Tang Contemporary Art is pleased to present the group exhibition “The Memory of Materiality: The Aesthetics of Time and Transformation” on April 26th at 4:00pm at its Beijing 1st Space, bringing together the works of four major Asian artists, Zhu Jinshi, Shim Moon-seup, Tadashi Kawamata, and Shin Meekyoung, to explore how materiality interacts with time and multiple relationships, and to present the unique conceptual worlds constructed by the artists based on their distinctive materiality.
Art has always existed in an inseparable relationship with its materiality. However, in contemporary art, materiality has evolved beyond a mere compositional element to become a crucial concept that shapes the fundamental meaning of a work. Materials are no longer passive mediums of expression; instead, they serve as the starting point of artistic contemplation, functioning as a language that encapsulates transformation, deconstruction, memory, and temporality. This exhibition brings together four artists—Zhu Jinshi, Sim Moonseop, Tadashi Kawamata, and Shin Meekyoung—to explore how materiality intersects with time and relationships, offering a glimpse into their unique conceptual worlds shaped by distinct material properties.
Exhibition critique essay:
<The Memory of Materiality: The Aesthetics of Time and Transformation>
by Kang Yu-Sun
Prologue
The extraordinary charm of this path-breaking exhibition organized by Tang Contemporary Art lies in its ability to bring together previously dispersed artists, whose works, we now realize, converge to create a unified message with exponentially amplified power. Zhu Jinshi, Shim Moon-Seup, Tadashi Kawamata, and Shin Mee-Kyung—four distinguished artists from China, South Korea, Japan, and South Korea respectively—represent a rare convocation of creative minds from the Far East, the distant reaches of the Orient. Each artist has long been celebrated for their special contributions to the world of contemporary art, yet this exhibition marks the first time their works have been presented in dialogue with one another.
EXHIBITING WORKS
Artist
Zhu Jinshi
b. 1954, Beijing, China
As an important Asian contemporary art practitioner who rose to prominence in the second half of the 20th century, Zhu Jinshi has experimented with a wide range of mediums and methods. Amidst the historic Eastern and Western cultural currents of the Cold War, he tirelessly promoted and became part of the Asian experience. In 1979, Zhu participated in the “Stars”, China’s first contemporary art movement, and in the 1980s, he explored abstract painting and “apartment exhibitions”. In 1986, he moved to Germany and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the 1990s, he started his installation practice, and after the year 2000, he engaged with Chinese abstract neo-expressionist painting and large-scale installation.
Abstract painting has always been a focal point in Zhu’s practice, but he has engaged with the aesthetic fissures and tectonic shifts between the many different artistic mediums and movements that emerged in the postwar period. While reconciling and resisting abstraction, orientalism, installation art, conceptual art, and land art, he holistically considered ways in which painting could be contemporary. Zhu Jinshi is not a conceptual artist; he is an inventor of formal aesthetics. The seams, the thickness, the viewing perspective, the fluidity, the compression, the materiality and spatiality of the paint, and other visual forms have shaped his distinctive painting style. Zhu constantly seeks out new visual frontiers and creates accidental aesthetics.
Zhu Jinshi is a pioneer of Chinese abstract art and installation art. At present, he lives and works in Beijing. Zhu’s major solo exhibitions include “Whose Homeland”, Yan Art Space, Beijing,2024；“Wind of Xishan”, One Art Museum, Beijing，2024；“Painting Sociology”, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing，2023；“Accidental Aesthetics”, Tang Contemporary Art, Seoul, 2022; “Li Bai’s Snow”, Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 2020; “Wood · Character”, 2020, Fusion Art Center, Beijing, China; “The Ship of Time / Rejecting River Currents”, 2018, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, China; “Zhu Jinshi”, 2016, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing, China; “Performance in Paint: Zhu Jinshi”, Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2015.
His major group shows include “Antarctic Circle”, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing,2025；“Atlas:Harmony in Diversity—The 60th Venice Biennale”, Asenale, Venice,2024； “Time Gravity—2023 Chengdu Biennale”, Chengdu Art Museum, Chengdu,2023；“The Story of Painting: the History of Chinese Painting with Personal Narratives”, One Art Museum, Beijing, 2022；“TRILOGY OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN CHINA: The Scar” , 2020-2021, Busan Museum of Art, Busan, Korea; “AND NOW. The second decade of the White Rabbit Collection” , 2020-2021, White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney; “Ways of Working: Artists’ Time, Space and Body” , 2020, One Art Museum, Beijing; “The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China”, 2019, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA; “Abstract and Beyond—The Research Exhibition of Abstract Art in China” , Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China, 2016; “28 Chinese”, The Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA, 2013.
Shim Moon Seup
b.1943, Republic of Korea
Shim Moon Seup gained recognition in the 1960s and early 1970s by winning awards at Korea's prestigious National Exhibitions. Shim drew international attention after exhibiting at several major biennales, including three consecutive Paris Biennales from 1971-1975, as well as the São Paulo Biennial in 1975 and the Sydney Biennale in 1976. In 1981, he won the top prize at the Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition in Japan, and went on to hold 15 solo shows there throughout the 1970s-1990s. Shim holds the distinction of being the first Korean artist invited to exhibit at the Palais Royal in Paris, a venue that has featured work by renowned sculptors like Daniel Buren and Niki de Saint Phalle.
