Xu Zhen
Artist and curator. Born in 1977, Xu Zhen currently lives and works in Shanghai, China.
A leading figure in Chinese contemporary art, Xu Zhen won the “Best Artist” award at the China Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) in 2004, and as a young Chinese artist, participated in the 49th Venice Biennale’s main exhibition (2001). His practice spans a wide range of media, including installation, photography, video, and performance.
His works have been exhibited at museums and biennales around the world, including the Venice Biennale (2001, 2005), The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2004), International Center of Photography (2004), Mori Art Museum, Japan (2005), MoMA PS1, New York (2006), Tate Liverpool, UK (2007), Hayward Gallery, UK (2012), Lyon Biennale (2013), The Armory Show, New York (2014), Long Museum, Shanghai (2015), Al Riwaq Art Center, Qatar (2016), Biennale of Sydney (2016), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2017), Sharjah Biennial (2019), Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2019), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2020), Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (2024), among others.
Beyond his artistic identity, Xu Zhen is also a curator and organizer of art events. In 1998, he served as Artistic Director for BizArt Center, Shanghai’s first independent non-profit art institution. In 2006, together with Shanghai-based artists, he co-founded the online art community Art-Ba-Ba (www.art-ba-ba.com), which remains one of the most active platforms for discussion and critique of contemporary art in China.
In 2009, Xu Zhen founded MadeIn Company, a contemporary art creation company devoted to the production of artistic creativity and the exploration of the infinite possibilities of contemporary culture. In 2013, MadeIn Company launched the brand Xu Zhen®, focusing on art production and new cultural development. In 2014, MadeIn Gallery was established to comprehensively promote artists and lead cultural trends. In 2022, MadeIn Art Museum was founded. In 2025, Xu Zhen established HOL, a new contemporary art platform.
