Xu Bing

Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Chinese Studies (2014-2015)

The Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Chinese Studies is one of the leading voices in the study of China within the U.K. Ambitious in its scope, the initiative holds Visiting Professorships that engage with many aspects of a country and culture that has become of increasing global importance, yet has not traditionally received the study it merits. The Visiting Professorship in Chinese Studies is hosted by St Catherine’s College, Oxford. It has been made possible by the generous support of Sir David Tang.

Xu Bing is a Chinese-born artist, most known for his printmaking skills and installations pieces, as well as his creative artistic use of language, words, and text and how they have affected our understanding of the world. He currently resides in Beijing, where he serves as the president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

While in Cambridge Xu Bing led two public lectures. The first of these was The Reactivation of Tradition which traces the influence of ancient Chinese traditions on contemporary culture. The second was The Energy of Reality and the Creativity of Art which addresses the motivation of artistic creation and explores where the artist find his source of inspiration.

Xu Bing also took part in a discussion of his Bird Cages at The Fitzwiliam Museum with Shelagh Vainker, who curated his exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in 2013. His series was concluded with a symposium entitled Chinese Tradition: Chinese Reality and discussed the fast-changing face of Chinese culture.