Rutherford Chang (1979-2025) was a New York-based conceptual artist whose practice revolved around collection, repetition, cultural memory, and value. This exhibition marks Chang’s first institutional retrospective, as well as his most comprehensive solo exhibition to date. His work often recontextualized everyday media, transforming their signification to reveal underlying cultural narratives. Tracing the trajectory of his artistic practice over the past decade, the exhibition presents two of Chang’s most recognized projects—We Buy White Albums (2013-2025) and CENTS (2017-2025)—which both examine how objects that appear identical inevitably diverge over time and through circulation. By juxtaposing hundreds of records or thousands of coins, Chang revealed the paradox of mass production, interrogating the construction of value, the ways uniform objects gradually differentiate through the passage of time, and the dynamic relationships between people and objects. This exhibition is co-curated by UCCA Director Philip Tinari and artist Aki Sasamoto (b. 1980, Kanagawa).

About the Artist

Rutherford Chang (1979-2025) was a New York–based conceptual artist. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Wesleyan University in 2002. Chang’s major solo exhibitions include: “We Buy White Albums” (Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, 2023; Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, 2017; Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, 2015; FACT, Liverpool, 2014); “Game Boy Tetris” (Galeria SKALA, Poznań, 2018; The Container, Tokyo, 2016). His work has been exhibited in group exhibitions internationally at institutions, such as: “Memory Palace in Ruins” (Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab, Taipei, 2023); “I am Here: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces” (Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2022); “NOTHINGTOSEENESS- Void/White/Silence” (Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 2021); “Black Album/White Cube” (Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam, 2020); “Hyper! A Journey into Art and Music” (Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, 2019); “Spin: Turning Records Into Art” (KMAC Museum, Louisville, 2018); “Real Live Online” (Rhizome & The New Museum, New York, 2016); “Coloring” (Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, 2014); “Do a Book” (White Space, Beijing, 2012); “Fast Futures: Asian Video Art” (Queens Museum of Art, New York, 2006); “Insomnia” (Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 2005); “SENI” (Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 2004); “Butternut Ink” (Asian American Arts Center, New York, 2004); “AIM 23” (The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, 2003); “Global Priority” (Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, New York, 2002).