Got a moment? White Rabbit hops into HOTA
HOTA Gallery on the Gold Coast continues to lead the way with an intriguing exhibition of Chinese art from the acclaimed White Rabbit Collection.
Highlights of the prestigious White Rabbit Collection, one of the world’s most significant and influential holdings of contemporary Chinese art, has hopped into HOTA Gallery on the Gold Coast
Inspired by the 2009 poem This Moment, by Chinese experimental poet/musician Yan Jun, This Moment: Highlights from the White Rabbit Collection of Chinese Contemporary Art brings together 35 artworks from 25 artists.
Capturing the spirit of 21st-century China, the exhibition features bold, experimental artworks from the past 25 years that interrogate authority, reclaim history and reflect profound social change. Together, the works reveal extraordinary technical mastery and deep cultural nuance, spanning sound and light-based installations, video, photography, painting and monumental sculpture.
The exhibition offers viewers a rare opportunity to engage with bold and thought-provoking works through diverse forms and perspectives. The works illuminate how contemporary Chinese artists are shaping new visual languages while engaging with their historical and social contexts.
Founded in 2009 by philanthropist Judith Neilson, the White Rabbit Collection has been built through extensive research and travel across China. The collection is internationally recognised for its commitment to presenting Chinese artists who challenge perspectives and spark meaningful dialogue at a time when too many people have wrong ideas about China and its culture.
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Artist Guo Jian visited Surfers Paradise for the exhibition opening.
“Having my work in the White Rabbit Collection feels like a quietly joyful affirmation, an intimate recognition that my stories matter within a space devoted to contemporary Chinese voices,” he says.
“Seeing those pieces shown at HOTA in This Moment, alongside other Chinese artists while I live in Australia, warms me: it folds together my memory and my present, opening gentle conversations between cultures and reminding me that my perspective belongs in both places.”
Poet and musician Yan Jun says he was invited to revisit a poem he wrote in 2009 for this exhibition.
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“It means a great deal to me and I’m grateful that it will be presented in Australia as part of this exhibition,” he says. “In the sunshine over there, and in the presence of the present moment, the past is no longer a ghost.”
Presented during a time of ongoing global and cultural shift, the exhibition invites audiences into dialogue with Chinese artists responding to questions of identity, censorship, memory, tradition and transformation.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says hosting an exhibition of this calibre and depth has cemented HOTA’s reputation within Australia as a beacon for art and visual expression.
“It comes at a time when contemporary Chinese artists are seeking to express themselves through new visual languages, without losing sight of their country’s history and social structure,” says Tate. “Anyone looking for a magical and thought-provoking display of Chinese art must take time to visit HOTA.’’
Other artists featured in the exhibition include Geng Xue, Guo Jian, LuYang, Peng Hung-Chih, Xu Zhen, Zhang Dali and Zhang Peili.
A public program of talks, tours and workshops will accompany the exhibition, offering deeper insight into the artists, ideas and cultural contexts shaping the works on display.
For visitors looking to linger a little longer and take their tastebuds on a journey, Palette restaurant will add a unique flavour to the exhibition, unveiling its 12th exhibition tasting menu curated by executive chef Dayan Hartill-Law, with dishes that use the techniques, ingredients and flavours of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
This Moment: Highlights From the White Rabbit Collection of Chinese Contemporary Art continues at HOTA Gallery, Surfers Paradise, until October 11. Free daily 10am to 4pm.
hota.com.au/whats-on/live/exhibitions/the-white-rabbit-collection-of-chinese-contemporary-art
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