Cao Fei's 'Testimonies to the Near Future' at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart

The Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart is hosting 'Testimonies to the Near Future,' the first solo exhibition in Switzerland by Chinese artist Cao Fei (b. 1978, Guangzhou). It is also her largest European show to date, complementing her 'agricultural' focus at Fondazione Prada in Milan. The exhibition transforms the museum into a traversable urban organism, featuring videos, installations, and immersive environments that blur the line between material reality and digital imagination. Designed by Cao Fei with Small Production of Beijing, the installation weaves fragments of cities, technological infrastructures, and speculative scenarios. Cao Fei's work, rooted in the Pearl River Delta's transformation from industrial zone to global production hub, explores the intersection of economic development, media, and collective imagination. Key works include 'Whose Utopia' (2006), filmed in a southern Chinese lighting factory where workers break into dance and performance, and 'RMB City' (2007–2011), a virtual metropolis on Second Life that prefigures today's digital habitats. 'Asia One' (2018) examines automated logistics centers and human-machine interaction. The exhibition runs until October 11, 2026, at St. Alban Graben 8, Basel. It is curated by Margherita Artoni, who wrote the article for Artribune.