Follow Me, 2003
C-print and diasec mounting
120 x 300 cm

artist profile

Wang Qingsong

born

1966

lives and works

Beijing, China

education

BA, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Sichuan, China, 1993

about the artist

Hailed as the leading contemporary Chinese photographer today, Wang Qingsong collects visual media from all aspects of contemporary life and builds a body of composite imagery that satirizes and provokes life both in China and more widely. His photographs offer a powerful viewing experience—he saturates every square inch with data and detail, transporting our minds into vast, never-ending spaces he so meticulously stages. He derives inspiration from classical paintings; for example, Wang’s "Night Revels of Lao Li" is based on "Night Revels of Han Xizai" by Southern Tang painter Gu Hongzhong. Wang’s piece "Fotofest" references "The Dance" by Henri Matisse, as well as current affairs, composing his own responses and reinterpretations with an ample dosage of kitsch and gaudiness. Wang has participated in many significant exhibitions, including the canonical Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China that toured from the Asia Society Museum and the International Center of Photography in New York, USA, to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK, to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Germany, and other prestigious venues starting in 2006 and ending in 2008. He has also held major retrospectives all over the world: Wang Qingsong: Present-day Epics traveled within Canada; China: Past, Present and Future traveled within Germany; and Follow Me traveled within Spain. 

  • Selected exhibition history
  • Permanent collections
  • Projects
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  • Publications
  • Recent news

Art Tower Mito, Contemporary Art Museum, Ibaraki, Japan

Aspen Art Museum, USA

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, USA

Billstone Foundation, Spain

Brooklyn Museum, USA

Cisneros Foundation, Miami, USA

Fundação Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal

Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA

Hammer Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA

The International Centre of Photography, New York, USA

JGS Foundation, New York, USA

K20 and K21, Dusseldorf, Germany

Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France

Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

The Moscow House of Photography, Moscow, Russia

Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation, Austria

National Art Museum of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

New Orleans Museum of Art, USA

Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

San Diego Museum of Art, USA

Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, USA

Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK

Williams College of Art, Williamstown, USA