition challenge the conventional understanding of place. The featured works—all of which are new commissions—portray often-overlooked cultural and historical narratives and examine concepts of geography and nation-state. Each addresses a specific location, such as an artist’s hometown, remote borderlands, or a group of uninhabited islands, as well as abstract ideas, such as territory, boundaries, or even utopia. China, too, is presented here, not only as a country but also as a notion that is open for questioning and reinvention.
The exhibition’s title riffs on Gushi xin bian (Old Tales Retold, 1936), the name of a book by modern Chinese literary giant Lu Xun in which he recasts ancient legends to critique society, reimagine history, and illuminate problems of his era. The artists in Tales of Our Time similarly call attention to the dynamic relationship between storytelling and history writing. Official histories are, in their eyes, full of fabrications, and storytelling provides a means to reconstruct the past and demystify the present. While some of the artists create characters and weave plots, others imbue their forms with narrative content by adapting metaphor and allegory. All of them, however, dispute the line between fiction and fact in order to make and unmake boundaries—those
dividing communities, regions, nations, and continents, as well as those separating past and present, reality and dreams, and rationality and absurdity.
Tales of Our Time is not a monolithic report on the state of contemporary art in China, nor does it encapsulate any artistic trends or phenomena. Instead, it highlights each artist’s perspective. Their works are not just about China; they examine social and political tensions experienced worldwide, exploring themes such as individual and collective memory, migration and urbanization, cultural inclusion and exclusion, and the contradiction of technological development. The tales told in this exhibition consider our seemingly more connected, globalized world as one that is still filled with fractured land, fragmented history, and upended traditions. At the same time, they propose ways to imagine culture differently.
Tales of Our Time is organized by Xiaoyu Weng, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art, and Hou Hanru, Consulting Curator, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. Kyung An, Assistant Curator, Asian Art, provided support.
guggenheim.org/talesThis exhibition continues on Tower Level 4.
The Guggenheim app is supported by
guggenheim.org/talesThis exhibition continues on Tower Level 5.
403
Chia-En Jao 饒加恩
b. 1976; lives and works in Taipei
Taxi 計程車2016Color UHD video, with soundSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
Arms no. 31 紋徽 編號：312016Cast aluminum, textile patchwork, display case with fabric swatches, and paper handout with textSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
Adopting a documentary style, Taxi presents conversations between artist Chia-En Jao and Taipei taxi drivers while en route to historically contested places. These include destinations such as the Grand Hotel, the site of the highest-ranking Shinto shrine during Japanese colonial rule. Recorded from the back passenger seat, the discussions meander through memories of Taiwan’s decades-long martial law—which followed the Japanese occupation that ended in 1945—the Cold War, and present-day social-political topics. The different narratives that emerge challenge any predefined understanding of the city’s landmarks.
Arms no. 31 also conveys the diverse histories of Taiwan. A flag in the tradition of coats of arms, the work contains elements representing subsections of Taiwanese society, including aboriginal groups and religious communities. The nearby vitrine and accompanying handout explain the sources of the flag’s many fabrics and the narratives behind select elements. By connecting history and storytelling, Jao created a collective insignia of Taiwan that honors individual memory and experience.
405
Yangjiang Group 陽江組
est. 2002 Zheng Guogu 鄭國谷 (b. 1970), Chen Zaiyan 陳再炎 (b. 1971), and Sun Qinglin 孫慶麟 (b. 1974); live and work in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province
Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken 無法不破2016Plants, pond, wooden bridge, wooden tables and stools, teaware and accessories, and tea gathering performance; blood pressure monitor and record chart; acrylic latex paint; and acrylic on foamSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
Since 2002 Yangjiang Group has been inviting neighbors to drink tea, enjoy communal dinners, and practice calligraphy in their studio, as well as play soccer outside. For this installation, the art collective symbolically transplanted their small plot of land to New York and brought along their desire to conjure a utopian zone of citizenship and belonging.
The artists sought to re-create this welcoming environment by providing the components for a tea gathering. Visitors are invited here to drink Chinese tea, relax on the simple plywood furniture, and view the artists’ calligraphic works. A pastiche of a “floating” Chinese garden is visible on the balcony outside and recalls architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s drawings for the Guggenheim, in which vibrant greenery covers the museum’s facade. Visitors may measure their blood pressure and heart rate at the station before and after experiencing this installation—a humorous ploy designed to calculate a tea gathering’s purported calming or invigorating effects.
Hot tea is served throughout the course of the exhibition on Wednesdays from 1:30 pm until the museum closes.