In the 1970s, Shim was influenced by the minimalist artist Lee U-fan and the Mono-ha (School of Things) movement. During this period, Shim used simple, raw materials like stones, paper, tree trunks, and steel plates, arranging them in a way that focused the viewer's attention on the relationships between the natural and manmade elements, as well as the materials and the surrounding space – while minimizing his own direct intervention. Over the years, Shim‘s artistic repertoire expanded beyond just 3D installations. In the 2000s, he turned to oil painting, a medium he sees as having fundamental overlaps with sculpture. The canvas works on view, such as “The Presentation,” feature layered, repeated brushstrokes that evoke the azure waves and tides of Shim’s childhood memories.
Throughout his long and distinguished career, Shim has continued to create and exhibit his sculptures internationally, with showings in major cities like Paris, Tokyo, and Beijing. His work has established him as a globally recognized figure in the art world, with a career spanning multiple decades
Tadashi Kawamata
b.1953,Republic of Japan
Tadashi Kawamata, born in 1953 in Hokkaido, Japan, is a distinguished artist celebrated for his innovative installations that repurpose discarded materials, predominantly wood, to explore the interplay between reality and fantasy. He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1979 and gained international recognition by representing Japan at the 1982 Venice Biennale. His participation in significant exhibitions such as Documenta 8 (1987), Documenta 9 (1992), and the 3rd Skulptur Projekte Münster (1997) further solidified his global acclaim.
Kawamata's artistic approach emphasizes site-specificity, meticulously selecting materials that resonate with the history and culture of the installation's location. His works often feature organic forms that disrupt conventional urban environments, fostering a dialogue between art, architecture, and society. Notable projects include "Tokyo in Progress" (2010) and the "Chaumont sur Loire Project" (2011), where he engaged with local communities to create immersive experiences.
Throughout his career, Kawamata has received numerous accolades, including the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2014, recognizing his significant contributions to contemporary art. He has also held esteemed academic positions, serving as a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, influencing a new generation of artists.
Kawamata's works are featured in various public collections and have been exhibited in major institutions worldwide, reflecting his enduring impact on the art world. His recent exhibitions continue to captivate audiences, demonstrating his commitment to exploring the boundaries of art and environment.
Selected Solo Exhibitions include “Chaumont sur Loire Project”, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire (Chaumont-sur-Loire, France, 2011); “Tokyo in Progress”, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo, Japan, 2010); “Under the Water”, Kunstmuseum Thun (Thun, Switzerland, 2006);“Work in Progress”, Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria, 2002); “Passage of Chairs”, Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière (Paris, France, 1997); “Skulptur Projekte Münster”, 3rd Sculpture Projects Münster (Münster, Germany, 1997); “Venice Biennale”, Japanese Pavilion (Venice,Italy,1982).Selected Group Exhibitions include “Documenta 9”, Kassel (Kassel, Germany,1992); “Documenta 8”, Kassel (Kassel, Germany, 1987); “São Paulo Biennale”, São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (São Paulo, Brazil, 1987); “Spaces of Becoming”, K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Düsseldorf, Germany, 2005); “Architecture and Memory”, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (Paris, France, 2001)
Shin Meekyoung
b.1967, Republic of Korea
Meekyoung Shin was born in 1967 in Cheongju, Korea, and received her BFA and MFA in Sculpture from Seoul National University. She later studied at Slade School of Fine Art, UCL in the U.K. in the mid-1990s and has since lived and worked between London and Seoul.
Shin’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in the exploration of cultural translation and reinterpretation.
Since 1997, she has adopted “translation” as a central theme, meticulously recreating classical Western sculptures, Oriental Buddhist statues, and ceramics using soap. While these replicas closely resemble the originals, their material—ephemeral and consumable—stands in stark contrast to the perceived permanence and authority of traditional sculptures, raising fundamental questions about authenticity, cultural displacement, and the transformation of meaning when objects are removed from their original contexts.
In 2004, she initiated the Toilet Project, an ongoing, long-term participatory artwork that has been actively developed for over twenty years. Soap sculptures are placed in public restrooms, allowing visitors to use them over time before being collected and exhibited. This evolving, interactive project
challenges conventional notions of artistic value and integrity and has been installed in major art institutions and cultural sites worldwide, including museums in Seoul, London, and Shanghai.
Shin’s practice extends beyond Translation and Toilet Project to include Weathering Project, Megaliths
Series, Painting Series, and Ghost Series, all of which further her inquiry into materiality and transformation. Her recent works were showcased in Eastern Deities Descended, a major exhibition held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she explored the concept of Eastern deities descending to the contemporary world. This exhibition deeply engaged with Eastern mythology and cultural heritage, expanding her dialogue on historical interpretation and contemporary perception.
Her work has been exhibited internationally in major institutions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) Buk-Seoul Museum, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), the British Museum, Taipei MoCA, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, and Sungkok Art Museum. In 2013, she was nominated for the Korean Artist Prize and later recognized as the Best Emerging Artist at the 2015 Prudential Eye Awards.