M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, is pleased to announce that M+ Sigg Collection: Another Story, the second exhibition of the M+ Sigg Collection, will open to the public from Friday, 22 September 2023 in the Sigg Galleries. Following the well-received opening display M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalisation, the new exhibition offers a different perspective on contemporary Chinese art through the lens of artists asserting their own presence and foregrounding a unique visual language.

M+ Sigg Collection: Another Story takes a visual approach to examine the styles and practices of contemporary Chinese art from the 1990s to the present. The commercial transformation of Chinese society during the 1990s exposed artists to the global stage and inspired them to re-establish their cultural identity as they revisited the visual legacies of socialist experience and Chinese tradition during China’s rapid development. The exhibition will feature over 120 works and is divided into four sections: ‘Facing Uncertainty’, ‘Sensory Overload’, ‘Ambivalent States’, and ‘Hidden Disruption’.

‘Facing Uncertainty’ presents artistic practices that focus on moments of fading and disappearance. As material life improved from the 1990s onwards, artists often expressed their doubts in the face of changing culture, history, and tradition.

‘Sensory Overload’ captures artists grappling with an overabundance of images and visual stimuli. With the proliferation of inexpensive, mass-produced goods and marketing imagery, artists in China attach increasing importance to commerce and technology.

‘Ambivalent States’ shows how artists embrace ambiguity and play with shifting meaning and values in society. Starting from the 1990s and 2000s, they aspired towards creative free will and were interested in life’s ambiguities, making works that were familiar yet absurd to expand the possibilities and interpretation of art.

‘Hidden Disruption’ foregrounds a sense of ennui as artists in China use subtle interruptions as forms of commentary. They sought to articulate a sense of quietude and inner peace amid rapid changes in their environment. Beneath the tranquil surface, however, lies an undercurrent of energy and emotion deeply felt.

Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, expresses her excitement for the upcoming M+ Sigg Collection presentation: ‘M+ amassed a world-class collection of twentieth-and twenty-first-century visual culture, including M+ Sigg Collection as a permanent collection deeply rooted in Asia yet defined, and developed, through a global perspective. The new exhibition, which follows the well-received M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalisation, shows how Chinese artists inventively navigate a rapidly changing era. We hope to provide a new lens for the public to explore and appreciate Chinese contemporary art from the 1990s to the present.’

Doryun Chong, Deputy Director, Curatorial and Chief Curator, M+, highlights how the exhibition captures a significant turning point in the trajectory of contemporary Chinese art: ‘China’s rapid transformation into a more open and international society during the 1990s offered Chinese artists unprecedented exposure to the contemporary artistic ideas and trends from outside as well as the challenges and uncertainties associated with them. M+ Sigg Collection: Another Story offers a glimpse into the transformation Chinese art underwent within the period, highlighting the multifaceted and intertwined relationships between art and history, and their influence on creative individuals.’

The M+ Sigg Collection is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of contemporary Chinese art in the world. It chronicles the development of Chinese art over four decades, from 1972 to 2012. The Collection’s unrivalled holdings of 1,510 works encompass a broad range of styles and mediums, including painting, printmaking, sculpture, performance, photography, and digital art. To show visitors more of the M+ Sigg Collection, there will be a selection of works displayed in West Gallery Annex, in parallel with M+ Sigg Collection: Another Story.