Artist Talk | The Physical Reality in the Fictional Narratives of Matriarchal Mythology

About Guests

XIE Qun

XIE Qun, born in Hebei in 1991, graduated from the Third Studio of the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2018, and currently lives and works in Beijing.

XIE Qun’s art practice is presented in a variety of media, including installation, sculpture, video, and painting, focusing on religious anthropology, geography, and folk witchcraft. Based on  field research to explore the relationship between ancient tradition and modern society. Through the construction of semi-closed space rituals, Sakuin explores the extension of the current “psychic” matter and body sympathies with divine will, and attempts to invent multiple narratives of the body  mythological beyond the sight of history.

Main exhibitions include: Xie Qun – Sculpting Nuwa, REFLEXION, Beijing (2025); Nature Through a Glass, REFLEXION, Beijing (2025); Xie Qun – TUO YUE Perpetual motion machine, Hunsand Space, Shijiazhuang (2022); Xie Qun – Planting Life, M’s Room, Beijing (2023); The Treasure Trove of the Goddess, Aimer Art Museum, Beijing (2024); Egress of Spirit, Ox Warehouse, Macau (2024); Jumping Frogs, Easternization movement & Hunsand Space, Beijing (2023); Cloud Sculpture/Growing River-Walking Nujiang Cloudsculpture, Song Art Museum, Beijing (2023); Pulse, Cai Jin Space, Beijing (2021); Water Falling Stones, Tao Xi Chuan Museum of Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (2020); Imaginary Warehouse, CHAO Art Center, Beijing (2019); Desktop Art Fair, Mumu Art Museum  & Tong Gallery+project Cooperation Project, Beijing (2018).

ZHANG Yi

ZHANG Yi was born in Shandong Province, China in 1984. She graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts with a bachelor’s degree in 2008. From 2012 to 2014, she studied in the United States and obtained a Master’s degree in Art from the New York School of Drawing Painting and Sculpture. From 2016 to 2018 she studied in the UK and obtained a second Master’s degree in Sculpture from the Slade School of Fine Arts，UCL. Since 2019, she has been teaching at the Studio Three in the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts as a lecturer.
ZHANG Yi possesses an exceptionally keen perception of space and materials, emphasizing the humanistic critique that can be unlocked through field research and engagement with specificity ofspaces. Herdistinctive talent lies in the poetic transformation of everyday objects, resulting in visual representations that straddle the ancient and the modern, exuding a dynamic artistic energy. Engaging with Zhang Yi’s art often involves a subtle fusion of historical and cultural imagery with contemporary sensory experiences.

REN Yue

REN Yue is a Beijing-based writer, researcher, and curator. She holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Law and Literature from Tsinghua University (2017) and an MA in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2019). Currently, she is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Tsinghua University. She was previously a Senior Editor for LEAP and ArtReview’s Chinese edition (2021–2024). Her work focuses on socially engaged art from a historical sociology standpoint, examining art as a social practice and the context-driven interactions it generates. She also explores the boundaries of art criticism and public academic writing. Her criticism has been published in ArtReview, LEAP, ArtForum, and more, with academic articles in journals like Studies of the Intelligent Society. Her curatorial projects include solo and group shows, and she has conducted research for numerous art projects in collaboration with brands.

About Host

WANG Xinger

WANG Xinger is an art communications consultant, working across a range of respected galleries, arts organizations and brands. Xinger also engages in the contemporary art industry by writing. Her recent research includes the body perception in contemporary dance, Afro-Cuban music, Cuban fusion pop dance and House dance culture.