In conjunction with the exhibition Poetry goes no further than language, this symposium invites leading art historians, curators and artists to discuss various aspects of conceptualism and Chinese art. Presentations will consider histories of conceptualism and post-socialist art in China and whether conceptualism remains a relevant framework for understanding contemporary Chinese art today, as well as connections between Chinese conceptualism and post-object art in Australia and New Zealand.

To accompany Conceptualism and China, a display of archival materials related to the conceptualist periods of Hong Kong-born artists John Young Zerunge (b. 1956) and Eva Yuen Man-wah (b. 1952) in Australia and Aotearoa, c. 1979-1982 will be on view (22 September-3 October).

Speakers:

Genevieve Trail (Lead Convenor), PhD Candidate, Art History, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
A/Prof. Yu-Chieh Li, Department of Fine Arts, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Sueann Chen, PhD Candidate, Art History, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
Dr Minerva Inwald, Assistant Lecturer in Chinese History, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne
Prof. Claire Roberts, Art History and Curatorship, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
Prof. Paul Gladston, Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art, UNSW
John Young Zerunge, Contemporary artist
Peter Tyndall, Contemporary artist
Carol Yinghua LU, Co-curator, Poetry goes no further than language

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Poetry goes no further than language
1 May 2026 – 3 October 2026

Poetry goes no further than language revisits a defining moment in 1980s China, when artists began to question the very foundations of art. Featuring works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai-based artist Qian Weikang, the exhibition brings these seldom seen experiments to Australia for the first time, alongside a new commission by Melbourne-based artist Darcey Bella Arnold. Curated by Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu.

Image credit: John Young, Fragments from the Great Wall, artist book, 1980.

Contact the host of Conceptualism and China