VICTOR WANG 王宗孚

          Victor Wang 王宗孚 is currently Executive and Artistic Director of M WOODS Museum , which has two locations in Beijing and Chengdu: M WOODS 798, and M WOODS Chengdu, and is the founder of the Institute of Asian Performance Art (IAPA).

With cultural exchange emerging as a common thread in his work, Wang has curated collaborative exhibitions with institutions such as Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Tate Modern, London, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, and the first collaborative exhibition between the British Museum (U.K.) and a non-state-run art museum in China.

         Wang’s recent exhibitions at M WOODS Museum in Beijing have included the first museum surveys in China, and often Asia, of influential artists such as Martin Margiela (co-curated with Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel in 2022), Bruce Nauman (2022), Man Ray (co-curated with Marion Meyer in 2021), Ryuichi Sakamoto (co-curated with Sachiko Namba and Zhang Youdai in 2021), Giorgio Morandi (2020), and Richard Tuttle (2019). In 2023, Wang was awarded “Curator of the Year” in China by Robb Report, and in 2018, he was named one of Apollo International Art Magazine's "40 under 40: Europe, Thinkers".

Wang has a particular interest in performance art, and has previously served as curator of Frieze LIVE at the Frieze Art Fair in London (2020 edition). He was also the editor of the publication "Performance Histories from East Asia 1960s–90s," published by DRAF in 2018. Additionally, he is the founder of the Institute of Asian Performance Art (IAPA).

Wang also curated the exhibition "Afterimage: Dangdai Yishu" at Lisson Gallery in London in 2019. This exhibition marked the first time that the work of key Chinese female artists such as Yu Hong, Lin Tianmao, and Xiang Jing was exhibited in London. In addition, he served as a co-curator, alongside Anna-Catharina Gebbers, Yang Beichen, and curatorial advisor Pi Li, for the exhibition "Micro Era. Time-based Media-Art from China" in 2019. This special exhibition, held at the Nationalgalerie Berlin – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, featured works by artists such as Cao Fei and Zhang Peili.

Wang has curated exhibitions and presentations that highlight connections and exchange between Asia(s) and the West. For example, he organized the first solo presentation of video works in China by British-born Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA in 2020, and the first solo museum exhibitions in Asia of artists such as Salman Toor and Austin Lee all at M WOODS Museum. Additionally, he has curated the first solo exhibitions in China of British artists Haroon Mirza at the Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing in 2019, and Michael Dean at ShanghART Gallery in Shanghai in 2018, as well as the first solo exhibitions in China of Estonian artist Katja Novitskova at Cc Foundation in Shanghai in 2017, Brazilian artist Jac Leirner at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Pavilion in Shanghai in 2016, and French-Algerian artist Neïl Beloufa at the chi K11 art museum in Shanghai in 2016.

In an effort to expand the concept of "Asia(s)," Wang has also curated the first UK presentation of Shanghai-based artist Xu Zhen's "XUZHEN Supermarket" (2007/2017) and the group exhibition "Zhongguo 2185" at Sadie Coles HQ in London in 2017, which featured the work of Chinese artists such as Lu Yang, Yu Ji, and Nabuqi, for the first time in London. He also curated the first UK performance by influential Korean artist Kim Ku Lim at the David Roberts Art Foundation in London in 2018, and co-curated Lee Kun-Yong's first UK performance at the Korean Cultural Centre UK in London in 2017.



  [Photo by Mia Song 2021]

          In 2018, Wang collaborated with artist Oscar Murillo on the publication "The Build-up of Content and Information," which was published by David Zwirner Books. He also collaborated with artist Katja Novitskova on her first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom, held at the Whitechapel Gallery in London (2018).

Wang curated the first institutional solo exhibition in Europe by artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, who is of Hul’q’umi’num’ Coast Salish and Okanagan (Syilx) First Nations descent, at the Canadian High Commission’s gallery in London in 2017. This exhibition was noteworthy for its emphasis on the significance of Indigenous practices in Canada.