404
Kan Xuan 闞萱
b. 1972; lives and works in Beijing and Amsterdam
Kū Lüè Er 兒201613-channel color video installation, with sound, and stone and marbleSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
Meaning “to circle a piece of land,” kū lüè er is a phrase from a dialect that many regions in North China share. It relates to the act of claiming or enclosing territory in order to build a city. Kan Xuan’s work, which borrows this expression for its title, began with a five-month-long research journey across the vast Central Asian plateau to 110 ancient settlements situated along a geographical border that separates abundant terrain from areas receiving less than 400 mm of annual rainfall. This line not only traditionally demarcated agricultural civilizations from nomadic ones but also helped decisively shape the regions’ military and dynastic histories. Former sites of negotiation between different political and economic powers, these cities have since eroded into the landscape.
Kan took thousands of mobile-phone pictures of these sites, which she later color-manipulated and edited together into the stop-motion videos seen on the wall monitors. These eleven videos are accompanied by projected hand-drawn maps of the places she visited and stone sculptures echoing ancient fences or barriers. Another video depicts a children’s game involving smashing clay into the ground—its noise evokes the creation of these cities. Her intimate portrayal of these age-old sites undermines their monumentality, while their states of decay signal our collective oblivion on the trajectory of history.
401
Sun Xun 孫遜
b. 1980; lives and works in Beijing
Mythological Time 通向大地的又一道閃電2016Two-channel color HD animated video projection, with sound; and powdered pigments in gum arabic and casein paint on mulberry bark paperSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
Mythological Time begins in Sun Xun’s hometown of Fuxin in northeastern China, where the now defunct Haizhou coal mine was once the pride of China’s industrialization. Featuring two mural-size wall paintings and a two-channel projected animation, the work combines static and moving images to illustrate a bewildering journey through Fuxin. It explores the city’s natural landscape, urban locations, and monuments, and presents coal—an energy source that was closely connected to perceptions of modernity and progress—as a metaphor for the link between resources and international political power.
Sun’s strange world expands well beyond Fuxin, however. Depictions of contemporary life and familiar political figures appear along with imagined events as well as mythical creatures moving through a prehistoric landscape. By collapsing these domains into one, Mythological Time expands the traditional notion of history to include half-remembered or fantastical images, myths, and ideologies, thereby highlighting the cultural construction of progress and questioning its linear movement.
406
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu 孫原 & 彭禹
Sun Yuan (b. 1972) and Peng Yu (b. 1974); live and work in Beijing
Can’t Help Myself 難自禁2016Kuka industrial robot, stainless steel and rubber, cellulose ether in colored water, lighting grid with Cognex visual-recognition sensors, and polycarbonate wall with aluminum frame Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
Can’t Help Myself employs an industrial robot, visual-recognition sensors, and software systems to examine our increasingly automated global reality, one in which territories are mechanically controlled and the machine-human relationship is rapidly changing. Placed behind clear acrylic walls, the robot performs one specific action: it contains viscous, deep-red liquid within a predetermined area. When the visual-recognition sensors detect that the fluid has strayed too far, the arm frenetically shovels it back into place, leaving smudges on the ground and splashes on the surrounding walls.
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu are known for using dark humor to address contentious topics, and their robot’s repetitive and endless dance presents an absurd, Sisyphean view of contemporary issues surrounding migration and sovereignty. However, the bloodstain-like marks that accumulate around the robot evoke the violence that results from surveilling and guarding border zones. Such visceral associations call attention to the consequences of authoritarianism and the increasing use of technology to monitor our environment.
402
Zhou Tao 周滔
b. 1976; lives and works in Guangzhou
Land of the Throat 咽喉之地2016Installation with two-channel color HD video, with soundSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
This work’s Chinese title references a military term that uses the throat’s location on the body as a metaphor for a strategically important position or passage. For Land of the Throat, Zhou Tao considered construction sites as such critical places in his investigation of the rapid urbanization of southern China’s Pearl River Delta. This region’s changing topography compelled Zhou to examine other terrain, both real and imagined, and even the surfaces of other planets in order to propose a recent history of humanity, the materials we produce, and the landscapes we inhabit.
Filmed at dusk, the work features eerie details that paradoxically would be hidden by bright sunlight, like construction waste mounds that evoke a body’s veins, muscles, and skin. Zhou juxtaposed such imagery with scenes that seem unrelated—including a mooing calf chained to an industrial washing machine and a rescue team in Shenzhen searching for landslide survivors in 2015—thus blurring the distinctions between fact and fiction as well as natural and manmade.
407
Tsang Kin-Wah 曾建華
b. 1976; lives and works in Hong Kong
In The End Is The Word2016
Six-channel video installation, with soundSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
In The End Is The Word combines found video footage, animated texts, and ambient sound to create an immersive media environment. The work begins with images of rocks, battleships, and waves near the Diaoyu Islands (known as Senkaku Islands in Japan), an archipelago northeast of Taiwan claimed by both China and Japan. These representational images soon begin to morph into abstractions, and synchronized projected videos create a visual effect in which animated coiling strips of text pour out of the main screen and spread across the gallery. Echoing the work’s title, this optic phenomenon symbolically points to the construction of history: when the physical experience of an event ends and memory fades, narratives are all that remain to create, disseminate, and contest the past. Rather than simply disappear, the texts accumulate into a crescendo of almost blindingly bright light, and a few seconds later, the video begins again. Tsang Kin-Wah likens this repetitive cycle to sam. sāra, a Sanskrit term denoting perpetual wandering in the sea of life’s suffering.
Tsang Kin-Wah 曾建華
b. 1976; lives and works in Hong Kong
No(thing/Fact) Outside2016VinylSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection
In addition to his immersive video installation on Tower Level 5, Tsang Kin-Wah created a site-specific text installation that extends into the museum’s passageways, including stairwells and even elevators. These texts coil and spread throughout the space, forming a graphic representation of how a storyline might develop and grow over time.
The texts come from a wide range of sources, from religion to critical theory. In particular, Tsang referenced many nineteenth- and twentieth-century writings by authors such as Jacques Derrida, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Emil Cioran. He interpreted, rewrote, and combined the various texts into new philosophical and poetic narratives. Visitors are encouraged to read segments of the work in multiple locations, similar to collecting clues, and piece together different storylines. The sprawling installation also leads visitors to different parts of the exhibition and invites connections with the other works on display, thus fusing with and expanding on other artists’ tales in unexpected ways.
This exhibition is made possible by
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative at the Guggenheim supports a curatorial residency, three exhibitions and publications, and commission-based acquisitions. Designed as a dynamic collaboration between artists, curators, and educators, the initiative actively participates in the creation of contemporary art and critical discourse. By presenting new commissioned works by artists born in Greater China, the program provides an international platform for artistic experimentation and encourages the public to question assumptions about the region.
Coupled with immersive educational experiences and a commitment to advancing conversations about contemporary art, the three exhibitions offer fresh global outlooks on modern-day Chinese culture. The featured works enter the Guggenheim’s permanent collection, expanding the museum’s focus and further enabling research in the field. Together, the Guggenheim and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation believe in the power of art to set the stage for thoughtful encounters that stimulate social awareness, cultivate community, and broaden perspectives on the art and culture of our time.
Nov 4, 2016–Mar 10, 2017
TalksTea GatheringsToursFilms
Program Guide
Calendar
Calendar
Talks
Nov 4, 2016 The Second Lecture of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Lecture Series
Nov 11, 2016 acaw field meeting Take 4: Thinking Practice
Jan 18, 2017 The Making of Tales of Our Time
Tea Gatherings
Nov 9, 2016–Mar 8, 2017 Weekly Tea Gatherings
Feb 24, 2017 Teen Night
Tours
Nov 5, 2016–Mar 4, 2017 Weekly Mandarin Tours
Nov 7, 2016 Mind’s Eye Tour
Dec 4, 2016 Family Tour and Workshop
Dec 9, 2016, Jan 20, 2017 Curator’s Eye Tours
Jan 27, 2017 Conservator’s Eye Tour
Films
Jan 6–Feb 25, 2017 Weekly screenings of exhibition-related films
Artists
Exhibition
Exhibition
The artists in Tales of Our Time challenge the conventional understanding of place. By portraying often-overlooked cultural and historical narratives, they explore concepts of geography and nation-state through storytelling. In diverse ways, these artists’ works dispute the line between fiction and fact in order to make and unmake boundaries—those dividing communities, regions, nations, and continents, as well as those separating past and present, reality and dreams, and rationality and absurdity.
The artworks—all of which are new commissions—are not just about China; they examine social and political tensions experienced worldwide, exploring themes such as individual and collective memory, migration and urbanization, cultural inclusion and exclusion, and the contradiction of technological development. The tales told in this exhibition consider our seemingly more connected, globalized world as one that is still filled with fractured land, fragmented history, and upended traditions, but, at the same time, they propose ways to imagine culture differently.
Tales of Our Time is the second exhibition of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative and is organized by Xiaoyu Weng, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art, and Hou Hanru, Consulting Curator, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative.
guggenheim.org/tales
Artists
This exhibition is made possible by
Chia-En Jao 饒加恩
Kan Xuan 闞萱
Sun Xun 孫遜
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu 孫原 & 彭禹
Tsang Kin-Wah 曾建華
Yangjiang Group 陽江組
Zhou Tao 周滔
Tea GatheringsTalks
Tea Gatherings
Weds, Nov 9–Mar 8Tea is brewed and served by local tea brewers in a Chinese garden created by exhibition artists Yangjiang Group inside a gallery on Tower Level 4.
FREE with admission
Teen Night
Fri, Feb 24, 5 pmAges 12–18. After-hours event for teens to explore the works on view with teen guides, sip tea specially prepared by tea brewers, and listen to music with friends.
FREE with RSVP at guggenheim.org/teenprograms
The Making of Tales of Our Time
Wed, Jan 18, 6:30 pmStrand Book Store, 826 Broadway, 3rd FloorPanel discussion on the creative process behind the Tales of Our Time exhibition catalogue, which includes seven commissioned short stories by Chinese and American fiction writers. Panelists: Xiaoyu Weng; Julian Myers-Szupinska, California College of the Arts; Brian Kuan Wood, e-flux; and Chris Wu, Project Projects. Moderated by the Guggenheim’s creative director of publishing and digital media, Lisa Naftolin.
$20 Strand Book Store gift card + event admission$45 signed copy of catalogue + event admission
Registration required at strandbooks.com/events
Talks
The Second Lecture of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Lecture Series
Fri, Nov 4, 4 pmShort talks on art, urbanism, literature, and their intersections by Cosmin Costinas, Para/Site Art Space; David Harvey, The Graduate Center, CUNY; and Robin Visser, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, followed by a group conversation moderated by Howard French, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
$15, $10 members, FREE for students with RSVP
Registration at guggenheim.org/calendar
acaw field meeting Take 4: Thinking Practice
Fri, Nov 11, 10 amDay one of Asia Contemporary Art Week’s signature program, featuring performances, lecture-performances, and lively discussions by more than 30 artists and arts professionals. Keynote figures include Shezad Dawood, Jennifer Wen Ma, Ho Tzu Nyen, Mami Kataoka, Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Xyza Cruz Bacani, Xiaoyu Weng, and exhibition artist Chia-En Jao.
$25, $20 arts professionals, $15 students
Registration required at acaw.info
Films and More About the Initiative
Tours Film
s and More
About the Initiative
Fris and Sats, Jan 6–Feb 25, 1 pmWeekly screenings of films that explore exhibition motifs such as boundaries, territories, and migration.
FREE with admission
Coming Soon
In 2017, join us for even more intriguing events, including an in-gallery reading of new short fiction and a unique performance.
Details coming soon at guggenheim.org/tales
Tours
Mandarin Public Tours
Sats, Nov 5–Mar 4, 12 pmFREE with admission
Mind’s Eye Tour
Mon, Nov 7, 6:30 pmProgram for visitors who are blind or have low vision, conducted by arts and education professionals through verbal descriptions, conversation, sensory experiences, and creative practice.
FREE with RSVP at guggenheim.org/mindseye
Family Tour and Workshop
Sun, Dec 4, 10:30 am Families with children ages 6 and up. Tour and workshop with artists Jun Gao and Xiaomo Hong, connecting the perspectives of traditional and contemporary Chinese art to the exhibition.
$30 per family, $20 members, FREE for Family and Kids Club members. Materials included.
Registration required at guggenheim.org/families
Curator’s Eye Tours
Fri, Dec 9, 12 pmXiaoyu Weng, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art
Fri, Jan 20, 12 pmKyung An, Assistant Curator, Asian Art
FREE with admission
Conservator’s Eye Tour
Fri, Jan 27, 12 pmJoanna Phillips, Associate Conservator of Contemporary Art
FREE with admission
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative at the Guggenheim supports a curatorial residency, three exhibitions and publications, and commission-based acquisitions. Designed as a dynamic collaboration between artists, curators, and educators, the initiative actively participates in the creation of contemporary art and critical discourse. By presenting new commissioned works by artists born in Greater China, the program provides an international platform for artistic experimentation and encourages the public to question assumptions about the region.
