Salon Salon ― Fine Art Practices from 1972 to 1982 in Profile - a Beijing Perspective

Salon Salon unfolds a narrative about Beijing’s art scene in the decade from the late Cultural Revolution to the beginning of the Reform and Opening-up period. It focuses on the continuous influence of the ideological structure of socialist realism in China on the practice and discourse of contemporary Chinese art. Key themes include the possibility for individuals to strive for room for creative practice under harsh political circumstances; how political signals and collective unconscious actions measured up against each other and marched forward hand in hand; and the collective oblivion of the young generation and their “natural inheritance” of past experiences in major social movements.

Liu Ding is a Beijing-based artist and curator. He has participated in international biennials such as 2015 Istanbul Biennial, 2015 Asia Pacific Triennial, 2014 Shanghai Biennial, 2014 Prospect 3 New Orleans, 2012 Taipei Biennial, Chinese Pavilion of 2009 Venice Biennial and 2008 Media City Seoul.

Carol Yinghua Lu is an art critic and curator. She is a PhD candidate in art history at the University of Melbourne and director of Beijing Inside-out Art Museum. She is a contributing editor at Frieze and is on the advisory board of The Exhibitionist.