X Museum holds first exhibition at new location

Light pink, hot pink, baby pink, pale pink, cherry pink, orchid pink…

The various shades of pink featured at X Pink 101, the first exhibition at X Museum’s new location at Langyuan Station in Beijing’s Chaoyang district that opened on Saturday, have generated much curiosity and attention among the capital’s art-loving community.

Co-founded by millennial art collector Michael Xufu Huang and his UPenn alumna, businesswoman Theresa Tse, the Beijing art museum opened with the first edition of its triennial in May 2020, nestling in Cuigezhuang, the northern area of Chaoyang district. The young institution positions itself as an ultra-contemporary museum, giving priority to young, up-and-coming artists when it comes to collection and exhibition.

“At X Museum we are going to witness art as a language of international exchange, bridging the gaps between different cultures, regions, ages, genders and races, as well as that between the real and the virtual,” said Huang at the opening ceremony, adding that his museum is going to hold a series of exhibitions and programs to provide a platform for young artists, female artists, ethnic minority artists and digital artists.

Over the two years at its old location, the museum mounted 14 exhibitions, including museum solos for Issy Wood, Yngve Holen and Christina Quarles, and 48 public programs, such as workshops, screenings, and talks organized online and offline, said the museum’s chief curator Wu Dongxue. American artist Trey Abdella’s solo Almost Heaven and Kick Inside, a group show of four female sculptors, were the last exhibitions held at the venue between April and July 2022.

By relocating to a more central and accessible downtown venue in the Chinese capital, the institution aims to offer the public a more comprehensive art experience with an enhanced display environment and associated services including a dedicated museum store, cafés and restaurants, according to the museum.

The new venue, covering a total area of approximately 3,000 square meters, was previously part of the Beijing textile warehouse in the 1960s and 70s. An architectural team at Studio NOR was invited to design the new space and introduced a “valley” into the museum as the main circulation path, flanked by galleries and other programs that can be viewed as “mountains”.

“By retaining the huge skylight of the old structure, the whole premise is bathed in natural light, offering visitors an outdoor-like museum experience,” Wu said.