Beijing-based multidisciplinary artist Miao Xiaochun has been relentlessly expanding the boundaries of photography into the realm of new media. His recent work involves the development of paintings from the canon of Western art history into computer models. These works are expanded from their two-dimensional origins into a rich virtual space complete with enhanced depth and volume. The resulting large-scale photographs retain the semblance of the historical work, but are freed from past temporal associations to become ephemeral and utterly contemporary. Miao Xiaochun is best known for his digital photographs, often assembled panoramas, of modern Chinese cityscapes. His signature element is the presence of "He", a figure in ancient Chinese costume. Other works include computer graphics installations such as The Last Judgement in Cyberspace, a 3D monochrome reworking of Michelangelo's The Last Judgment from the Sistine Chapel replacing every figure with a virtual model of Miao himself.

Miao Xiaochun with his Work

Biography

1964 Born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China

1982-86 Graduated from the Nanjing University

1986-89 Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

1989-95 Lived as an independent artist in Beijing, China

1995-99 Graduated from the Kunsthochschule Kassel, Kassel, Germany

1999 Works as a teacher at the Photography Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

Now he Lives and works in Beijing, China

Solo Exhibitions

2011

"Out of Body - Miao Xiaochun's Solo Exhibition", White Box Museum of Art, Beijing, China

"Miao Xiaochun - Beijing Handscrolls", Guardini Foundation's Gallery, Berlin, Germany

2010

"Miao Xiaochun - Two Big Video Works", Today Art Museum, Beijing, China

"MACROMANIA", Ludwig Museum, Koblenz, Germany

"BEIJING INDEX", ALEXANDER OCHS GALLERIES BERLIN | BEIJING, Berlin, Germany

2009

"Miao Xiaochun | INDEX", WHITE SPACE BEIJING, Beijing, China

"Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm", Arario Beijing, Beijing, China

"Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm", Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA

2008

"Miao Xiaochun | Microcosm", Alexander Ochs Galleries Berlin | Beijing, Berlin, Germany

"Heaven and Earth: Miao Xiaochun’s Virtual World", Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

"Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm", Osage Gallery, Singapore-Hong Kong

2007

"Miao Xiaochun | H2O", ALEXANDER OCHS GALLERIES BERLIN | BEIJING, Berlin, Germany

"Miao Xiaochun: H2O-A Study of Art History", WHITE SPACE BEIJING, Beijing, China

"Miao Xiaochun: H2O-A Study of Art History", Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA

"Miao Xiaochun: H2O-A Study of Art History", Osage Contemporary Art Space, Hong Kong

"Miao Xiaochun: H2O-A Study of Art History", Art Seasons Gallery, Singapore

"Miao Xiaochun | The Last Judgment in Cyberspace" Contemporary visual art projects South Australia, Australia

2007

Contemporary Art Centre of SA INC, Parkside, South Australia, Australia

2006

"Miao Xiaochun: The Last Judgment in Cyberspace", Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA; ALEXANDER OCHS GALLERIES BERLIN | BEIJING, Berlin, Germany; WHITE SPACE BEIJING, Beijing, China

"A Birdview", Zhu Qizhan Art Museum, Shanghai, China

"Image+Imagination", Osage Contemporary Art Space, Hong Kong

"Viewpoint", WHITE SPACE BEIJING, Beijing, China

"Miao Xiaochun: Urban Landscape", John Hope Franklin Center of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

2004

"A Visitor from the Past", Epson Photo Gallery, Shanghai-Beijing, China

"Phantasmagoria", Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA

2002

"Linger", Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland

2001

"From East to West and back to East", Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

1999

"Kulturbegegnungen", Gallery Stellwerk, Kassel, Germany

1994

Beijing Art Museum, Beijing, China; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

1992

National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, China

1991

Beijing Art Museum, Beijing, China

1988

Gallery of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

Scene from Microcosm(3D computer animation), 2008

Group Exhibitions (Selected)

2011-12

"Future Pass-from Asia to the World", 54th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan; Today Art Museum, Beijing, China

2011

"Once Upon a Time...", Contemporary by Angela Li, Hong Kong

"Verso Est. Chinese Architectural Landscapes", MAXXI, Rome, Italy

2010

"A Departure From Reality I: Self-Assertion.psd", Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong

"Chinesische Landschaften neu betrachtet" (Chinese Landscapes Reconsidered), Galerie Moderne Chinesische Malerei des Museums für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin, Germany Mediators, The National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

"Reshaping History-Chinart from 2000-2009", National Conference Center, Beijing, China

"DIGIFESTA-Speed of Earth ‘2010 km/second, see’", Gwangju Biennale Hall, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju, Korea

"Traditional Charm·Creative Culture-New Media Art Exhibition of Series", Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, China

"State of the Dao – Chinese Contemporary Art", Lehman College Art Gallery, New York, USA

"Speed and Chaos: Into the Future of Asian Art", Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York, USA

2009

"Beijing Time" ( La hora de China), Casa Asia, Matadero Madrid, Spain

"Animamix Biennial2009-2010: Metaphors of Un/real", MoCa Shanghai, Shanghai, China

"Collision", CAFA Arts Museum, Beijing, China

"Open Vision-Chinese Contemporary Art", Czech National Gallery, Prague

"Next Nature", National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

"Água Grande: the altered maps", The Contemporary Art Museum of Paraná, Brazil

"Vistas | Vision of U-City", Incheon International Digital Art Festival, Incheon, Korea

"Guangzhou Photo Biennial", Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China

"Nature | Nation", Museum on the Seam | Social-Political Contemporary Art Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

"The Dream Machine", The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

"Spectacle-to Each His Own", Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan

2008

"Images in the night", Le Grand Palais, Paris, France

"Expenditure", Busan Biennale, Busan MoMA, Busan, Korea

"Up: Chinese Contemporary Art", Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

"The Revolution continues", Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

"Mediations", Poznan Biennale, Poland

"China: Construction-Deconstruction", Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

"The 6th Shenzhen International Ink Painting Biennale", Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Shenzhen, China

"Go China-New World Order", Present-day Installation Art and Photography, Groninger Museum，Groningen, the Netherlands

"Re-Imagining Asia，2008-2009"，The House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany; The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, UK

"China Design Now, 2008-2010，"Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio, USA; Portland Museum of Art, Oregon, USA

"China Gold", Museum Maillol, Paris, France

"Synthetic Times: Media Art China 2008-International Media Art Exhibition", National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China

"55 Days in Valencia"，Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain

2007

"China- Facing Reality"，2007-2008，Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation, Vienn, Austria ; National Art Museum of China, Beijing "China Now"，Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen, the Netherlands

"Red Hot: Contemporary Asian Art Rising", Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA

"Floating-New Generation of Art in China", National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea

"Thermocline of Art-New Asian Waves"，ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany

"Chinese Contemporary Photography and Video", Gana Art Center, Seoul, Korea

"New Directions from China：China New Media Art, Plug.in", Basel, Switzerland

"Contemporary Photography from China. Zhuyi! China!", ARTIUM, Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporaneo; Palau de la Virreina, Barcelone, Spain

"Passion for Art", Essl Museum, Austria

"Made in China"，Louisiana Museum of Modern Art，Denmark; Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

2006

"Media City Seoul 2006", The 4th Seoul International Media Art Biennale, Seoul, Korea

"SUSI: Key to Chinese Art Today", Metropolitan Museum, Manila, the Philippines

"China now—Art at a time of transformation", Essl Museum, Austria

"Totalstadt: Beijing case", ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany

"New Urban Reality: Chinese Contemporary Art", Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2005

"Scapes: The Century and Paradise", 2nd Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China

"Mahjong—Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection", Art Museum Bern, Switzerland; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany; UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAM &PFA), Berkeley, California, USA; The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, USA

"Re-Viewing the City, Guangzhou International Photo Biennale", Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China

2004

"Between Past and Future-New Photography and Video from China", 2004-2006, International Center of Photography and Asia Society, New York，USA; Smart Museum of Art and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, USA.; Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

"Spellbound Aura-The new vision of Chinese Photography", Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan

2003

"Me and More", Museum of Art Lucerne, Switzerland

2002

"Urban Creation, Shanghai Biennale 2002", Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

"Media City Seoul 2002, The 2nd Seoul International Media Art Biennale", Seoul, Korea

"China-Tradition and Modern", Ludwig Museum, Oberhausen, Germany

"Golden Harvest-Chinese Contemporary Art", Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia