Poetry goes no further than language: A historical moment of art becoming art again

Poetry goes no further than language revisits a defining moment in mid-1980s China, when a group of artists began to question all existing values and presumptions about art.

Among them were the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai-based artist Qian Weikang. Dissatisfied with the mainstream visual trends of expression and symbolism, they turned instead to conceptualism, using systems of measurement, process and chance as their artistic material.

Active for only a short time, their experiments circulated among small networks of artists and critics before many of the works were dispersed, dismantled or destroyed.

Drawing on extensive research and careful reconstruction, this exhibition reunites the complete experimental output of New Measurement Group alongside key works by Qian Weikang, bringing this rarely seen chapter of art history to Australia for the first time.

A new responsive commission by Melbourne-based artist Darcey Bella Arnold unfolds throughout the exhibition, creating a dialogue across time, space and language.

Curated by Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu.

Events

Guided tours: Poetry goes no further than language

Join a free guided tour of Poetry Goes No Further and explore the artists, ideas and histories that shaped conceptual art in China during the 1980s

Table Poem

Inviting visitors to create automated poetry from falling notes, exploring chance, language and participation within Chinese conceptual art traditions.

Gallery

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