Together, the Guggenheim and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation believe in the power of art to set the stage for thoughtful encounters that stimulate social awareness, cultivate community, and broaden perspectives on the art and culture of our time.
guggenheim.org/rhnhff
Visiting the Museum
MuseumSun–Wed, Fri, 10 am–5:45 pmSat, 10 am–7:45 pmClosed Thursdays
5th Avenue at 89th Street212 423 3500guggenheim.org
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Top image on interior cover Yangjiang Group, Tea House Ceremony, 2015. Performance view: Twilight Garden Party, Chinese Garden of Friendship, Darling Harbour, Sydney, February 14, 2015. Photo: Blue Murder Studios, Sydney, courtesy the artists and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney. Bottom Yangjiang Group, Shu Tu Tong Gui (Calligraphy and Scratching Leading to the Same Way), 2013. Performance view: Auckland Triennial, If you were to live here..., May 10–August 11, 2013
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Established in 2005, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation is a private philanthropy based in Hong Kong. The Foundation’s dual mission is to foster appreciation of Chinese arts and culture to advance global learning and to cultivate deeper understanding of Buddhism in the context of contemporary life.
In line with this mission, the Foundation supports endeavours that make Chinese arts – from ancient times to today – and Buddhist insights relevant to contemporary audiences. Major programmes have included:
Contemporary Chinese Art Initiative (2013-18): a multi-year collaboration with the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York that seeks to explore key ideas and artists shaping contemporary Chinese art, as well as the discourse of Chinese art within a global context. This research, curatorial and collection-building programme focuses on the commissioning of major works from artists born in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. All the commissioned works, known as The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection, will enter the Guggenheim Museum’s collection.
Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China’s Silk Road (2016): an exhibition at The Getty Center celebrating more than 1,000 years of Buddhist art and highlighting the collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute and the Dunhuang Academy to conserve the Mogao grottoes. The exhibition features art and artefacts from Dunhuang, including works that will be displayed in the United States for the first time.
Emperors’ Treasures: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei (2016): an exhibition at the Asian Art Museum, featuring virtuoso artistry from the Song dynasty in the early 12th century, an important era in the development of sophisticated culture in China, to the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. The exhibition will explore the identities of nine key rulers during that time span and how their tastes shaped the imperial collection.
The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors (2014-15): an exhibition curated by the Royal Ontario Museum, featuring exquisite artworks on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing. The exhibition provided insight and understanding of Chinese history and culture through the iconic Forbidden City. It made a second stop at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy (2012): an exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco that drew a 21st-century audience to the time-honoured art form.
Fresh Ink: Ten Takes on Chinese Traditions (2010): an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston that expanded the traditional definition of ink painting by highlighting the diversity of the art form today.
The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army (2010-11): a Royal Ontario Museum exhibition marking the first visit of the terracotta figures and artefacts from the Qin and
Han dynasties to Canada. The exhibition also travelled to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries of Buddhist Art (2009-present): The Galleries are dedicated to Buddhist art from various Asian civilisations, drawing together Buddhist sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects to enrich the original 2009 installation that was devoted solely to Buddhist sculptures. The narrative of the new series of galleries, which re-open in 2017, will show how concepts of the nature of Buddhahood and the Buddhist path evolved and were represented in art.
The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan (2008-2010): a multi-faceted Honolulu Academy of Arts programme comprising conservation, documentation and an exhibition on the living Vajrayana Buddhist culture of Bhutan. The exhibition toured in the United States and Europe.
Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty (2008): the first collaboration between the Asian Art Museum, Palace Museum in Beijing, Shanghai Museum and Nanjing Municipal Museum.
Cai Guo Qiang: I Want to Believe (2008): a retrospective of the contemporary Chinese artist at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Britain Meets the World: 1714-1830 (2007): a collaboration between the British Museum and Beijing’s Palace Museum that explored the changing worldview of Britain during its rise as an international power.
The Foundation also supports media that bring innovative perspectives to the history of Chinese art and culture, and improve the quality and accessibility of scholarship on Chinese art. These have included: We All Live in The Forbidden City Publication Series (2010-17): a set of books and maps
introducing Chinese culture to readers of all ages through a fresh approach. Publications are available in traditional and simplified Chinese, English and Korean. The books were written and illustrated by Hong Kong-based Design and Cultural Studies Workshop, which also developed themed education programmes for young people in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and North America.
Forbidden City 100 TV Series (2012) and Publication (2015): a 100-episode documentary series co-produced by CCTV9 and the Palace Museum. A book using the same title was published in 2015.
Contemporary Chinese Art: Primary Documents (2010): a pioneering sourcebook published by the Museum of Modern Art, featuring English translations of carefully selected primary texts, including manifestos of avant-garde groups, writings by representative artists, and important critical and analytical essays.
