Liao Fei’s (b. 1981, Jingdezhen) practice stems from his reflections on existence and the individual, seeking to access the essence of things through creative expression. Though trained as a sculptor, he has never been content to simply shape the physical “form” of materials. Rather, in his hands matter becomes a clue leading him deeper into investigations of the “formless.” Throughout his career, Liao Fei has consistently returned to a central question: what are the tangible laws and intangible concepts that our world is built upon? Adopting Buddhist philosophy as his starting point, Liao Fei also references basic scientific theories and mathematical logic. Using everyday materials and accessible techniques like origami and pencil drawing, he deduces laws of physics and exhausts the possibilities of space. Touching upon the boundary between the finite and the infinite, Liao Fei concretizes abstract existential queries. 

“Seeing All Forms” is the artist’s most comprehensive institutional solo exhibition to date, marking a milestone in an artistic career that began in 2006. Structured around five keywords— matter, site, extension, infinity, and inference—the show not only features early works focusing on the relationships and tensions between materials, but also highlights recent series such as “Chiral Extent,” Liao Fei’s return to figurative sculpture after more than a decade of abstraction, and “One Way Sculpture” and “Partially Obscured Circles,” executed through the process of deduction. For him, applying deduction to art—by exhaustively listing and testing all compositional options—provides a way to minimize the artist’s subjectivity and allow artworks to express truth.

In order to emphasize the sense of “unobstructedness” that characterizes the artist’s practice, all of the exhibited artworks are arranged within a single open space. This exhibition design also resonates with the show’s title, “Seeing All Forms.” Adapted from the Diamond Sutra, it suggests that all things in the world will eventually present themselves to the attentive observer, just as a person with open eyes will be able to avoid confusion and discern the correct path forward. 

“Liao Fei: Seeing All Forms” is curated by UCCA Curator Neil Zhang. Exclusive accommodation support is provided by Stey, and exclusive wall solutions support is provided by Dulux. UCCA thanks the members of UCCA Foundation Council, International Circle, and Young Associates, as well as Lead Partner Aranya, Lead Art Book Partner DIOR, Lead Imaging Partner vivo, Presenting Partner Bloomberg, and Supporting Partners AIA, Barco, Dulux, Genelec, SKP Beijing, and Stey.

Liao Fei (b. 1981, Jingdezhen; lives and works in Shanghai) graduated from Shanghai Normal University in 2006. His recent solo exhibitions include “Physics Temple” (Vanguard Gallery × Tihho Art Space, Shanghai, 2023); “Depiction” (The Cloister Project, Shanghai, 2021–2022); “Is everything a contingent occurrence?” (OCAT Shanghai, 2021); “Res Extensa” (Vanguard Gallery × O Art Center, Shanghai, 2018); and “Plain” (Shanghai Museum of Glass, 2016). Select group exhibitions include “Picture of the Post-80s Generation Generational Leap ”  (Tank Shanghai, Shanghai,2024); “An Atlas of the Difficult World” (Macalline Center of Art, Beijing, 2024); “Endless Mountains: Spanning Mountains and Seas—An Exhibition of Art and the Tang Poetry Road” (Osaka Culturarium at Tempozan, 2024); “Silent Thunder” (UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2021); “Dis-/Continuing Traditions: Contemporary Video Art from China” (Salamanca Arts Centre, Tasmania, Australia, 2021); “In the Open or in Stealth” (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, 2018); “Frontier: Re-assessment of Post-Globlizational Politics” (OCAT Institute, Beijing, 2018); and the 11th Shanghai Biennale “Why Not Ask Again? Arguments, Counter-Arguments, and Stories” (Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2016–2017).

At the public opening, the exhibition’s curator Neil Zhang and artist Liao Fei will jointly lead a special guided tour, offering an in-depth introduction to the curatorial vision, the works on view, and the artist’s creative approach. Responding to the specific characteristics of his works, artist Liao Fei has designed and transformed the exhibition space to create a setting in dynamic resonance with the artworks. During this guided tour, visitors will have the opportunity to  experience this interplay between the artworks and the space. 

Over the course of the exhibition period, UCCA will also feature a conversation centering on Liao Fei’s artistic practice. Luo Shiping, who holds a PhD in Art Philosophy through the joint program of Tongji University and Freiburg University, will join the curator and the artist in this discussion.

Known for his rigorously rational approach to artistic practice, Liao Fei has long engaged with questions of existence and the limits of cognition. Through the translation of mathematical systems, logical structures, and language forms, he probes the visibility and perceptibility of underlying essences. This conversation will explore how contemporary art can creatively translate logical grammar, and further examine the dialectical relationship between technological rationality and humanistic values, as well as the ongoing presence of mathematical logic in Liao Fei’s work. The discussion will also extend to the formal parallels  between ancient Chinese grammar and contemporary computer languages, opening a dialogue on the potential structural affinities between the linguistic logic of Eastern languages and emerging artificial intelligence language models. 

For the latest information on our events, please visit UCCA’s official website and social media such as the official UCCA WeChat account. 

Inspired by the current exhibition, UCCA Kids has designed two integrated painting  courses  that guide children in exploring the infinite possibilities of geometric transformations through art. In these workshops, the young participants will engage with a variety of mixed media—including natural elements, industrial materials, and everyday objects—to investigate the shifting nature of  “lines” and “shapes.”Through observing  the dynamic arrangements of basic geometric forms  like triangles, squares, and circles, children will begin to grasp the physical properties of lines, their transformations across time, and their relationships within spatial topology. As they experiment with deformation and displacement, participating children  will discover new configurations with shape and form, exploring l the topological connections  between two-dimensional surfaces  and three-dimensional constructs, while gaining an understanding of the dialectics between order and change. These creative exercises will ultimately empower children in developing and expressing new interpretations of geometric shapes using their own unique artistic language, embarking on an artistic journey into advanced geometric concepts. 

For more information, please  visit the official UCCA Kids  WeChat account.

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