Chen Shaoxiong (1962–2016)

It was also remarkable that Chen formed another artist group called Xijing Men with Japan’s Tsuyoshi Ozawa and Korea’s Gim Hongsok; the three met when they took part in the “Under Construction” exhibitions backed by the Japan Foundation between 2001 and 2003. A linguistic barrier existed between members, so they communicated with written Chinese characters shared in all three languages or even by sketching their thoughts. Again, Hou Hanru supported Chen and his new group, an invited them to participate in the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003, “ZOU – Zone of Urgency.”

Chen spent time in Hong Kong as a visiting fellow at the Asia Art Archive, and also in the United States at the University of Kansas in a similar capacity. Regarding his own practice, Chen once said, “In many conditions, humor shows us alternate realities, or creates a dream that is closer to our wishes.”

After Pékin Fine Arts in Hong Kong showed Chen’s “Ink History” ink paintings (2008–2010) as part of the group exhibition “War Room” (2014), overseas curators became interested in his work. This culminated in his 2014 solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, “Ink. History. Media.”

Deteriorating health did not keep Chen from engaging the art world. In 2015, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul staged “World of Xijing,” a retrospective exhibition for Xijing Men. A year later, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa hosted another retrospective, “Xijing Is Not Xijing, Therefore Xijing Is Xijing” (2016). Chen was unable to attend the openings himself, but Meg Maggio was present as his representative. She said, “From his hospital bed, Chen’s art world activity was astoundingly productive. Chen stayed very active in and engaged with the art world, up until days before his death. While he was sick and in and out of hospital, we worked together on exhibitions in the USA, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and other venues. I would bring my laptop to the hospital and we would continue working, joking, story-telling, strategizing, and planning his next projects.”

Chen’s recent exhibitions attested to his determination to remain a vital player in the art world. This year, Guangzhou’s Times Museum held a retrospective exhibition for the Big Tail Elephants, “Operation PRD – Big Tail Elephants: One Hour, No Room, Five Shows,” which featured documentary photos and videos of Chen’s early performances. Shanghai’s Power Station of Art exhibited his largest solo show ever, “Prepared.” Chen’s death coincided with the finals days of “The Views,” an exhibition of new work at Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing.

Chen Shaoxiong’s artwork has also been exhibited at MoMA PS1, the International Center of Photography in New York, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and the Tate Liverpool. His creations are in the permanent collections of M+ in Hong Kong, MoMA in New York, the Seattle Art Museum, Switzerland’s Guy and Myriam Ullens Foundation and more.

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