Materials of the Future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art from 1980-1990 (2010): a comprehensive bilingual website produced by Asia Art Archive, making a wealth of scholarly resources on a transformative decade in Chinese art history freely accessible online.
The Emperor’s Secret Garden (2010): a film documenting the conservation of Jianqinzhai in Qianlong Garden in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Guided by a belief that the concepts of Buddhism have a vital role to play in approaching the challenges facing contemporary society, the Foundation has committed resources to expanding the understanding of Buddhist principles. This work is part of the Ho family’s long-term effort to develop a Buddhist Learning Network to further Buddhist scholarship and enhance its global impact.
The Foundation’s academic initiatives for Buddhist studies include projects with various institutions, such as The Courtauld Institute of Art, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of British Columbia, and the University of Toronto. The Foundation’s collaboration with the American Council of Learned Societies offers grants to Buddhist scholars and institutions worldwide. For more about The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, visit www.rhfamilyfoundation.org
何鴻毅家族基金成立於 2005 年，為香港獨立慈善團體。基金肩負雙重使命，一方面推動世界對
中華文化藝術的賞析，同時深化當代社會對佛理的理解。為此，基金贊助文藝項目，倡導現今各
地觀眾認識古今中華文化藝術和佛教概念與觀點。主要項目包括： 所羅門 R.古根漢美術館 ──「中國當代藝術計劃」(2013-18)：這跨年計劃旨在探索塑造
當代藝術的藝術家和重要概念，並為中華當代藝術拓開國際討論空間。計劃結合研究、策
展和建立藏品，委約出生於中國大陸、台灣、香港和澳門的藝術家創作。所有委約作品以
「何鴻毅家族基金藏品」之名，成為古根海姆美術館永久收藏。 洛杉磯蓋蒂中心 ──「敦煌石窟寺：中國絲綢之路上的佛教藝術」 (2016) : 展覽介紹歷史
悠長的佛教藝術、展示蓋蒂保護研究所和敦煌研究院共同保護莫高窟文化遺產的努力、並
展出來自敦煌的超凡工藝，部分展品更是首次在美國展出。 亞洲藝術博物館 ──「皇帝品味 ── 臺北國立故宮博物院精品展」 (2016) : 追溯自 12 世
紀初宋代（中國精緻文化一個重要的發展時期）至 20 世紀初清末 800 年間九位重要統治
者，其身份地位和品味如何影響皇室藝術收藏。 多倫多皇家安大略博物館與溫哥華美術館 ──「紫垣擷珍 ── 故宮博物院藏明清宮廷生
活文物」(2014-15)：加拿大首個以紫禁城為題的大型展覽，緣起於多倫多皇家安大略博物
館與北京故宮博物院之間的合作關係。展覽展出約 250 件故宮藏品。 亞洲藝術博物館 ──「灋迹：觀遠山莊珍藏與徐冰新作展」(2012)：展覽旨在探索中國書
法的精妙之處。展品包括知名藝術家徐冰的錄像裝置委約創作，以及多件大師級中國書法
作品，當中不少更是首度公開展出。
波士頓美術館 ── 「與古為徒 ── 十個中國藝術家的回應」(2010)：展覽邀請了十位頂
尖華人藝術家，以新作回應美術館的中國傳統藝術館藏，為水墨寫下更廣定義。
多倫多皇家安大略博物館與蒙特利爾藝術博物館 ──「中國秦兵馬俑展」(2010-11)：秦
兵馬俑首度在加拿大展出，為中國大陸與加拿大的博物館和考古機構帶來一次重要的交流
機會。 維多利亞與亞伯特博物館 ──「何鴻毅家族基金佛教藝術館」(2009 至今)：以基金命名
的常設展覽廳，展示源自不同亞洲文明的佛教藝術品，包括雕塑、繪畫和用於佛教儀式的
器物。「何鴻毅家族基金佛教藝術館」於 2009 年揭幕，最初展示佛教雕塑，現涵蓋多元
藝術媒介。新館 (2017 年正式揭幕) 透過藝術品，為觀眾敘述兩大概念 ── 覺者的本質和
佛法修持之道 ── 的演進。 檀香山藝術學院 ──「龍之禮：不丹宗教藝術」(2008-10)：計劃旨在保育並紀錄不丹現
存的金剛乘佛教文化，和舉辦歐美巡迴展。
亞洲藝術博物館 ──「權力與榮耀：明代宮廷藝術展」(2008)：在三藩市展出逾 240 件創
作於 14 世紀至 17 世紀中葉的紫禁城珍品。這批文物來自中國三所著名博物館：故宮博
物院、南京市博物館和上海博物館。
所羅門 R. 古根漢美術館 ──「蔡國強：我想要相信」(2008)：贊助美術館舉辦當代藝術
家蔡國強的回顧展。展出的場域特定裝置，完整地呈現其多媒體藝術慎密而微妙的創作意
念。 故宮博物院與大英博物館 ──「英國與世界 ── 1714–1830」(2007)：兩所國家級博物館
合辦的大型展覽，呈現英國從島國崛起成為世界強國的經過，更藉此比較十八世紀英國與
今日中國之間的類同。
基金鼓勵不同媒介以嶄新觀點詮釋中華藝術文化史，並深化、普及中華藝術之學術研究。主要項
目包括：
設計及文化研究工作室 ──《我的家在紫禁城》系列叢書(2010-17)：透過出版一套有關
紫禁城的刊物，引導年輕讀者認識中華藝術和歷史發展。叢書先以繁體字編印，其後於
