Kengo Kuma-Designed Zhi Art Museum Launches Inaugural Exhibition

On April 25, Chengdu’s Zhi Art Museum, part of Chinese property group Fantasia, officially launched its inaugural group exhibition, “Open,” which features nine international artists, and is centered around the theme of initiation and potential. 

Helmed by Chinese curator Zhang Ga, who is also a professor of media art at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, “Open” aims to explore the integration of human thoughts, technology and art. The artists presented in the exhibition are American new media artist and sculptor Chico MacMurtrie and his collective, Amorphic Robot Works; Chinese video artist Zhang Peili; Rotterdam-based media artist Marnix De Nijs; New York-based artist and inventor Michael Joaquin Grey; Belgian installation and performance artist Lawrence Malstaf; German sound and visual artist Carsten Nicolai; Japanese multimedia artist Mariko Mori; and Beijing-based multimedia artist Wang Gongxin.

Located at the foot of Laojun Mountain in Xinjin County, Sichuan Province, Zhi Art Museum was designed by famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to blend in with the surrounding scenery, based on the Eastern philosophy of learning from nature. The design of the 2,353-square-meter space combines Taoist principles of harmony with an ultra-modern aesthetic, and uses traditional materials sourced from the region, such as clay tiles. The building was completed at the end of 2011.

The inaugural exhibition is presented by Zhi Art Museum and Shanghai’s Chronus Art Center, which was established in 2013 and is the first nonprofit art organization dedicated to the presentation, research and creation of media art in China. 

Kayo Chang Black is an editorial intern of ArtAsiaPacific.

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