Zheng Guogu

Born in 1970 in Yangjiang, Guangdong province, where he currently lives and works, Zheng Guogu graduated from the printmaking department at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1992.

Zheng Guogu’s artistic practices utilize a wide range of media in order to express the extensive diversity of the ideas he develops in connection with the processes of life. In 2000, Zheng Guogu initiated »The Age Of Empire« (from 2012 onward, he changed the name from »The Age of Empire to Liao Garden«), a constantly evolving utopian domain

that provides a setting for his experimentations rooted in Chinese philosophy. The project merges complicated spatial modalities and social relations intrinsic to the notion of dwelling; from the conceptual ideal of space, to the practical implementation of construction, and day-to-day living. In his work based on the research on life’s energy, Zheng Guogu explores the relationship between symbols, concepts, and energy, delving further into “the aesthetics of energy”. Zheng Guogu is also one of the founding members of Yangjiang Group, an artist collective focusing on experimental Chinese calligraphy, founded in 2002 in Yangjiang.

Zheng Guogu’s solo exhibitions include: »Zheng Guogu: Visionary Transformation«, MoMA PS1, New York, 2019; »Zheng Guogu: The Winding Path to Trueness«, Mirrored Gardens, Guangzhou, 2017; and »Zheng Guogu: Ubiquitous Plasma«, OCAT Xi’an, Xi’an, 2015. He has participated in major group exhibitions and biennials including: The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9), The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Queensland, Australia; Social Factory - 10th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai, 2014; Farewell to Post-Colonialism - 3rd Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou, 2008; Documenta 12, Kassel, 2007; and Canton Express in Zone of Urgency, 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, 2003.

He received the Best Artist Award by CCAA (Chinese Contemporary Art Awards) in 2006.