Director’s Forward

UCCA is pleased to present Roundtrip: Beijing—New York NOW, Selections from the Domus Collection , featuring works by nine of Beijing and New York’s most fearless and innovative young artists. What sets them apart—and brings them together—is their no-holds-barred use of eclectic media and material and a willingness to experiment with anything and everything in the service of art.

Richard Chang, director and founder of the Domus Collection, has a similar ethic of service. He firmly believes the private sector should serve the public, and feels art should be displayed, not hidden in private collections. UCCA founders share the same philosophy and are pleased to host selections from the like-minded Domus Collection.

What is striking about this exhibition is the theme of cultural convergence. While the physical distance between New York and Beijing remains constant—it is still a 13-hour, 19000-kilometer flight—the conceptual distance has narrowed considerably. In terms of quality and quantity of artists, artwork, galleries, museums and exhibitions, the two cities have achieved an artistic equilibrium, a newfound cultural parity. Both are brimming with creative energy, talented young artists and a new generation of discerning collectors providing a cross-cultural platform for these artists and their work.

From New York comes Terence Koh, a sublime and sensual performance artist making his Beijing debut. He is joined by Matthew Day Jackson, known for his wildly innovative use of materials, outrageous installations and constructed paintings. Young photographer Ryan McGinley crafts luminous images of sheer, innocent magic. Painter and former graffiti artist Barnaby Furnas offers up big, riveting canvases that draw the eye to one primal focal point.

Their comrades in creative experiment are five up-and-coming young artists from Beijing. Yang Fudong’s exquisite black-and-white films contemplate the disintegration of modern identity and tradition. Cao Fei employs various media to explore youth culture and the boundary between the virtual and the real. Li Songsong, known for deconstructing, manipulating and reconstructing well-known scenes from history, moves deeper into texture with his newest oil on aluminum. There is Liu Wei, a master of methodology and multi-media executed with a keen sense of satire, and Li Hui, whose dazzling, colorful LED installations redefine our ideas of light and space.

Before embarking on a journey, we often ask: How far is it from here to there? How long will it take me to get there? The answer usually involves miles or kilometers, hours or time zones, transfers, layovers, departures and arrivals. On this particular journey, the questions are similar; the answers, more personal.

Jérôme Sans