Special Invitational Exhibition for the 10th Anniversary of Era Art Museum

Duration:2025.06.06 - 2025.09.06

artist:Yu Youhan, Suga Shixiong, Huang Rui, Ma Kelu, Zhu Jinshi, Shen Chen, Tan Ping, Chen Qiang, Jin Rilong, Liu Qinghe, Feng Lianghong, Meng Luding, Huang Yuanqing, Chen Shuxia, Yin Chaoyang, Wu Jianan (in order of age)

Curator: Luo Jingfang

Curatorial Executive: Kang Wenfeng

Exhibition Coordinators: He Tianjian, Xu Lijun, Jin Yukang

host:Era Art Museum

Co-organized by:Wenzhou Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., Wenzhou Mingcheng Assets Operation Co., Ltd.

address:Building 4, Shuiyunfang, Bailuxu Park, Lucheng District, Wenzhou
 

At 3 pm on June 6, 2025, the 10th Anniversary Special Invitational Exhibition of the Era Art Museum will be grandly opened! The exhibition brings together works by 16 contemporary artists, including Yu Youhan, Suga Shixiong, Huang Rui, Ma Kelu, Zhu Jinshi, Shen Chen, Tan Ping, Chen Qiang, Jin Rilong, Liu Qinghe, Feng Lianghong, Meng Luding, Huang Yuanqing, Chen Shuxia, Yin Chaoyang, and Wu Jianan. The exhibition covers important artists born in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The exhibition is a review of the "Decade of Era", a reunion of old friends of Era art, and a brief review of more than 40 years of modern and contemporary art history.

“Ten Years” is a node and a new starting point. The Era Art Museum is willing to continue to work side by side with all its peers, audiences, and artists to move forward into the next decade, and continue to explore the deeper meaning and possibilities of Chinese modern and contemporary art in the real, complex, and diverse reality.

The exhibition will run until September 6, 2025.

Special Invitational Exhibition for the 10th Anniversary of Era Art Museum

Preface

Text / Luo Jingfang

Ten years ago in the summer, the Era Art Museum opened in Wenzhou, kicking off with the “Era Writing: Chinese Contemporary Art Invitational Exhibition”. It was a curatorial practice from a grassroots standpoint, and it was also the starting point for us to promote and popularize contemporary art.

Over the past decade, we have always adhered to the artistic stance of "being based on the people" and continued to care about the diverse ecology and reality of Chinese contemporary art. 56 modern and contemporary art exhibitions and nearly 800 public education activities are the chapters of the era we have written together with artists, scholars, and audiences in the past decade. Every exhibition and every event is an attempt to dialogue with art, and a rediscovery and reinterpretation of the current spirit.

"Ten years" is a measure of time and a cultural dimension. This "Ten Years: The Tenth Anniversary Special Invitational Exhibition of the Era Art Museum" is not only a review, but also a call to the future. We specially invited some artists who have participated in the museum's exhibitions to participate in this exhibition with their latest creations. Gathering again after ten years is not only a reunion of old friends, but also a reunion of each other's artistic paths. Through these works, we see how artists continue to write about themselves and respond to life in the changing times.

Contemporary art never deviates from reality. It is rooted in individual experience, social texture and spiritual fluctuations. The value of art lies not only in aesthetic expression, but also in how it injects new vitality and thinking into the city. The Era Art Museum is located in Wenzhou, a rapidly changing city. It is both an observer and participant of culture. We believe that the development of a city depends not only on economy and construction, but also on the nourishment of art and thought. It is in such an urban texture that contemporary art raises questions, inspires resonance, and builds richer connections between people and between people and society.

"Era" is not only the name of the museum, it has become a method, an attitude, and a persistence. We hope to make "Era" a gateway to understand the present and write the future through continuous curatorial and research, and through interaction with the public, artists, scholars, and young people. Art is not just exclusive to professional circles, it belongs to everyone living in this era. In the true expression of individuals, we can feel the flow of social emotions and glimpse the possible direction of the future.

"Ten Years" is a node and a new starting point. We are willing to continue to work side by side with all our peers, audiences and artists to move forward into the next decade, and continue to explore the deeper meaning and possibilities of Chinese modern and contemporary art in the real, complex and diverse reality.

May we still have art as our companion in each of the coming “eras” and may we still be able to move forward together.

