Revisiting a defining yet underexplored moment in the history of Chinese contemporary art, this bilingual exhibition examines the emergence of conceptualism in China during the mid to late 1980s and early ’90s – bringing together restaged works, archival material, and a new artist commission by Melbourne-based Darcey Bella Arnold.
Building on two earlier exhibitions, on Beijing-based artist collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai-based conceptual artist Qian Weikang, new research and reconstructions of historical works by these artists are brought to Australia for the first time.
Buxton Contemporary
1 May to 3 October 2026
Melbourne
Darcey Bella Arnold with Fruit of Chance, 2025, polystyrene foam, polyurethane polymer, synthetic polymer, cotton fibre, flocking, varnish, 50 × 110 × 130cm / Photograph: Carmen Zammit / Courtesy the artist and Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne
Wang Luyuan, Abstract of Ruins, 1988, digital print / Courtesy the artist and Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing
Editor’s pick – Art Almanac, May 2026 issue
