Alumna Xiaoshi Vivian Vivian Qin in two shows in Hong Kong and Beijing
Visual Arts Alumna Xiaoshi Vivian Vivian Qin '15 currently has works in two galleries: How Do We Begin at X Museum in Beijing, China, and Next Act: Contemporary Art from Hong Kong at Hong Kong’s Asia Society. Both shows run until September, and both shows will be open to the public, with social distancing restrictions in place.
How Do We Begin? marks the first edition of X Museum’s Triennial. This show is curated by Poppy Dongxue Wu, and includes paintings, films, installations, and performances. The museum writes that this show is named after the phenomenon that took place nearly a century ago, when the world’s first commercial radio station KDKA launched its inaugural broadcasting of the American presidential election in the early winter of 1920.
“How Do We Begin? embraces the age that we inhabit, celebrates the accessibility of knowledge and information embodied by the digital age, experiences, and excitements brought by new media and cutting-edge technologies. At the same time, it acknowledges the invasion of toxic information that shap[es] physical relationships and interrupt[s] social structures.”
The X Museum Triennial Award will be introduced along with the launch of the exhibition, to explore the future of Chinese contemporary art. The show closes on Sep. 13.
The Asia Society Hong Kong Center celebrates its 30th anniversary with a show also looking toward the future potential of contemporary art. The show features research-based work by ten local artists responding to the shared history of Hong Kong.
The Asia Society emphasizes the show’s educational aspects, since the artists were each asked to focus on different research methodologies as a starting point for their inspiration and thinking process. The gallery writes, “the final works make the creation of art a journey of critical thinking.” They encourage visitors to contemplate what the future holds while viewing this work.
If Sunset Had a Voice (Doomsday Preparation Plan), 2020 , by Vivian Qin '15
Video projection, metal, concrete, fabric, dimensions variable
Qin, born in Guangzhou, is an artist based between Guangzhou and Hong Kong. She graduated from Denison University in 2012 with a BA in Communication and Studio Arts. Her works have been shown at UCCA, Beijing (2019), Jewish Museum, New York (2014), Queens Museum, New York (2016), Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (2019), Para Site, Hong Kong (2017, 2019), Long March Project, Beijing (2019), Taikang Space, Beijing (2018), 221A, Vancouver (2015) and Artista x Artista, Havana (2019). Her solo exhibitions include Lv Hua Dai in Salt Projects, Beijing (2018) and Things to Come in Weekend, Seoul (2017). She received Sarah Sze’s nomination and was awarded the Lotos Foundation Prize in 2015. She has also participated in the artist-in-residence programs in Spring Workshop, Hong Kong (2017), Salt Projects’ OffShore residency in Dinawan, Malaysia (2019) and All the Way South, Times Museum with Artista x Artista (2019). She is the editor-in-chief of Ruthless Lantern, an art gossip magazine.
