2026.5.30–11.20

Shenzhen International Museum of Art

No. 16 Guanghui Avenue, Guangming District, Shenzhen

Academic Curator: Li Xu

In the course of its development, Chinese abstract art has forged a path that both resonates with and differs from the trajectory of Western abstraction. While Western abstract art, pioneered by figures such as Piet Mondrian, Kazimir Malevich, and Wassily Kandinsky, pursued the purity of visual language under the influence of modern philosophy and spiritual inquiry, establishing a formal system independent from figurative narratives through the relationships of color and compositional order, Chinese abstraction has developed through a dual engagement with tradition and modernity. It looks back to the artistic conception and expressive brushwork of traditional Chinese painting while remaining open to the experiences of Western modernism. Through continuous exploration and experimentation, it has gradually discovered modes of expression that respond to local experiences while participating in global artistic dialogues. The expressive qualities of calligraphy, the atmospheric resonance of ink painting, the metaphoric potential of traditional symbols, and the understanding of emptiness and movement within Daoist and Chan (Zen) thought have all become resources available to artists, which are reactivated, transformed, and re-created within contemporary contexts. At the same time, individual experiences shaped by social transformation have constituted an indispensable foundation of Chinese abstract art.

This exhibition brings together more than seventy groups of works by thirty-three artists, presenting the trajectory of Chinese abstract art from its early explorations to contemporary practices. These works represent both a return to the foundations of civilization and a response to the questions of our time. As individuals shaped by social transformation, these artists from different regions have responded to shared questions through their own experiences: some begin from traditional culture, some focus on the shared conditions of humanity, while others turn toward inner self-exploration. Together, they form an essential dimension of Chinese abstract art and generate new meanings for Chinese abstraction within the exhibition context.

Oriental Origins & Evolution: A Journey of Chinese Abstract Art