Participating artists and works

Yu Youhan, was born in Shanghai in 1943, and lived and worked in Shanghai until his death in 2023. He graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts in Beijing in 1973. One of the most important and influential artists in contemporary China, his painting practice can be traced back to the 1970s, while Chinese contemporary art is generally considered to have begun in the 1980s. As one of the important pioneers of contemporary Chinese abstract art, Yu Youhan combines multiple perspectives with the study of the ontological structure of Chinese culture, integrating Chinese visual symbols and the expression of Western art. Through his continuous exploration of various visual techniques, his paintings maintain universal significance, influencing and infecting a generation of young artists.

Sugao ShioBorn in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan in 1944. After graduating from Tama Art University with a degree in painting, his works have been exhibited in Japan and abroad, with major solo exhibitions held at Pirelli Hangar Bicocca Contemporary Art Center in Milan (2016), Dia Chelsea in New York (2016), Yokohama Museum of Art (1999) and Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (1997). In 2016, Suga won the prestigious Mainichi Art Prize and held his first solo exhibition in the Western world at Hangar Bicocca in Milan.

Huang Rui

Born in 1952 in Beijing, China

Currently lives and works in Beijing

Ma Kelu, was born in Shanghai in 1954 and later moved to Beijing. As a member of the Chinese contemporary art group "No Name Painting Society" in the 1970s, Ma Kelu has been committed to practicing the concept of "art returning to its essence", aiming to achieve the principle of complete freedom in his artistic creation. He participated in the underground art exhibition in 1974 and the public exhibition of the No Name Painting Society in 1979, and became a member of the Beijing Abstract Art Experimental Group in the early 1980s. His early landscape works went beyond the general meaning of sketching, and his practice itself had a distinct artistic proposition, research consciousness and working method. He moved to New York in his early years and studied at the Schoohagen School of Painting and Sculpture. Until 2006, Ma Kelu returned to his hometown and continued his abstract style with a broader perspective.

Zhu JinshiBorn in Beijing in 1954, he currently lives and works in Beijing. He is one of the earliest practitioners of abstract art and installation art in China. He began to create abstract paintings in the early 1980s. After moving to Berlin in 1986, he turned to artistic experiments such as performance, text, and installation. After 1994, he traveled between Berlin and Beijing and participated in many important exhibitions at home and abroad. What made him famous internationally was his amazing use of materials such as rice paper and bamboo in his installations. Looking back on his artistic practice over the past 40 years, his creation started with abstract painting. Installation art became independent from painting and gave painting a new form. Only by viewing the two in conjunction can we directly touch the shocking aesthetic value of his works.

Shen Chen, born in China in 1955. He began to receive art education at Shanghai Art School in 1973. After obtaining a bachelor's degree from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1982, he moved to Beijing. In 1988, he won the Skauhegen Art Academy Award to go to the United States as a resident artist. In the same year, he won the Studio Art School Exchange Student Award to come to New York. The following year, he received a scholarship to study for a master's degree at Boston University. He settled in New York in 1991 and has lived and worked in New York and Shanghai since 2018. Shen Chen was one of the pioneers of abstract painting and experimental ink painting in China in the 1980s, and was active in the "underground art salon" at that time. During his university years, he organized and participated in the experimental painting exhibition "Wild Rose". In 1984, he held his first solo exhibition at the China Journalists Association in Beijing. Since then, he has cooperated with many galleries in Asia, Europe and the United States and exhibited in many art galleries. So far, he has held more than 40 solo exhibitions. His works are collected by art galleries, art foundations and private collections around the world.

Tan Ping, artist and educator, graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1984, studied abroad at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany in the late 1980s, and obtained a master's degree and a Meisterschule degree. Honorary doctorate from Kingston University, UK. Former Dean of the School of Design of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Vice President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Arts, and currently Director of the National Center for Contemporary Art of the Chinese Academy of Arts and Distinguished Professor of Beijing Normal University. In his 40 years of artistic practice, he has always explored multiple fields such as painting, printmaking, multimedia, and design. His works are collected by important domestic and foreign institutions such as the National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Ludwig Museum, Rothko Museum, and Arizona State University Art Museum.