2013 和 2014 年推出簡體和英文版本。《中國建築‧自然組曲》一冊於 2014 年以韓語出
版。設計及文化研究工作室並發展「我的家在紫禁城教育計劃」，以輕鬆的方法為中國、
香港、台灣、新加坡和北美的青少年介紹中華文化。 紐約現代藝術博物館 ──《中國當代藝術：原始資料》(2010)：此出版計劃精心彙編了多
項一手資料，包括前衛藝術團體的宣言、具代表性的藝術家著作，以及重要的分析和評論，
並把文獻翻譯成英語，以便西方讀者了解中國當代藝術。 亞洲藝術文獻庫 ──「未來的材料：紀錄當代中國藝術 1980 – 1990」(2010)：此雙語網
站把大量學術資料開放到互聯網，讓公眾探索這十年間中國藝術所經歷的變革。網站公開
了逾二萬件出版文件及原始資料，包括逾七十部訪談影片和一部一小時的紀錄片。 英國查爾斯王子基金會 ──「皇帝的秘密花園」(2010)：這部紀錄片呈現了保育團隊運用
古今工藝和材料，修繕北京紫禁城中的「倦勤齋」。 設計及文化研究工作室 ── 《故宮 100》百集紀錄片(2012)及《紫禁城 100》書籍出版
(2015)：基金支持工作室為《故宮 100》提供策劃及動畫製作。此百集紀錄片系列由
CCTV9 與北京故宮博物院攜手製作。《紫禁城 100》一書於 2015 年出版。
基金深信，佛理對現今社會來說，起着重大的啓迪作用。因此，基金投放資源支持佛學研究和應
用，以擴闊社會對佛理的理解與實踐。何氏家族的長遠目標，是建立一個佛學研究網絡，提升佛
教學術水平，並加深其對世界的影響。 何氏家族透過基金支持了多所學府的佛學研究以及實踐項目，包括科陶德藝術學院、哈佛大學、
史丹佛大學、卑詩大學和多倫多大學。基金並與美國學會理事會合作，為世界各地佛學學者和機
構提供資助。 何鴻毅家族基金網站：www.rhfamilyfoundation.org
Chia-En Jao (b. 1976, Taipei) Chia-En Jao’s project-based practice stretches across different mediums, including drawing, performance, site-specific installation, and multichannel video installation. After studying, working, and exhibiting in Europe, Jao returned to Taipei where he currently lives and works. This international experience informs his perspective on the particular conditions of Taiwan’s political, economical, and social situation. His practice—deeply rooted in his local surroundings—has more recently delved into colonial histories and the cross-cultural tensions in the Asia Pacific region. His anthropological and collaborative approach has led him to work with civilian protestors, taxi drivers, and immigrant workers from Southeast Asian countries. For Jao, these personal encounters have generated intriguing and valuable interpretations of history that subtly subvert and question the established, official versions produced by the nation-state and media.
Kan Xuan (b. 1972, Xuancheng, Anhui Province) Kan Xuan uses video as her primary medium, and also experiments with photography, installation, and performance. Kan moved to Hangzhou to study at the China Academy of Art and subsequently attended the prestigious residency program at Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. Through visual manipulations, Kan reveals the eerie details of the trivial and mundane objects, gestures, and emotions captured by her camera. Recently, Kan has explored more historical subject matters, embarking on extensive travel and research to create such video installations as Millet Mounds (2012), which surveys over one hundred extant imperial tombs across mainland China. She has participated in numerous international exhibitions—including the Guangzhou Triennial (2005 and 2012), Havana Biennial (2006), Chinese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2007), Istanbul Biennial (2007), Moscow Biennial (2009), Gwangju Biennial (2010)—making her one of the most important global artists of her generation. Kan splits her time between Beijing and Amsterdam.
