Location: Wiebengahal, Avenue Céramique 220-226 Maastricht (near Bonnefantenmuseum)

Poets of Beijing shows the works of 14 artists working in China’s capital city. Beijing’s economic prosperity fuels a fast growing art market that is a magnet for young artists. This group is often viewed as a new generation of artists, the so-called post-80s generation. Instead of expressing their relationship to the west, as earlier Chinese artists have done, members of this post-80s generation search for an introspective and independent exploration of art and society. Within this framework, they produce a rich and varied body of works. Yan Bing’s wheat murals echo the yellow earth of the countryside of his home province Gansu. Chen Youtong, biologist and native of Guangzhou, transformed his studio into a factory-lab hybrid to study the life of microbes. Kun Niao is a magazine editor and a recognized poet, Lin Ke one of China’s most prolific internet artists.

Ha Nisi, The strategy of grids, 2015

Participating artists: Yan Bing, Zhao Yao, Chen Youtong, Han Wuzhou, Lin Ke, Liu Chengrui, Wang Yuyang, Ha Nisi, Kun Niao, Zhang Zhenyu, Wang Liwei, Bu Yunjun, Zhang Muchen and Wang Haiyang.

Poets of Beijing is realized by Marres, House for Contemporary Culture in partnership with China International Cultural Association and DutchCulture.

Marres receives ongoing support from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Limburg provincial authority and the Maastricht municipal authority.