State of the Arts: Aotu Space Holds Open Call for Halloween Exhibition, Plus Collections from the Past, Present, and Future

State of the Arts is our regular arts column whereby we take a look at the newest moves in Beijing's creative scene and highlight art news as well as exhibitions, artists, and openings that you should seek out.

Open Call for Aotu Space's Love + Death Exhibition

Love and death… Two seemingly disparate concepts and yet they’re both enigmatic, confounding, and macabre, altogether oppressive and liberating in equal measure. To celebrate these two quintessentially ethereal concepts which have dogged artists since time immemorial, Aotu Space will be hosting a special one-night-only pop-up exhibition. What makes this event unique, however, is that all of the art is coming from you! Between now and Oct 25, there is an open call for installation artists, painters, and photographers who would like to participate in the show, effectively opening up every nook and cranny to Beijing’s creatives. What’s more, artists are free to price their works between RMB 300 and RMB 3,000, with Aotu taking no commission fee off the top. To find out more, including submission guidelines, click here.

Asia Digital Art Exhibition

Between now and Nov 22, the Asia Digital Art Exhibition – in conjunction with Beijing International Design Week – is on display at Beijing Times Art Museum. The exhibition features 33 artists from 11 countries and regions working in a broad range of mediums that utilize cutting edge technologies such as AI, VR, and brain science to create immersive environments, effectively blurring the lines between society, culture, and our digitized world. Although many of the materials and forms stem from our 21st-century existence, the works themselves draw on both ancient and modern themes and use the past to inform not only the present but also our collective future.

Ancient Ceramics in Beijing

If you’re looking for something a little more classic and traditional, between now and Jan 3, 2021, M Wood’s 798 is hosting around 200 ceramic objects dating from the third to ninth centuries. Divided into four distinct themes; Anchoret, Sutra, Alchemy, and Lions, the collection provides a comprehensive look into China’s cultural, artistic, and religious legacies. Whereas some of the objects on display are purely ornamental, others are more utilitarian, reflecting the day-to-day life of these ancient communities. When taken as a whole, the exhibition is a well-rounded ethnographic account of ancient Chinese societies, and brings to light hitherto unknown facts about the people who lived during these times. 

Mosaic China

Over the past three years, Mosaic China has been traveling around the country, wowing audiences from Guangzhou to Nanjing and Shanghai to Wuhan. Now, it’s come to Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum (CAFA Museum) for one last curtain call. As its name implies, Mosaic China: Mosaic Art Invitation Exhibition is a celebration of all things fragmented and includes more than 100 works by more than 90 artists across the generational spectrum. Oftentimes overlooked by the contemporary art scene, mosaic as a medium has a long history in China, and by dedicating an entire show to it, the organizers hope the exhibition will help the form “be incorporated into the framework of Chinese contemporary art,” and “become a new way to expand and enrich the creative language of murals.”If that weren’t enough, CAFA’s permanent exhibition is one of our favorite in the city, and doubtlessly worth the trip itself. For more information click here.

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Images: courtesy of the organizers, CGTN