ARARIO GALLERY SHANGHAI is pleased to announce the opening of the inaugural exhibition at its new Shanghai space, titled Fluid in Forms, running from March 19 (Wed) to May 11 (Sun), 2025. Curated by LIANG Qing, this group exhibition will feature works by artists KIM Byoungho (b. 1974, Korea), KIM Inbai (b. 1978, Korea), LEE Jeongbae (b. 1974, Korea), LEE Seung Ae (b. 1979, Korea), LIM Nosik (b. 1989, Korea), CHEN Yufan (b. 1973, China), CHEN Yujun (b. 1976, China), HU Yun (b. 1986, China), Pocono ZHAO Yu (b. 1990, China), and Kohei YAMADA (b. 1997, Japan). This exhibition explores the diverse interpretations of everyday elements and the individual expressive approaches to the fluidity of reality as reflected in the practices of the 10 participating artists spanning a generation. Through this, it seeks to shed light on how East Asian visual traditions continue to evolve and transform within today’s global context. 

In the realm of the intangible, all things remain in flux. The notion of “Fluid in Forms (虛实相)” signifies a dynamic presence—a continuous state of becoming—that nurtures infinite possibilities amid the dissolution of boundaries. The concept of Xu (虛, the intangible) and Shi (实, the substantial) embodies a transformation in which being and non-being give rise to one another, forming impressions and perceptions that remain elusive and difficult to define. The distinction between Xu (虛) and Shi (实) in tangible objects is shaped entirely by the perceiving subject, with its clarity dynamically reflecting one’s relationship with the surrounding environment. The resulting “Fluid in Forms (虛实相)”—where Xiàng (相) exists within Xu Shi (虚实), or the Shi Xiàng (实相) of Xu (虚)—is no longer merely the external manifestation of objects but rather a subjective image, delineated and constructed by human consciousness.

The disjunction between objective image and subjective imagery creates the reality of the intangible, which, owing to its ambiguous and hazy boundaries, possesses an imagination far exceeding that of the substantial. In the East Asian tradition of expression, clear and distinct boundaries are typically avoided in favour of absence, emptiness, void, or indeterminacy, yet present more of the unseen. The vagueness of form curtails the fixation on rigid, concrete entities, liberating the meaning of objects from their inherent physical constraints. Their meanings are no longer confined to an inherent physicality but can wander and transition across time and field, opening up broader possibilities.

Opening Reception
March 19, 2025 | 3 – 7 PM

Address
ARARIO GALLERY SHANGHAI, 2F-205, 30 Wen’an Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai, China 200085

Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Saturday ｜11 AM – 6 PM

Artist
KIM Byoungho, KIM Inbai, LEE Jeongbae, LEE Seung Ae, LIM Nosik, CHEN Yufan, CHEN Yujun, HU Yun, Pocono ZHAO Yu, Kohei YAMADA

Curator
LIANG Qing

Exhibition Dates
March 19 – May 11, 2025

Website
https://www.arariogallery.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/arariogallery_official/

Contact
sojung.kang@arariogallery.com
+82-10-9256-1491

About Artists

The 10 artists presented in this exhibition share the homogeneous yet distinctly diverse traditions of the East Asian cultural sphere while simultaneously experiencing varying degrees of modernity’s impact. Their works are largely connected to nature, yet the images they evoke are not entirely clear-cut representations. Instead, tangible entities are absorbed into the flow of time, continuously oscillating between appearance and withdrawal. Korean artist KIM Inbai (b. 1978, Korea) explores the invisible as a catalyst for expanding perception by simulating or observing phenomena that do not exist in visual reality. He translates the body into points, lines, and planes within space or paints it as vast and imbued with the atmosphere of traditional East Asian landscape paintings. LIM Nosik (b. 1989, Korea) similarly focuses on landscapes in his recent works and continuously explores intangible forces. Through a mode of reciprocal self-forgetfulness in observation, he depicts air and transparent atmospheres.

Chinese artists CHEN Yufan (b. 1973, China) and CHEN Yujun (b. 1976, China) draw upon memories of their hometown and their experiences of prolonged migration. Their distinct personalities yield markedly different artistic styles: the former articulates his experiences and reflections on individual existence, repetitive labour, and social order using a calm, abstract language, whereas the latter constructs scenes where memory and reality interweave in a passionate and integrative manner, thereby seeking answers regarding self-redemption and the direction of human nomadic life towards a distant future. 

Korean artist LEE Jeongbae (b. 1974, Korea) captures fragments of mountains, rivers, and the sky within urban landscapes. Using geometric divisions and industrial materials such as FRP and aluminium panels, he reconstructs nature – torn apart by capitalism and materialism – into unique abstract landscapes. Similarly engaged with the urban landscape, Japanese artist Kohei YAMADA (b. 1997, Japan) expresses a distinctive sense of chromatic depth, density and contemplation through layered geometric fields of colour. By superimposing different colour fields, he reveals ‘boundaries’ as connecting and intermediate spaces.

Another subtle thread woven through the exhibition is the artists’ displacement and deduction of objects’ semantics. By dissociating and dislocating objects from their original meanings, they activate novel interpretations within contemporary contexts, wherein “meaning transcends mere material form.” In the works of Korean artist LEE Seung Ae (b. 1979, Korea), plant images conceal intangible elements such as emotion and faith, while invisible forces—energy, sentiment, light, and sound—permeate the space between the inner and outer worlds. KIM Byongho (b. 1974, Korea) likens his sculptures to artificially cultivated “gardens,” employing precise mechanical replication and paradoxical critique to expose the tensions and contradictions between the individual and the collective, homogeneity and difference, within a modern civilization built on rationalism. 

Chinese artist HU Yun (b. 1986, China) traces, collects, and re-edits historical fragments to explore the boundaries between reality and transcendence, materiality and spirituality, visibility and invisibility. The plant images in his work similarly acquire richer and more diverse semantics through the deep cultural context that underpins it. Pocono ZHAO Yu (b. 1990, China), on the other hand, seeks to transform a “self-culture” perspective into one of “other cultures.” Drawing from walking and personal experience, she employs elements from semiotics, literature, and related social sciences to deconstruct scenes, thereby revealing the global flows of civilization and cultural transformation. In her works, new narrators emerge as “intruders” who interrogate historical truth and explore the intricate interplay between originals and replicas.

In the realm of the intangible, all things remain in flux. The notion of “fluid in forms” signifies a dynamic presence, a continuous state of becoming—that nurtures infinite possibilities amid the chaos of dissolving boundaries. As the Suzhou Creek flows forward, ARARIO GALLERY inaugurates a new chapter in Shanghai.

(Text and images courtesy of ARARIO GALLERY SHANGHAI)