Sun Xun (b. 1980, Fuxin, Liaoning Province) Born in an industrial mining town in northeast China, Sun Xun studied printmaking at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. His interest in traditional modes of representation, such as ink painting and woodcut printing, is reflected in the deft craftsmanship of his animated films. Energetic and hand-drawn, his films are composed of up to five thousand single frames. Large-scale viewing environments are an integral experiential component of his work, replete with props and hand-painted walls. The artist often constructs these environments over several days. Layered with metaphors and references, Sun’s work unravels concepts such as time, history, revolution, myth, and humanity through surreal imageries and fantastical episodes. In addition to being featured in art exhibitions, his films have been screened at numerous film festivals, including the Torino Film Festival, Italy (2007), and several iterations of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany. Sun runs Pi, an animation studio he founded in Hangzhou in 2006. He lives and works in Beijing.
Sun Yuan (b. 1972, Beijing) & Peng Yu (b. 1974, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province) Sun Yuan and Peng Yu both studied oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. They came to prominence independently in the late 1990s, partaking in landmark exhibitions of experimental art, including Post-Sense Sensibility: Alien Bodies & Delusion, Beijing (1999), and Fuck Off!, Donglang Gallery, Shanghai (2000). Collaborators since 2000, the duo have incorporated unconventional and organic materials, such as live animals and human fat, into their powerful art practice that challenges the order and control imposed by political and social systems. Sun & Peng draw inspiration not only from major international social and political events, but also from local news, close friends, and neighbors. Their practice is rebellious and whimsical, addressing provocative topics with a touch of humor and a very individual brand of realism. The duo also curates occasionally; they co-organized the exhibition Unlived by What is Seen (2014–15), which spanned three venues in Beijing and focused on socially engaged art in China since 2008. In 2005, Sun & Peng were invited to be part of the inaugural exhibition in the Chinese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. They live and work in Beijing.
Tsang Kin-Wah (b. 1976, Shantou, Guangdong Province) Tsang Kin-Wah migrated to Hong Kong at the age of six. After completing his undergraduate degree in fine art the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he moved to London for a master’s degree in book arts at the Camberwell College of Arts, the London Institute. This sojourn in the United Kingdom and his subsequent return to Hong Kong—where Tsang has since resided—propelled him to ruminate on questions of identity and existence, especially the interplay between appearance and truth. Tsang has participated in major international group exhibitions and biennials, for which he has created installations that respond specifically to each space. Tsang’s immersive multimedia installations incorporate found footage, sound, and light to create complex, visceral interplays of text and image. As the Hong Kong representative at the Venice Biennale in 2015, he presented The Infinite Nothing, a four-part video and sound installation.
Yangjiang Group (est. 2002, Yangjiang, Guangdong Province) Yangjiang Group was formed by Zheng Guogu (b. 1970, Yangjiang), Chen Zaiyan (b. 1971, Yangchun) and Sun Qinglin (b. 1974, Yangjiang), and takes its name from the southern coastal city where they are based. Positioning themselves away from the better-known cultural, economic, and political centers, they work in a self-designed studio building that resembles an iceberg. Such critical distance allows them to create an autonomous zone, cultivating an independent spirit and approach in pursuit of political and social freedom through art practice. Known for playfully attacking traditional Chinese calligraphy and subverting socio-cultural conventions and values, the group produces works in many mediums, such as painting, multimedia installation, performance, and social gatherings. Ordinary events and activities, such as eating, gambling, soccer playing, and tea drinking, are vital to their convivial working process and community-based exhibition experience. By framing aspects of everyday life as art, Yangjiang Group poetically and subtly resists established assumptions and hierarchies of power.
Zhou Tao (b. 1976, Changsha, Hunan Province) Zhou Tao studied at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Places and communities in massive flux provide the visual and narrative materials for his arresting video works, which are often presented in exhibitions alongside his sketches, drawings, and photographs. His practice includes transforming ordinary surroundings into theaters, where he superimposes and interchanges background and stage, viewer and actor, fact and storyline, documentation and representation. The intricate relationship of time and space unfolds organically in Zhou’s videos. His camera is not simply a recording device but an extension of his existence, through which, he has documented Guangzhou, where he lives and works, as well as New York, Paris, Bangkok, and Barcelona. Zhou’s acclaimed short film Blue and Red (2014)—which was produced by the Han Nefkens Foundation, Barcelona, and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre—premiered in 2015 at New Directors/New Films, a festival presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Blue and Red recently won the First Prize of the Jury at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany (2015).