Chen Wall

Born in China in 1960

Graduated from the Art Department of East China Normal University in Shanghai in 1989

Currently working and living in Shanghai

Jin Rilong, born in Jilin Province in 1961, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Major solo exhibitions: "Color with Light" (Longquan, Longquan Research Institute of Jingdezhen Ceramics University) 2025; "Home" (Changchun, Jilin Art Institute Art Museum) 2024; "Order Memory-Julio Rondo and Jin Rilong Double Solo Exhibition" (Wenzhou, Era Art Museum) 2023; "Heart Sound of Heaven and Earth" (Beijing, Yimei Art Museum) 2023; "Self-determined Vision-Twenty Years of Jin Rilong's Abstract Art" (Jinan, Shandong Art Museum) 2020. Major group exhibitions: "The Age of Human Intelligence-The 3rd Jinan International Biennale" (Shandong Art Museum) 2024; "Origin and Wisdom-(China) Western Art Works Biennale" (Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum) 2024; "Hinterland Pulse-The 4th China Xinjiang International Art Biennale" (Xinjiang Art Museum) 2024; "Super Fusion-2021 Chengdu Biennale" (Chengdu Tianfu Art Museum) 2021.

Liu Qinghe, graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1989 with a master's degree. In 1992, he visited the Academy of Fine Arts of Complutense University of Madrid for exchange and study. He was the dean of the Chinese Painting School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is also the deputy director of the Chinese Painting Art Committee of the Chinese Artists Association. He is a doctoral supervisor at the Communication University of China and the University of Macau, and a visiting professor at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. For more than 40 years, he has been involved in and practiced in the creation of contemporary Chinese ink painting. His works have been collected by important domestic and foreign institutions such as the Asia Pacific Museum of the University of Southern California, La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, the Art Museum of the University of Valencia, Ewha Womans University in South Korea, the Boston Museum, the Australian Embassy in China, the Shenzhen Art Museum, the National Academy of Painting, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Spain, the Guangdong Museum of Art, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Hubei Art Museum, the Tsinghua University Art Museum, the United Art Museum, the Shandong Art Museum, the Meilun Art Museum, and the National Art Museum of China.

Feng LianghongBorn in Shanghai, China in 1962, he graduated from Shanghai Arts and Crafts School in 1983. While in school, he began to experiment with abstract painting. He was one of the earliest practitioners of abstract art in China at that time. In 1989, he graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts in Beijing (now the Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University). In the early 1990s, he lived in New York, USA. He returned to China in 2006 and currently works and lives in Beijing.

Meng LudingBorn in Baoding, Hebei in 1962, his ancestral home is Tongzhou, Beijing. He graduated from the Affiliated High School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1983, and from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1987. In the same year, he stayed at the school to teach in the Fourth Studio of the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1990, he studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Kahlul, Germany. He is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and a specially appointed doctoral supervisor of the Beijing Film Academy.

Huang Yuanqing, born in Shanghai in 1963, graduated from Shanghai University of Science and Technology in 1985, studied at the Painting Department of Shanghai Normal University from 1987 to 1989, and lived and worked in Shanghai for a long time.

Chen Shuxia, born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang in 1963, graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1987, and currently serves as a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Member of the Art Education Committee of the Chinese Artists Association. Chen Shuxia's artistic creation has accompanied the development of contemporary Chinese art. Since the 1990s, Chen Shuxia's artistic practice can be divided into several sections. From the important periods of "primary colors", "virtual and real", "mountains and rivers" to "forgetting the form - transcending the world", the works reflect personal feelings in the background of the times with sensitive expression and unique perspectives, and have been exploring and researching the language of oil painting unremittingly, forming a unique personal style. Her works tell the pure state of mind and the observation and thinking of the world in a seemingly soothing and peaceful tone, allowing people to carefully appreciate the significance of her paintings for our survival. The works are collected by important institutions such as the National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum, Guangdong Art Museum, Shenzhen Art Museum, and Hubei Art Museum.

Yin Zhaoyang, born in Nanyang, Henan Province in 1970, graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1996. Major solo exhibitions: Walking in Mountains and Rivers, Museum of Contemporary Art, Singapore (MOCA), Singapore (2025); Asking the Mountain, Yulan Hall, Shenzhen (2024); The Turbulent Room: Yin Zhaoyang Solo Exhibition, Pianfeng Gallery, Beijing (2024); Yin Zhaoyang Works Exhibition, Suzaku Gallery, Sydney (2023); Self-Selected Works, Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing (2022); Rebuilding Ideals, Tang Contemporary Art Center, Beijing (2022); Vast History, Long Museum (West Bund), Shanghai (2021).

Wu Jianan, visual artist, professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His artistic creation spans across multiple languages such as painting, sculpture, paper-cutting, and installation. With the help of situations that seem far away from today's life, he expresses the eternal part of human civilization history and awakens the hidden but magnificent subconscious in people's inner feelings.
 

