The character shu in ancient Chinese signifies books, written characters, and the act of writing. This solo exhibition presents the shu art of Xu Bing (b. 1955-), the world acclaimed contemporary Chinese artist, from his Book from the Sky to Book from the Ground and Landscape Landscript in between. All these shu masterpieces demonstrate the art of writing as image. Together they create a Zen-like textual space drawing the audience into an artistic contemplation of the works while arousing their latent cognitive capacity to communicate with the works.

The interactive educational work, Square Word Calligraphy, uses components of Chinese characters. The work, created in a classroom setting, is a perfect fusion of eastern and western culture into one harmony. All these thought-provoking works of art will not only challenge the viewers’ preconception about written language and cultural identity, they will also invite them to interact with the art. This exhibition is designed to serve and educate people of different cultures and nationalities with his art. “My aim is to make an art that truly serves the people.”
Curated by Professor Lidu Yi.