Exhibition Opening: 9.10.2025
Working across the mediums of sculpture, installation and video, Guan Xiao defies simple classification with unlikely combinations of objects, images and media. Her work playfully addresses the museum context with anachronistic pairings of the ancient and futuristic, organic and inorganic in works that often allude to the activities of display or reproduction. Oil-paper umbrellas, camera tripods, car wheels, rope and protective knee pads are incorporated within anthropomorphic sculpture and expansive installations that employ artisanal details and elements that are cast from nature alongside others that are mass produced, digitally manipulated or 3D printed. Her exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien will present a new body of sculpture where the essential subjects of food and shelter form the central part of an elaborate and wildly inventive narrative.
Biography
Guan Xiao (b. 1983, Chongqing) has held solo exhibitions at Bonner Kunstverein (2019); Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis (2019); Kunsthalle Winterthur (2018); Jeu de Paume, Paris (2016); K11 Art Foundation, Shanghai (2016) and ICA, London (2016).
Her works have been presented within group surveys at Start Museum, Shanghai (2024); Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (2023 and 2021); Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2023); Hua International, Berlin (2023); Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2023); Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart (2022); Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2022); the 34th Bienial de São Paulo (2021); 58th October Salon, Belgrade Biennale (2021); X Museum Triennial (2020); Kunstmuseum St. Gallen (2020); Sharjah Art Foundation (2020); Triennale Kleinplastik Fellbach (2019); Honolulu Biennial (2019); Migros Museum, Zurich (2019); the 57th Biennale Arte, Venice (2017); Julia Stoschek Collection, Berlin (2017); M HKA Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp (2017); 9th Berlin Biennale (2016) ZKM, Karlsruhe (2016); Shortlist for Hugo Boss Asia Art Award at Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2015); the 13th Biennale de Lyon (2015).
Xiao’s public art commissions include Skulpturenpark Köln (2020); Anyang Public Art Project (2019) and High Line, New York (2017). Guan Xiao lives and works in Beijing.