UCCA Beijing

"Cold Nights" Talk Series
Everything You Want To Know About “Cold Nights”

2017.9.16
14:00-16:00

Conversation
Location:  Auditorium
Language:  Chinese

"Cold Nights" is a curatorial experiment that attempts to re-write a literary work within an exhibition space. Co-curators Boliang Shen and Zhanglun Dai invited four artists to read Ba Jin’s novel Cold Nights (1947), and then had each of them "play" one of four characters in the novel by creating a piece of art in reaction to Ba Jin’s work. Each of the four artists participating in the exhibition "played" a character from the text of the original novel, not only maintaining an open dialogue with each other, but also exploring the relationships between the chosen characters. A collective exploration thus emerges within the context of Ba Jin's novel. The artworks in the exhibition represent not only the artists' response to the interrelation of the four characters in the novel, but also the artists’ reflections on their own situations in the real world, which altogether opens up a new textual space. During this panel, they will discuss their experience participating in the exhibition and unpack the secret narratives behind "Cold Nights".

Ticketing: Free

Note:

*Collect your ticket from reception 45 minutes before the event begins;

*Please no late entry;

*Seating is limited, and tickets must be collected individually;

*Please keep mobile devices on silent.

UCCA Membership Benefits

Scan the QR code below to sign up for UCCA membership and enjoy exclusive member benefits.

会员

For this event, UCCA members will enjoy:

• Exclusive seats reservation service

• Members-only guided tour

For UCCA members, please send us your name and mobile number to RSVP (ve@159.138.20.147) or call UCCA membership hotline: +86 10 5780 0200

Guests

Boliang Shen ("Cold Nights" curator)

Boliang Shen worked as senior editor and correspondent for Artinfo China from 2010 to 2013. He attended the Gwangju Biennale International Curator Course in 2011, and obtained his Master's degree from the Program in Museum Studies at New York University in 2016. He was the project manager of the Art Writer & Journalist Workshop at the 9th Shanghai Biennale (Shanghai, 2012), and has curated exhibitions and projects at Kunsthalle Gwangju (Gwangju, 2011), OCAT Shenzhen (Shenzhen, 2014), and inCube Arts (New York, 2016). His writings have been published in Flash Art, Leap, Artinfo China, The Bund Magazine, The Art Newspaper China, among others.

Zhanglun Dai ("Cold Nights" curator)

Zhanglun Dai was curatorial assistant at Guangdong Museum of Art, involved in the 3rd Guangzhou Triennial "Farewell to Post-Colonialism" (Guangzhou, 2008), and editor of Contemporary Art and Investment magazine (Beijing, 2009). She was the project manager of the Art Writer & Journalist Workshop at the 9th Shanghai Biennale (Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2012). She lived in New York in the past two years, and curated "Son: Signal of Authority" at inCube Arts (New York, 2016). Her writings have been included in artforum.com.cn, Artinfo China, Art & Design, etc.

Chen Zhou (Artist)

Chen Zhou (b.1987, Zhejiang province) received a bachelor's degree from the Digital Media Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, in 2009, and currently lives and works in Shanghai. His debut feature, Life Imitation, received the New: Vision Award at the 2017 CPH:DOX Film Festival, and has been included in the Official Selection of 61th BFI London Film Festival, the 9th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, and the 10th CNEX Documentary Film Festival. Chen's past solo exhibitions include: "Kaufman" (Aike-Dellarco, Shanghai, 2013), "I'm not not not Chen Zhou" (Magician Space, Beijing, 2013), and "Talk," (Platform China Contemporary Art Institute, Beijing, 2009). Major group exhibitions include "After Us" (chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai, 2017), "ON | OFF: China's Young Artists in Concept and Practice" (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2013), "Perspectives 180 – Unfinished Country: New Video from China" (Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, 2013), "Festival ASVOFF6" (The Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2013), "Moving Image in China 1998-2011" (Centro Per L'arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, 2012), and "Video Art in China" (Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, 2011). Chen Zhou was one of the finalists of the 2012 "Focus on Talents Project,” jointly organized by Martell Art Fund and Today Art Museum, Beijing.

