Since the mid-1990s, artist Michael Cherney has primarily worked in photography, using the medium to capture ephemeral moments of the natural sublime. Inspired by his studies in Asian history, Cherney frequently travels to locales depicted in major works of Chinese classical literature and art. These journeys are not an exercise in nostalgia, but rather an attempt to locate the eternal amidst the churn of history. The exhibition will highlight Cherney’s unique working methods and the signature low resolution, grainy textures of his images. In this paradoxical visual language, concealment serves revelation, opening up space for reflection and imagination while lending his work a subtle, enduring quality reminiscent of Chinese landscape ink painting.

The exhibition will feature pieces from several series, with subjects that range from the microscopic to the macroscopic, from historical relics to natural landscapes. Works will be presented in various formats, from long handscrolls and albums to hanging scrolls, offering a multidimensional view of how the artist explores shifting perspectives. Additionally, the exhibition will host the first large-scale presentation of Cherney’s series “Ten Thousand Li of the Yangtze River” (2010-2015). Inspired by a Song dynasty painting of the same title, the series was created during a pivotal period of national development. These works capture landscapes along the river at a moment of transition, serving as a precious visual record of a fleeting historical moment and tracing out the transformations that occur between the rugged mountains and rivers of western China and the cities and heavy industry of the east coast. This exhibition is curated by UCCA Assistant Curator Zou Jiashu.

About the Artist

Michael Cherney (b. 1969, New York) received his undergraduate degree in Chinese language and history at the State University of New York at Binghamton and arrived in Beijing for graduate language study at Beijing Language and Culture University in 1991. More than three decades later, he continues to reside in Beijing and travels extensively across China. His major solo exhibitions include: "The Heart-Mind Learns From the Eyes" (Three Shadows Photography Art Center / +3 Gallery, Beijing, 2018); "Among Stone and Mist: Chinese Landscape Photography by Michael Cherney" (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 2014); "Reframing" (798 Photo Gallery, Beijing, 2006). He has taken part in numerous group exhibitions, including: "Nature's Pure Harmony" (Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, Beijing, 2025); "Go with the Flow: Reimaginations of the River" (Fotografiska Image Art Center, Shanghai, 2024); "The First Jinan International Biennale" (Shandong Art Museum, Jinan, 2020); "Beyond Ink" (China Art Museum, Shanghai, 2018); "Streams and Mountains without End: Landscape Traditions of China" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2018); "Landscape Duets: The Collaborative Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney" (Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 2015); "The Art of the Chinese Album" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2014); "Journeys: Mapping the Earth and mind in Chinese art" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2007). His works have been included in the permanent collections of numerous institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, Getty Research Institute, Harvard University Art Museums, Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, among others. In addition, he has lectured at various institutions, including Northwestern University, the Seattle Art Museum, National Taiwan Normal University, the University of Toronto, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, among others.