Yuz Museum Tenth Anniversary

Out of Silence: A Yuz Foundation Collection

Yuz Museum, Panlong Tiandi, Shanghai

August 10th 2024 – March 2nd 2025

As a special exhibition of Yuz Museum 10th anniversary, “Out of Silence” will unfold in two chapters, the first of which will open to the public from August 10 to October 7, 2024, featuring a selection of more than 20 groups of works by contemporary Chinese and international artists from the collection of Yuz Foundation. Taking sound that is represented or implied as a clue, the exhibition will present the hidden power of these artworks through listening to the subtle or forgotten voices within them, which are the very “traces” and “signs” that Yuz Foundation and Yuz Museum (YUZ) are committed to preserving.

The Artists in Chapter One:
CHEN Ke, CHEN Weimin, CHEN Zhen, Secundino HERNÁNDEZ, Shara HUGHES, Alicja KWADE, LI Xiaojing, Eddie MARTINEZ, OUYANG Chun, Elizabeth PEYTON, Katja SEIB, David SCHNELL, SONG Yige, XU Zhen / MadeIn Company, WANG Fenghua, WEI Jia, YAN Heng, Aaron YOUNG, YANG Zhenzhong, ZHENG Wei, ZHONG Jinpei

Mr. Budi Tek, the founder of YUZ, first started out in the world of collecting contemporary art from 2004-2005. With his entrepreneurial spirit of adventure, assiduous research into art, and persistent enthusiasm, he gradually expanded the collection, and developed to identify two main threads of collecting in 2008: one is “traces”, the threads, the representative works of established artists who have achieved significant positions in Chinese contemporary art history; the other is “signs”, the potential, the new works that he collected with support and expectation for young artists. These two parallel lines, focusing on the bidirectional vision of “history” and “future”, have become the source and core of YUZ’s subsequent collection and exhibition programs.

This exhibition will follow the trajectory that began in the early years of YUZ collection, to rethink the position of the collection in the process of “history” and “future” and the relative relationship between them. The selection of works is not confined to the framework of time or geography, so as to highlight YUZ’s unique color of collecting art through rational construction and emotional understanding. Most of the works in the exhibition reveal the creative process of the artists who integrate their individual thread of life with diverse historical, cultural and social backgrounds. Seemingly calm and silent, the works are nevertheless rich in ideological dimensions and expansive in spiritual world, nurturing a surge of booming power. They carry private emotions and feelings, and reflect the syndromes of society and the times, which not only condense the past, but also still apply to the present, and even foretell a certain visible future. The hidden power within the works leads us to “the deafening silence” and the experience of vigorous vitality, and at the same time alerts us to the fact that the history is not yet gone, while the future is already here.

The exhibition will also reflect on the platforms built by YUZ in its past collections and exhibitions, including 2008-2012 Yuz Museum in Jakarta, 2014-2022 Yuz Museum at West Bund, Shanghai, Yuz Project Space of Art since 2015, Yuz Museum at Panlong Tiandi, Shanghai since 2023, and many more projects, which have facilitated and realized many artists’ ambitious conceptions, with some of these site-specific practices and large-scale commissions being re-enacted. A selection of the masterpieces with breakthrough and transformative significance will also be on display for the first time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Yuz Museum.

The change of seasons and the flow of time seem to be an irreversible process. On the stage of this eternal cycle of life and history, perhaps we could “progressus ad originem” and “regressus ad futurum”, trying to find our own roles and positions out of silence, and escape from the hustle and bustle.

The exhibition “Out of Silence” is organized by Yuz Museum and curated by Wen Shi, Curator at Yuz Museum, with its first chapter from August 10 to October 7, 2024, and the second chapter from October 19, 2024 to March 2, 2025.

Exhibitions at Yuz Museum are organized in partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Qatar Museums.

Made Possible by Yuz Foundation

About Yuz Museum

Yuz Museum Shanghai, officially opened in May of 2014, is a contemporary art museum founded by Mr. Budi Tek, a Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur, philanthropist and collector. Yuz Museum is committed to drawing the world’s attention to Shanghai, advancing the development of contemporary Chinese art, actively engaging in the field of art education, and promoting cultural dialogues between East and West. As a non- profit institution, the museum aims to serve as a leader in exhibiting contemporary Chinese art and to build a preeminent reputation for contemporary art in China.

Since its opening in 2014, Yuz Museum has been the home of many internationally acclaimed exhibitions such as the world’s largest Giacometti Retrospective, the “Rain Room”, the Asia premieres of Andy Warhol’s “Shadow”, KAWS’s first institutional exhibition in mainland China “Where the End Starts” , “Charlie Chaplin: A Vision”, “Yoshitomo Nara”, etc. A significant part of the museum’s focus is contemporary Chinese art, and it has provided unremitting support to a number of local artists by holding their own solo exhibitions, including “Myth / History:”, “Myth / History II: Shanghai Galaxy”, “Shanghai Galaxy II”, “Twin Tracks: Yang Fudong Solo Exhibition”, “Zhou Li: Shadow of the Wind”, “Zhou Tiehai: Will / We Must”, “Qin Yifeng’s Works”, etc.

PPress Contact: For additional information, contact YUZ Communications at press@yuzmshanghai.org

About LACMA

Located on the Pacific Rim, LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of nearly 152,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe. Committed to showcasing a multitude of art histories, LACMA exhibits and interprets works of art from new and unexpected points of view that are informed by the region’s rich cultural heritage and diverse population.

LACMA’s spirit of experimentation is reflected in its work with artists, technologists, and thought leaders as well as in its regional, national, and global partnerships to share collections and programs, create pioneering initiatives, and engage new audiences.

For more information visit www.lacma.org.

About Qatar Museums

Qatar Museums (QM), the nation’s preeminent institution for art and culture, provides authentic and inspiring cultural experiences through a growing network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, public art installations, and programmes. QM preserves and expands the nation’s cultural offerings, sharing art and culture from Qatar, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region with the world and enriching the lives of citizens, residents, and visitors.

Under the patronage of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and led by its Chairperson, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, QM has made Qatar a vibrant centre for the arts, culture, and education in the Middle East and beyond. QM is integral to the goal of developing an innovative, diverse, and progressive nation, bringing people together to ignite new thinking, spark critical cultural conversations, and amplify the voices of Qatar’s people. Since its founding in 2005, QM has overseen the development of museums and festivals including the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and MIA Park, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Qatar (NMOQ), 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, QM Gallery Al Riwaq, QM Gallery Katara, the Tasweer Qatar Photo Festival, and Design Doha. Future projects include Dadu: Children’s Museum of Qatar, Art Mill Museum, Qatar Auto Museum and the Lusail Museum.

Through its newly created Creative Hub, QM also initiates and supports projects—such as the Fire Station Artist in Residence, the Tasweer Qatar Photo Festival, M7, the creative hub for innovation, fashion and design, and Liwan Design Studios and Labs —that nurture artistic talent and create opportunities to build a strong and sustainable cultural infrastructure.

Animating everything that Qatar Museums does is an authentic connection to Qatar and its heritage, a steadfast commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, and a belief in creating value through invention. For more information visit https://qm.org.qa