In recent years, his works have been exhibited in the China Pavilion of the 57th Venice Biennale, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Hermitage Museum, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan, and the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. He has also held solo exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kalamazoo, Chicago, New York and other places. His representative works are collected by institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Brazil, and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan. His major cultural awards include "2024 SABF Artist of the Year" (Guangxi Normal University Press, ACC Art Books Publishing Group in the UK, and Images Publishing Group in Australia), "2024 Breakthrough Artist of the Year" (Bazaar Art), "2023 Forbes China Contemporary Young Artist Influence List" (Forbes China), and "2021 Asian Cultural Council Grant" (Asian Cultural Council). In 2019, Wu Jianan was selected for "Chinese Imagination" produced by CCTV Documentary Channel.

Exhibition site

The above pictures are from the exhibition site of “Era’s 10th Anniversary Special Invitational Exhibition”, Era Art Museum, 2025.
 

June 6, 2025 is the 10th anniversary of the opening of the ERA Art Museum. In 2015, the ERA Art Museum was founded by Luo Jingfang and Huang Lei, with Kang Wenfeng as the executive director. Since then, it has started a journey of deepening its roots in Chinese modern and contemporary art. Looking back on the past ten years, the ERA has held 56 modern and contemporary art exhibitions and carried out nearly 800 public education activities.

The Era Art Museum focuses on the current status of contemporary art in China in this era, the latest diverse developments in China's contemporary art ecology, and through academic research and curatorial questions. It continuously launches many important exhibitions related to the changes in the real ecology, actively pays attention to the local popularization of contemporary spirit, and interacts extensively with the young and fashionable generation, constantly promoting the continued development of contemporary culture in the past, today and in the future.

Secondly, the Era Art Museum attaches great importance to the popularization of modern and contemporary art in public education. Every public education activity is an in-depth artistic dialogue, a rediscovery and reinterpretation of the current spirit, allowing art to truly enter the lives of the public.

Discussion meeting

Abstracts of the 10-year seminar

Huang Rui:Words have a great influence on me. Art can speak, change and innovate. The spirit of artistic avant-garde is personal, social and contemporary. Today, Chinese contemporary art is different from the past. It does not care about society, humanity and time. It is just walking on one leg and one foot. Avant-garde has nothing to do with economic development or the art market. It is even a challenge. This has always been my insistence.
 

Meng Luding:The list of artists for the 10th anniversary exhibition of Era covers not just ten years, but more than 40 years of Chinese contemporary art. They are witnesses, and just like the word “era” in the title by Lao Li (Li Xianting), it is a heavy accumulation.
 

Liu Qinghe:I have been in Era for ten years, and this is also Era's second exhibition. Era Art Museum is very sensitive in Wenzhou, spanning 40 years of Chinese contemporary art, which is amazing. This is not a matter of regional bias.
 

Chen Shuxia:The Era Museum is also unique in Wenzhou. It runs an art museum with a peaceful mindset, just like an artist creates works. It has always paid attention to the public education of the Era Museum, which is rare. Wenzhou people are picky about food, and the Era Museum is a visual contribution to Wenzhou people, making Wenzhou people more and more discerning.
 

Jin Rilong:The work done by the Art Museum in the past ten years has been of great value to the development of art history documents, enterprises and art museums.
 

Yin Chaoyang:The Era Art Museum is an art museum with its own temperament. It is not ostentatious, does not use satellites to attract attention, is of moderate size, and has always been there. This is very important at present. The Era Art Museum has also changed everyone's impression of Wenzhou. Contemporary art museums need knowledge reserves, not just money. Just like artists' creations, they face problems and reality, do not avoid them, and continue to do it naturally.
 

Feng Lianghong:The Ten Years Exhibition brings people back to their memories and makes them feel that time flies by, just like when you paint, you forget about time. Reading these two books about the Ten Years, I feel that it is also the best ten years. Ten years is not easy, and purity is even more difficult. There are many artists in China, but there are still few art museums like the Ten Years Art Museum, and there is still a need to increase them.
 

Ma Kelu:In the past ten years, ERA has held 800 public events and 56 exhibitions. These are all contributions of ERA. People from the southeast coast are pragmatic and hardworking. Who says ERA is only about abstract art? It is diverse and academic. It is not only about abstract art, but also about video art. It is the same in Beijing. It has also added a new space in Shanghai. It is not easy and amazing. The audience in Wenzhou is particularly serious and enthusiastic. They listen carefully to every lecture and ask questions seriously. This is rare in Beijing. Very good!

Opening scene

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