A Spectacular Show of Art: Grand Opening of ENNOVA Art Museum

Adhering to an academic orientation, ENNOVA Art Museum is dedicated to offering diverse and profound art experience through research-based exhibitions, academic historical studies, various forms of public education, and the continuous and systematic growth of its collections, aiming to establish itself on the one hand as a prominent cultural and art exchange platform with significant international influence, on the other as a vital learning space for the public to deepen their understanding of art and enhance their aesthetic sensibilities.

To achieve this commitment and to create a new paradigm for art museums to promote art innovation and development in an academic approach, under the leadership of director Zhang Zikang, the museum will present three major exhibitions on its grand opening: “Quarter and Moment · Enter and Entry: Solo Exhibitions of Song Dong & Yin Xiuzhen”, “Etched in Time: The Experience and Transformation of Contemporary Art Collection in China”, and “ENNOVA Emerging Art Power Annual Programme: Young Artists Nomination Exhibition”. Featuring the backbone force of contemporary Chinese art, exploring the academic lineage of contemporary art, and supporting young contemporary artists, these exhibitions aim to evoke the energy of art museums through their persistence in academic standards and diversity.

“Quarter and Moment · Enter and Entry: Solo Exhibitions of Song Dong & Yin Xiuzhen”, curated by Zhang Zikang, is a commissioned site-specific exhibition. Each artist presents a solo exhibition in the north and south halls on the ground floor of the museum, while creating a dynamic circuit of mutual circulation through a sophisticated layout running from the first to the fourth floor, indicating the artists’ reflection on exhibition narrative. Through their distinctive materials, language, and artistic styles, the two artists, adopting two approaches to creation - independent and collaborative - and engaging in both macroscopic and microscopic perspectives of observation, offer a complementary and speculative expression, as well as an entirely new form of exhibition. This exhibition transcends mere communication and dialogue between the two artists through their individual works. Instead, it is also an exploration and shared narrative that emerges from the interplay between their works, presenting the flashbacks and loops of the journey of life in the form of a thought experiment.

“Etched in Time: The Experience and Transformation of Contemporary Art Collection in China”, curated by Guo Xiaohui, is a scrutinized examination of the collection of Chinese contemporary art as a dynamic sample. On display in the north and south halls on the third floor, the exhibition serves as a permanent exhibition in the museum. With the support of many influenced Chinese collectors, this exhibition features works by over 70 artists, with a diverse range of mediums including painting, photography, video, installation, and many others. In terms of artists, the exhibition features representative Chinese contemporary artists from the post-1960s to post-1990s, as well as international artists essential for a global perspective. The exhibition unfolds chronologically in three sections, covering a span of three decades, reflecting on the experience and transformations of contemporary art collection in China from the 1990s to the present, and presenting important collections and ideas from representative Chinese art collectors across different periods.

“ENNOVA Emerging Art Power Annual Programme: Young Artists Nomination Exhibition” focuses on the young artists community. Panelists for the exhibition include art historian and critic Karen Smith, international curator and art historian Andrea Del Guercio, and independent curator and critic Feng Boyi, who nominated seven young artists of the post-1980s generation. On display in the north hall on the fourth floor, the exhibited works explore the multidimensionality of art, keenly reflect the transformation of society, and represent the new spirit of contemporary art through unique perspectives. This exhibition is the inaugural sub-project of ENNOVA Emerging Art Power Annual Programme, which also includes “Young Curators Project”, artist residency, and others. Through this project, the museum aspires to develop together with young art practitioners, breaking down the boundaries of art and promoting the integration of art and society.

The three exhibitions on the grand opening embody the mission and values of ENNOVA Art Museum as a non-profit cultural and art institution, demonstrating the museum’s commitment to academic research in multi-dimensional, multi-faceted, and multi-perspective ways, and presenting the museum’s continuous dedication and promotion in contemporary art innovation. The museum hopes to retrospectively observe the relentless development of art history and evoke new concepts and ideas of art, hence building an art ecology that transcends time and space - introducing the spirit of the new, upholding the ethos of ENNOVA.