This exhibition showcases a selection of Xu Bing’s most important works including Art For the People, Book from the Sky, Book from the Ground, Square Word Calligraphy, Background Story, and The Character of Characters. Xu also wrote a new piece of Square Word Calligraphy of an ancient Valencian poem El bon poble. As the curator Marta Millet Moreno says, “Xu’s interest in language and texts originates from his personal background and he transports these experiences to his art, where traditional art and conceptual art, Eastern and Western cultures, are intrinsically connected.” — Marta Millet Moreno, Centre del Carm
At least two days should be allowed to visit this kind of exhibition. The videos shown below are merely clips; the photos shown are but a handful of those taken. Not every room has been covered here; missing are the Square Word Calligraphy practice room and the room of Xu Bing-related publications. For the latter, a visit to the Xu Bing website page does not substitute for the experience of sitting down with the books, many of which are out of print and for which there are no online images. The lengthy amount of time needed to enjoy this abbreviated version of the 2018 largest Xu Bing (Beijing) exhibition is due to looking from every angle allowed, thinking, comparing and contrasting from one room to the next, watching all the videos, taking instruction in Square Word Calligraphy, leafing through the books, going back to the beginning, interrupting that flow to compare/contrast one room with another outside the sequence and, again, thinking.
Book from the Sky (1987-1991) © Xu Bing
Book from the Sky (1987-1991) © Xu Bing
Book from the Sky (1987-1991) © Xu Bing
Book from the Sky (1987-1991) © Xu Bing
Book from the Ground Pop-up Book – Night (2016) © Xu Bing
Book from the Ground Pop-up Book – Day (2015) © Xu Bing
Video clip of Book from the Ground Pop-up Book – Day © Xu Bing
Installation of workshop for creation of Book from the Ground © Xu Bing
“Proof” of translation of “El bon poble” by Ausiàs March, medieval Valencian poet, into square word calligraphy (2019) © Xu Bing. Created especially for this exhibition.
Details © Xu Bing
Left half: Background Story: Shangfang Temple Scroll (2016) © Xu Bing
The images and colors appearing on the frosted glass screen are created by positioning various objects, materials and detritus behind the backlit screen. Xu Bing has dubbed this as “painting with light”.
Right half: Background Story: Shangfang Temple Scroll (2016) © Xu Bing
Detail, front and back view. © Xu Bing
Detail, front and back view. © Xu Bing
Detail, front and back view © Xu Bing
Detail, front and back view © Xu Bing
Five Series of Repetition: A Big River (1987); Black Pond (1987) © Xu Bing
Five Series of Repetition: Haystack Reflection (1987); Moving Cloud (1987); © Xu Bing
Five Series of Repetition: Black Tadpole (1987); Living Pond (1986); © Xu Bing
Five Series of Repetition: Field (1987); Family Plots (1988); © Xu Bing
Moving Cloud (1987) © Xu Bing
Black Tadpole (1987) © Xu Bing
Living Pond (1986) © Xu Bing
Field (1987) © Xu Bing
Family Plots (1988) © Xu Bing
Details © Xu Bing
Details © Xu Bing
Further Reading
“Xu Bing in ‘Beijing’: Art in the Twenty-First Century“, Art21, 25 September 2020.
“Book from the Sky to Book from the Ground by Xu Bing (2020), Books On Books Collection, 21 January 2021.
“Appreciating Xu Bing“, Books On Books, 31 December 2018.
“Farewell Our Globalism”, Xu Bing and the Guggenheim, Books On Books, 9 December 2017.
“Xu Bing“, Books On Books, 28 February 2016.
Wan Kong, “The Character of Characters: Xu Bing’s Exploration of Chinese and Their Language“, UnFramed/LACMA, 23 June 2015.
Locations of works
Book from the Sky
- British Museum (London, UK)
- Harvard Library (Cambridge, MA, USA)
- University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Yale University Gallery of Art (New Haven, CT, USA)
- Videos
Book from the Ground
- Xu Bing, Book from the Ground: From Point to Point (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2013)
- Xu’s website covers the original and movable versions
- Mathieu Borysevicz, Book about Xu Bing’s Book from the Ground (MIT Press, 2014)
An Introduction to Square Word Calligraphy
- Asia Art Archive (Hong Kong, China)
- US libraries through WorldCat
- Yale University Gallery of Art (New Haven, CT, USA)
- Videos
Five Series of Repetition
- Xu’s website describes the origin of this series of prints.
- Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art, Ashmolean, Object 15202.
Background Story
- Xu’s website lists the installations and locations since 2004.
- Videos
Phoenix
- Xu’s website lists the installations and locations since 2008.
- Videos
The Character of Characters
- Xu’s website provides background on this 17-minute animated video.
- Xu Bing, The Character of Characters : An Animation by Xu Bing (San Francisco : Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2012)
