With The China Moment, the documenta Institute is focusing on a crucial phase in contemporary Chinese art. The 1980s marked the beginning of a period of profound political and economic change. Influenced by Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, a new artistic language emerged that combined individuality, social participation and humanistic perspectives. At the same time, China’s opening up and increasing international networking offered new spaces for artistic experimentation and exchange with global discourses on individualism and social transformation.
The exhibition shows how art not only reflected social developments, but often anticipated them. It reveals how the relationships between the individual, the state and society shifted and what social energies, collective experiments and individual self-concepts emerged during this period. Using archival materials, painting, photography, video, installation, sound and performance, The China Moment presents itself as both a research project and an exhibition: archival and narrative at the same time. It presents not only works of art, but also the social contexts in which they were created – from spontaneous gatherings and illegal exhibitions in apartments to experimental club and performance scenes. The China Moment spans the period from the 1980s to the present day and examines how art in China reflected society during a phase of profound transformation – against the backdrop of a shift from globalisation to the multipolar present.
Participating artists:
CAO Fei & OU Ning, CHEN Shaoxiong, Datong Dazhang, HAN Lei, HONG Hao & YAN Lei, JIANG Jie, KAN Xuan, LIN Yilin, Living Dance Studio (Wen Hui), MA Liuming, New Measurement Group (Gu Dexin, Wang Luyan, Chen Shaoping), NI Haifeng, SUI Jianguo, WANG Molin, TONG Sze Hong, ZHAO Chuan, WANG Bing, WANG Guangyi, WANG Tuo, WANG Youshen, WU Wenguang, XIAO Lu, ZHAO Yinou, ZHENG Guogu, ZHOU Tiehai, ZHUANG Hui
The exhibition catalogue accompanying the exhibition includes new contributions by Mi You, Su Wei and Anna-Lisa Scherfose, as well as republished historical texts by Wang Hui, Zhao Dingxin, Qin Hui, Zhang Xudong, Yang Guoqiang, Hong Zicheng and Wang Wei, some of which appear in English for the first time. Curated by Su Wei, Mi You and Anna-Lisa Scherfose.
Guided tours of the exhibition
Regular public tours led by Franziska Weygandt will take place during the exhibition. In around 90 minutes, she will provide insights into the historical and social background of the works on display, introduce artistic approaches, and create space for joint discussions.
We are delighted that Jiaqi Hou will also be offering tours in Chinese/Mandarin. Dates will be announced shortly. Interested groups can already register to arrange individual times.
Public tour dates
Thursdays, 6:30 pm
Saturdays, 4 pm
Sundays, 12 pm
Participation is free of charge and registration is not required.
Private tours are also available for school classes, study groups, and other groups by appointment.
Program
Artist talk with Ni Haifeng, Wen Hui and Zhao Chuan
Moderated by Su Wei and Anna-Lisa Scherfose
Saturday, January 24, 2026, 6 pm; Kasseler Kunstverein, Friedrichsplatz 18, 34117 Kassel
Artists from different generations talk about their experiences and artistic careers since the 1980s and the question of how individual positions were and can be negotiated in a phase of profound social transformation.
Since the 1980s, China has undergone a seismic shift in the relationship between the state and the private individual. The retreat of state authority and the simultaneous rise of private agency have triggered a rapid transformation in wealth distribution, demographic management, and cultural mechanisms. Within this landscape, the “individual” has been imbued with new cultural significance—a concept that has remained fluid and fraught with political tension over the past forty years.Situated within this profound transformation, Chinese artistic practitioners have used their creative work to navigate these socio-political shifts while engaging in a continuous process of self-definition through intellectual reflection. In this conversation, artists Ni Haifeng, Zhao Chuan, and Wen Hui, whose work spans the 1980s to the 2000s, share their life experiences and critical perspectives on this unfolding history.
Book presentation: Seeing through China
Conversation between Andreas Schmid and Heinz Bude
Friday, January 30, 2026, 7 pm; Hofbuchhandlung Vietor, Ständepl. 17, 34117 Kassel
Artist and curator Andreas Schmid provides insights into his experiences in German-Chinese exchange since the 1980s and shows images from several decades of his work in China.
Admission fee: 7 €
Andreas Schmid experienced post-Maoist China in the 1980s during a phase of cautious opening up—a society caught between political control and newly gained freedoms. He immersed himself in a scene where artists lived in solidarity, experimented in basements and clubs, and took advantage of the “space of possibility” before political reality closed it down again. His stories testify to his fascination with an impetuous, courageous avant-garde as well as his experience of how fragile these freedoms were.
In 1993, Schmid, together with Hans van Dijk and Jochen Noth, presented the legendary exhibition “China Avantgarde” at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.
No reservation required.
Film screening: Ghosts, Icons, Clouds, Dreams
Short films by He Zike, Tang Han, Bo Wang and Zheng Yuan, curated by Tang Han
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 3 pm; BALi Kinos, Rainer-Dierichs-Platz 1, 34117 Kassel
From historical ghosts to digital technologies to new forms of work, these works by young Chinese filmmakers paint a picture of the complex intertwining of the country’s political, economic, and cultural history. In cooperation with BALi Kinos Kassel.
Price: 8,50 €
Film screening: “I truly believe everything is accidental” – Four artist portraits
Short films by Xiang Jing, Ronja Yu, Zang Honghua and Zhao Yinou
Saturday, March 7, 2026, 3 pm; BALi Kinos, Rainer-Dierichs-Platz 1, 34117 Kassel
Four documentaries provide insight into different artistic biographies of Datong Dashing, Wang Guangyi, Xiao Lu and Zhao Yinou and show how individual experiences, conflicts, and decisions are translated into their own artistic languages. In cooperation with BALi Kinos Kassel.
Price: 8,50 €
