Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity

This exhibition presents 19 artworks by seven artists, born in mainland China in the 1980s. Belonging to what is referred to as the ba ling hou generation, they grew up in a post-Mao China shaped by the one-child policy and the influx of foreign investment. Comprising painting, sculpture, performance, installation, video, digital art, and photography, the exhibition reflects the dramatic economic, political, and cultural shifts the artists have experienced in China during their lifetimes.

The exhibition’s title, Mirror Image, refers to the double reflection at the heart of the exhibition. Rather than emphasizing their “Chinese-ness,” these artists’ respective practices are born of a contemporary China where Starbucks can be found in the Forbidden City and the internet permits them access—despite the obstacles of censorship—to a host of influences beyond geographical boundaries.

Visionary Legacies: A Tribute to Harold J. Newman

Nam June Paik. “Li Tai Po,” 1987. 10 antique wooden TV cabinets, 1 antique radio cabinet, antique Korean printing block, antique Korean book, 11 color TVs. H. 96 x W. 62 x D. 24 in. (243.8 x 157.5 x 61 cm). Duration: Continuous loop. Asia Society, New York: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold and Ruth Newman, 2008.2. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2014

This exhibition celebrates Hal Newman (1931-2021) who, with his wife Ruth, endowed Asia Society Museum’s Collection of Contemporary Asian Art with a seminal gift of some 30 artworks in 2007. Works by eight artists and one artist collective featured in the exhibition represent Hal’s eye and passion for art that pushes the boundaries in Asian and Asian American contemporary art.

Registration is required here. 

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The exhibitions Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity and Visionary Legacies: A Tribute to Harold J. Newman will be on view from June 15 through August 28, 2022.

Special Thanks

Support for Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity is provided by George and Mary Dee Hicks, China Guardian, Asia Society Global Arts Collectors Circle, Asia Society Friends of Asian Arts, Arthur Ross Foundation, Sheryl and Charles R. Kaye Endowment for Contemporary Art Exhibitions, Hazen Polsky Foundation, Mary Griggs Burke Fund, Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and New York State Council on the Arts.