Liu Ding: Room of Boundlessness (Part I)
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The Antechamber
Since opening our doors in 2008, Magician Space has been keeping pace with groundbreaking artworks that venture into uncharted territories, while providing support to experimental practices in art. In 2024, we took a significant step forward by expanding and upgrading our gallery space. Alongside this, we have introduced The Antechamber, a dedicated project space that operates separately from the gallery. The Antechamber features cutting-edge art projects invited by Magician Space. It aims to build a platform that encourages unrestricted experimentation for artists with visionary insight, intellectual depth, and creativity.
Room of Boundlessness
The inaugural guest artist we are honored to exhibit in The Antechamber is Liu Ding. As an artist and thinker who dives into the depth of conceptual art, he works around the historical progress of contemporary art through the lens of intellectual history. His art practice engages in meaningful dialogues with both contemporary individuals and the broader society we live in. We are thrilled to present his latest artwork “Room of Boundlessness” in the first project at The Antechamber. Previously, Liu Ding has curated two group shows under the same title. This new work, however, marks a new direction by amalgamating the insights of artists from various generations into a singular, cohesive installation. In the current moment of restless uncertainties, these thoughts etched into the narratives of works the intellectual and emotional journeys of people in the contemporary society as they navigate ever-changing circumstances. They stand not only as symbols of angst but also as poignant portraits of those who “see no road ahead.”
The word “boundlessness” derives from the poem Song of Leyou Park by Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770). The feeling of “boundlessness” refers to not only the dusk, but also the bleak prospect of one’s own career, the deep concern over the country’s political future, and the profundity of a long-standing history beyond the eons of heaven and earth. In this sense, “being solitary in the room of boundlessness” demonstrates the feelings of both helplessness and anticipation, the strength to uphold an independent spirit and cultural influence, and the intellectual quality of daring to confront the daunting reality using one’s individual power.
In this “Room of Boundlessness,” Liu Ding has selected a collection of works and documents created by contemporary Chinese artists and writers. This collection crafts a narrative out of the true mental states of individuals who endured various dramatic upheavals from the 1960s to the present. Beginning with people’s mind, feelings, dispositions, inherent nature, potential, and ambition, Liu Ding hopes to gain a more meticulous and flexible viewpoint in order to understand humanity and events through their respective historical contexts. Notably, the devising of the exhibition’s language embodies Liu Ding’s commitment to valuing the intellectual drive behind an artist’s work as much as the artistic expression itself. He attaches the descriptions of each exhibited piece on the walls, and places the artworks themselves on the floor, back facing the visitors. When viewing the exhibition, visitors will first read the creators’ background stories and their intellectual and emotional states, then physically engage with the work by picking it up with their own hands, hanging them on the walls, and finally, contemplate their visual expressions. “Room of Boundlessness” unfolds in two volumes.
