Exhibition at UCCA explores Hans van Dijk's pivotal role in Chinese contemporary art through rediscovered archive
The UCCA Grand Hall is currently hosting an exhibition named 'Hans van Dijk: 5000 Names', which celebrates the contributions of Dutch curator Hans van Dijk, who relocated to Beijing in the early 1990s and significantly impacted contemporary art in China. Curator Marianne Brouwer unearthed a computer file that van Dijk was working on prior to his passing in 2002, which includes his research on the Chinese art scene from the 1980s onward. This exhibition is organized into different phases of his life and presents various documents, statements, and artworks from artists he engaged with, such as Cang Xin and Chen Shaoxiong. It emphasizes van Dijk's documentation-focused approach and his role in shaping Chinese contemporary art, previously discussed in ArtReview Asia's Autumn & Winter 2014 issue.
Key facts
- Hans van Dijk died in 2002 while drafting a computer file titled '5000 Names', rediscovered by curator Marianne Brouwer.
- Van Dijk moved from the Netherlands to Beijing in the early 1990s and became a pivotal figure in Chinese contemporary art.
- The exhibition at UCCA's Grand Hall divides his life into periods, starting with his 1946 birth in Deventer, Netherlands.
- In 1986, van Dijk traveled to Nanjing to research Ming dynasty furniture but shifted focus to contemporary art.
- The show includes artworks by artists like Cang Xin, Chen Shaoxiong, Duan Jianyu, Gu Dexin, Hong Hao, Liu Ding, Shi Yong, Wang Shilong, Yan Lei, Zhang Hai'er, Zhao Bandi, Zhou Tiehai, and Zhu Fadong.
- Displays feature folders of snapshots, sketches, ephemera, exhibition plans, flyers, catalogues, personal letters, and van Dijk's writings.
- In the late 1980s and early 1990s, van Dijk introduced Western conceptual art practices, contrasting with critic Li Xianting's 'cynical realism'.
- The exhibition was reviewed in ArtReview Asia's Autumn & Winter 2014 issue.
Entities
Artists
- Hans van Dijk
- Marianne Brouwer
- Cang Xin
- Chen Shaoxiong
- Duan Jianyu
- Gu Dexin
- Hong Hao
- Liu Ding
- Shi Yong
- Wang Shilong
- Yan Lei
- Zhang Hai'er
- Zhao Bandi
- Zhou Tiehai
- Zhu Fadong
- Li Xianting
Institutions
- UCCA
- Design Academy Eindhoven
- ArtReview Asia
Locations
- Beijing
- China
- Deventer
- Netherlands
- Eindhoven
- Nanjing