Tales of Our Time

The exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York features newly commissioned works by Chinese artists united by the use of storytelling, to propose alternative ways of looking at places.

Sun Xun, Mythological Time, 2016 (detail). Two-channel color HD animated video projection, with sound; and powdered pigments in gum arabic and casein paint on mulberry bark paper. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection, © Sun Xun

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presents Tales of Our Time, an exhibition featuring newly commissioned works by artists born in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. Though diverse in subjects and strategies, the works are united by the artists’ use of storytelling to propose alternative ways of looking at place.

Zhou Tao, Land of the Throat, 2016. Installation with two-channel color HD video, with sound. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection © Zhou Tao — **Top:** Sun Xun, Mythological Time, 2016 (detail). Two-channel color HD animated video projection, with sound; and powdered pigments in gum arabic and casein paint on mulberry bark paper. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection, © Sun Xun. **Above:** Chia-En Jao, *Arms no. 31*, 2016. Cast aluminum, textile patchwork, display case with fabric swatches, and paper handout with text Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection © Chia-En Jao. Photo: David Heald

Working in drawing, animation, video, photography, sculpture, installation, and participatory intervention, the artists in the exhibition address the concept of geography and territory in ways as specific as where they are based or as big as China itself, which they see as a concept constantly being questioned and reinvented. These artists freely cross divides to examine the tensions between past and present, myth and fact, reality and dreams, rationality and absurdity, and individuality and collectivity.

Tsang Kin-Wah, No(thing/Fact) Outside, 2016, Vinyl. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection © Tsang Kin-Wah. Photo: David Heald — Tsang Kin-Wah, *No(thing/Fact) Outside*, 2016, Vinyl. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection © Tsang Kin-Wah. Photo: David Heald

“The artists represented in Tales of Our Time vary greatly in their practices and viewpoints,” says Xiaoyu Weng. “But they share a broad perspective, one that places China’s culture, history, and social reality in the context of the wider world. And like so many artists today, they register acute discomfort with the tension between the personal experiences of regular people and the dominant narratives and conventions of power.”

until 10 March 2017
Tales of Our Time
curated by Xiaoyu Weng and Hou Hanru, with Kyung An
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue, New York

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Tales of Our Time

The exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York features newly commissioned works by Chinese artists united by the use of storytelling, to propose alternative ways of looking at places.

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