Chengdu Biennale

Chinese contemporary art festival

Chengdu Biennale

成都双年展

The Chengdu Tianfu Art Museum, part of the 2021 Chengdu Biennale, looking across Yinggui Lake in the Tianfu Art Park

Genre| Biennale; focuses on contemporary art
Frequency| Biennial, every two years
Location(s)| Tianfu Art Park, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Coordinates| 30°42′51″N 104°00′57″E﻿ / ﻿30.71422°N 104.01589°E﻿ / 30.71422; 104.01589
Years active| 20
Inaugurated| 2001
Founder| Deng Hong
Most recent| 2021
Previous event| 2013
Participants| 270 Chinese and international artists
Organised by| Chengdu Art Academy
People| Lü Peng (2011 chief curator)
Website| www.chengdubiennale.art

The Chengdu Biennale (Chinese: 成都双年展) is a contemporary art biennale event in Chengdu, China, started in 2001.[1][2]

## Overview

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The entrepreneur Deng Hong funded the first four biennales (from 2001). From the fifth event (2011 onwards), the biennale has been co-hosted by local official cultural institutions in Chengdu. After the sixth biennale in 2013, there was an interval of the official event until 2021. During this period, another art event took place, known as the Anren Biennale, mainly privately funded and operated, starting in 2017.[3][4][5]

The 2021 Chengdu Biennale started on 6 November 2021, running until 6 April 2022.[6] The official launch of the Tianfu Art Park in the Jinniu District of Chengdu was held on 6 November 2021, with the opening of two new museum buildings in the park,[7] operated by the Chengdu Art Academy.[8] The Chengdu Art Museum surrounds a lake with two new museum buildings, the Chengdu Tianfu Art Museum and the Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art. Artworks by more than 270 Chinese and international artists from 35 countries are on display at the biennale.{[8] The theme of the 2021 biennale is "Super Fusion".[9] Chinese artists exhibiting at the 2021 biennale include He Duoling, Liu Jiakun, Xu Bing, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Xiaogang, and Zhou Chunya.[2] International artists include Daniel Buren, Yoan Capote, Leandro Erlich, Carsten Höller, Anish Kapoor,[10] and Jeremy Gardiner.[11]

## Exhibitions

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The following Chengdu Biennales (from 2001) and Anren Biennales (from 2017) have taken place:

1. In 2001, the 1st Biennale "Yangban Model Art in China" invited 120 artists to participate, mainly paintings on the easel.[2][12]
2. In 2005, the 2nd Biennale "Spectacle Century and Paradise" was internationalized, inviting six foreign artists to participate.[13] It was held in the New International Convention Center, Chengdu Century City.[14]
3. In 2007, the 3rd Chengdu Biennale "Reboot" was held.[15] Its curatorial team included the domestic curators Feng Bin and Lu Hong, cooperating with Britta Erickson and Kuiyi Shen from the United States.[16]
4. In 2009, the 4th Chengdu Biennale[17] had "China Narratives" as the theme, with Jia Fangzhou and Zou Yuejin as curators, 120 participating artists, 271 works involving oil painting, ink painting, photography, video, sculpture, and installations. This exhibition was divided into five subthemes: "2008", "History", "Reality", "Urban", and "Rural".
5. In 2011, the 5th Chengdu Biennale invited Lü Peng as the chief curator, named "Changing Vistas: Creative Duration",[18] including contemporary art, design, and architecture.[19] Two hundred artists from China and abroad participate in this exhibition. This time, the event learned lessons from the model of the Venice Biennale, with one main exhibition and other special exhibitions held at 16 local art museums, which successfully attracted approximately 280,000 visitors. The right to operate the Chengdu Biennale was taken over by the Government.
6. In 2013, the 6th Chengdu Biennale[20] invited Feng Bin and Zhao Li as curators, consisting of two parts: "Relation" and "Young Artists of Ten Years".
7. The event was not held as scheduled in 2015.
8. In 2017, the 1st Anren Biennale, "Today's Yesterday", hosted by a private organization in Chengdu, invited 189 artists from 18 countries and regions and more than 800 works.[4]
9. In 2019, the 2nd Anren Biennale, "A Confrontation of Ideals", was jointly curated by Lü Peng, He Guiyan, and the Dutch curator Siebe Tettero.[5]
10. In 2021, the 3rd Anren Biennale invited Gu Yuan as the director, cooperating with the art critics/curators Wang Lin, Zhao Li, Xia Kejun, Gu Yuan, Elsa Wang, Li Xiaofeng, Wen Ya, etc. They separated the areas to become the curator of each subtheme, inviting 150 contemporary artists and exhibiting more than 300 works. In the same year, the 2021 Chengdu Biennale[6] was held in Chengdu Tianfu Art Museum and Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art,[21] and 272 artists were invited to participate, and 17 special invited exhibitions were exhibited in several local art galleries in Chengdu at the same time. For example, the special invited exhibition "Still on" was held in the Usunhome Art Museum.
11. In 2025, the Chengdu Biennale will return under the theme "Fireworks Index", which focuses on the living conditions of people across different time zones, and examines daily life within a complex and changing social environment. The curatorial team[22] for the 2025 edition includes prominent figures from both China and abroad: Fan Di'an, Lu Peng, Jay Xu, Wang Shaoqiang, Wu Hongliang, He Guiyan, Guillaume de Sardes, Martin Rendel, and Xiao Feige.