Liu Shiyuan (Artist)

Liu Shiyuan (b.1985, Beijing) received her BFA from the Digital Media Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, in 2009, before earning an MFA from the Photography Department of the School of Visual Art, New York, in 2012. Liu currently lives in Beijing and Copenhagen. The scope of Liu Shiyuan's art practice comprises such domains as photography, video, stage performance, and spatial installations, among others. Through her art practice she exposes a visual language that is unaffected by regional boundaries. Her most recent solo exhibition is "As Simple As Clay" (YUZ Museum, Shanghai, 2015). Recent major group exhibitions are "2017.COM.CN" (K11 Art Foundation & MOMA PS1, Hong Kong, 2017), the 1st Yinchuan Biennale "For an Image, Faster than Light" (Museum of Contemporary Art Yinchuan, Yinchuan, 2016); "SHE – International Woman Artists Exhibition" (Long museum, Shanghai, 2016); "The Exhibition of Annual of Contemporary Art of China" (Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, Beijing, 2016); "TUTORIALS – Moving Images and Instructions for Use from China" (Pino Pascali Foundation Museum, Polignano, 2016); "Bentu – Chinese Artists in a Time of Turbulence and Transformation" (Foundation Louis Vitton, Paris, 2016). Liu's first solo exhibition in the US will open at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York City in February 2018.

Nabuqi (Artist)

Nabuqi (b.1984, Inner Mongolia), graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2013. She currently lives and works in Beijing. Departing from a focus on objects themselves, Nabuqi's work extends to the relationship between objects and the human body, as well as the variations of individual perceptions within different spaces and environments. The Object series focuses on the independence of the object, in particular its relationship of mutual influence and contrast with the body. A View Beyond Space juxtaposes two different types of spaces (one real and one imaginary) in order to observe the body's differing responses to these spaces. In her recent works, Nabuqi combines individual sculptural pieces to render a sense of fragmentation within space. Interested in extending these notions to the broader parameter of public space, Nabuqi aims to thereby address the individual's relationship with his or her environment. Her recent exhibitions include "Absent Paragraph" (Museum Beelden aan Zee, Scheveningen, 2017), "Any Ball" (CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, 2017), the 11th Shanghai Biennale (Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2016), the 10th Gwangju Biennale (Gwangjiu, 2016), among others. Nabuqi was nominated for the 2016 Art Sanya Huayu Youth Award.

Li Ran (Artist)

Li Ran (b.1986, Hubei) received a BFA from the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and currently lives and works in Beijing. Li's recent solo exhibitions include "Same Old Crowd" (Aike Dellarco, Shanghai, 2016), "Re-projecting – One or Many Roles" (OCAT Xi'an, Xi'an, 2015), and "One Man One Night" (Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco, 2014), among others. Major group exhibitions include "Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs" (Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok; Para Site, Hong Kong; Pinchuk Art Center, Kiev; 2017), "The Making of an Institution" (NYU Center for Contemporary Art Singapore, Singapore, 2017), "TUTORIALS – Moving Images and Instructions for Use from China" (Pino Pascali Foundation Museum, Polignano, 2016), "Museum no/off – Encounters with Pompidou" (Center Pompidou-ESPACE, Paris, 2016), "Absolute Collection Guideline" (Sifang Museum, Nanjing, 2015), "Essential Matters – Moving Images from China" (Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, 2015), "The Montreal Biennale: Looking Forward" (Montreal, 2014), "Biennale of Moving Images" (Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva, 2014), "Sights and Sounds: Global Film and Video" (The Jewish Museum, New York, 2014), "A Time For Dreams – 4th Moscow International Biennale For Young Art (The Museum of Moscow, Moscow, 2014), "Accidental Message: Art is not a System, not a World – The 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale" (OCAT Shenzhen, 2012), and more.

Schedule

13:00-13:20 Ticket pick-up at the reception desk (for UCCA members who RSVPed)

13:20-13:50 Exclusive UCCA members-only guided tour

13:30-14:00 Ticket distribution at the reception desk (for UCCA members who didn’t RSVP and non-members)

14:00-16:00 Conversation

*Please arrive promptly.