Curated by is UCCA’s branded initiative to support the next generation of Chinese artists. Intending to give emerging artists their first opportunity for a solo show in an institution, Curated by trusts the judgment of established artists by asking them to display who they believe will be contemporary Chinese art’s next talents.

For the latest in the Curated by series, it is an honor for UCCA to invite Qiu Zhijie to curate Ye Nan & Ding Ding: Immunity. The show, including installations, paintings and multi-media installations, presents two young artists’ philosophical views on their immediate art environment.

“Two exhibitions rather than one is a fantastic idea from Qiu Zhijie, reflecting both his generosity and our engagement as an institution with the emergence of a new generation in this period of crisis.” says Jérôme Sans, UCCA Director.

Qiu Zhijie, well known for his multi-dimensional practice and curator of this exhibition, explains: “in China contemporary art has already gone past its experimental phase, what has now become characteristic among new generations of artists is this anxiety to gain influence through their art. Ye Nan and Ding Ding both face this issue in a singular and courageous way.”

Ye Nan and Ding Ding develop two opposed considerations on the question respectively: refusal and acceptance. The former dares to go anywhere because he has developed a powerful immune system to protect himself against such anxiety, while the latter seeks to achieve personal success through uncompromised self giving. Both of them manage to quietly avoid this anxious search for influence and in their two different ways finally converge at this point of immunity.

Other leading artists participating in the Curated by series at UCCA in 2009 include Liu Xiaodong and Yang Fudong