         In 2015, Wang was appointed by the K11 Art Foundation as a curator, alongside Jo-ey Tang of the Palais de Tokyo, for the traveling exhibition "Inside China - L’Intérieur du Géant" (Shanghai Station). This was the first collaborative exhibition between the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the K11 Art Foundation. In 2018, he curated the exhibition "The Same But Also Changed (物是人非)" for PHOTOFAIRS in Shanghai. Additionally, he assisted Daina Augaitis, Chief Curator and Associate Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the curatorial team for the Vancouver Pavilion: Brian Jungen at the 9th Shanghai Biennale in 2012.

Wang has given lectures on contemporary Chinese art and curating at several universities, including the Royal Academy Schools in London, the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, Tokyo University of the Arts in Tokyo, The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, Goldsmiths at the University of London, the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, and the Royal College of Art in London. He also served as a guest curator for the Royal College of Art's Graduate Show in 2020.

       In 2014, Wang began assisting the curatorial team of the Twelfth Havana Biennial (2015), under the direction of Artistic Director and Curator Margarita González Lorente. He also served as co-curator, alongside Cuban curator Blanca Victoria López, for the exhibition "Ensemble sin órganos" at the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam in Havana, Cuba in 2016. This was the first performance-based exhibition at the Wifredo Lam Center of Contemporary Art and marked the first time that the work of key artists such as Trisha Brown, VALIE EXPORT, and Yvonne Rainer was exhibited in Cuba.

        Wang has written for various art periodicals, including Artforum International, Art Review, and Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art. He has also served as a guest editor for LEAP 艺术界 magazine. In 2016, he was awarded the AICA Incentive Prize for Young Critics by the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).


 

         Wang has completed research and curatorial residencies at Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) in Japan in 2017, and Contemporary Art Heritage Flanders (CAHF) in Belgium from 2014 to 2015. He has also attended the 7th Gwangju Biennale International Curator Course in South Korea in 2016 and the ICI Curatorial Intensive Program in New York in 2011. He holds an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in London.

-------


王宗孚VICTOR WANG 个人介绍

王宗孚(Victor Wang)是木木美术馆常务副馆长兼艺术总监。以文化交流为基础，他与巴黎东京宫、伦敦泰特现代美术馆、柏林国家博物馆等机构共同策划展览，并促成大英博物馆与中国非国营美术馆的首次展览合作。

王宗孚近期策划了多位艺术家的国内首次大型研究型展览，其中包括在木木美术馆呈现的安·维罗尼卡·詹森斯 (2023)；萨勒曼·图 (2023)；马丁·马吉拉 (2022)；布鲁斯·瑙曼 (2022)；曼·雷 (2021)；坂本龙一 (2021)；乔治·莫兰迪 (2020)；和理查德·塔特尔 (2019)等；以及在南京四方美术馆的哈伦·米尔扎 (2019)；在上海CC基金会的卡特娅·诺维斯科娃 (2017)；和在上海chi K11美术馆的尼尔·贝鲁法 (2016)等等。

他此前曾担任伦敦弗里兹艺术博览会Live单元 (2020) 策展人，以及上海影像艺术博览会(2018)的策展人。他还为伦敦里森画廊、伦敦萨迪科尔斯HQ和上海香格纳等画廊策划了重要展览。出于对艺术写作的热情，王宗孚曾担任DRAF于2018年出版的《1960至1990东亚行为艺术史》和由卓纳图书出版的《奥斯卡·穆里略：聚合内容与信息》的编辑，以及即将由木木美术馆和泰特出版社联合出版的布鲁斯·瑙曼画册编辑。他曾在伦敦考陶尔德艺术学院、伦敦大学金史密斯学院等多所大学做过策展讲座，亦是伦敦大学金史密斯学院、伦敦皇家艺术学院的客座导师。同时，他还是亚洲表演艺术学院（IAPA）的创始人。