## References

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1. ^ "Chengdu Biennale". Biennale Foundation. 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
2. ^ a b c "2021 Chengdu Biennale will open on November 6th: Big names gather for a long period of time". chengdu.gov.cn (in Chinese). China: Wenjiang District Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
3. ^ "Anren Biennale". Biennial Foundation. 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
4. ^ a b "1st Anren Biennale 2017". Universes in Universe. 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
5. ^ a b "China – 2nd Anren Biennale". culture360.ASEF.org. Asia-Europe Foundation. 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
6. ^ a b "Super Fusion-2021 Chengdu Biennale" will be unveiled soon". iNEWS. 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
7. ^ Chow, Vivienne (8 November 2021). "With the Opening of Two New Museums (and a Biennial), Chengdu Is Positioning Itself as the Art Capital of Southwest China". Artnet News. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
8. ^ a b Wong, Pamela (3 November 2021). "Two New Museum Debut with Changdu Biennale". ArtAsiaPacific. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
9. ^ Xu Xin (11 November 2021). "2021 Chengdu Biennale Art Illuminates the City, Chengdu Embraces the World". Pandaily. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
10. ^ "Super Fusion 2021 Chengdu Biennale". Galleria Continua. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
11. ^ "Chengdu Biennale – Superfusion – Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art, China". UK: Jeremy Gardiner. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
12. ^ Deng Hong, ed. (2001). Yangban Model Art in China the 1st Chengdu Biennale. Chengdu: Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House. ISBN 7-5410-2031-1.
13. ^ Deng Hong, ed. (2005). The 2nd Chengdu Biennale. Chengdu: Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House. ISBN 7-5410-2574-7.
14. ^ "Yang Mian 杨冕 – Biography". ShanghART. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
15. ^ Feng Bin; Kuiyi Shen, eds. (2007). Reboot: The 3rd Chengdu Biennale. Shijiazhuang: Hebei Fine Arts Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5310-2880-2.
16. ^ Hatch, Michael. "Reboot – The Third Chengdu Biennale: A Review" (PDF). yishu-online.com. pp. 59–69. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
17. ^ "Xin Dongwang". Christie's. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
18. ^ Changing Vistas: Creative Duration, 2011 Chengdu Biennale. Chengdu: Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House. 2011. ISBN 978-7-5410-4743-5.
19. ^ Peng Lü; Huazhang He (2012). 2011 Chengdu Biennale – Changing vistas: Creative duration. Edizioni Charta Srl. ISBN 978-88-8158-835-0.
20. ^ "Wu Chen Biography". Ocula. 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
21. ^ "Exhibition venue". 2021 Chengdu Biennale. Chengdu Biennale. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
22. ^ Tianfu Art Museum (2025-03-28). "The curatorial team for the 2025 Chengdu Biennale". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 2025-04-19.

## Further reading

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* Visual arts portal

* Peng Lü; Huazhang He (2012). 2011 Chengdu Biennale – Changing vistas: Creative duration. Edizioni Charta Srl. ISBN 978-88-8158-835-0.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chengdu Biennale.

* Chengdu Biennale website

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