‘Zhao Gang: Qingdao, Qingdao’ at TAG Art Museum, Qingdao, China

3 April 2025

From 3 April – 27 July 2025, TAG Art Museum presents ‘Zhao Gang: Qingdao, Qingdao’, featuring historical and new works by Chinese artist Zhao Gang.

In his practice, Zhao delves into the fluidity of individual identities, the clash of cultures, and the intricate interplay of fragmented historical events. The exhibition highlights Zhao’s personal resonance to Qingdao, a coastal city in China's Shandong Province, and his response to the city’s development over the past four decades. The earliest work in the presentation is a sketch entitled Qingdao Railway Station created in 1978 when the artist first visited the city. Serving as a prologue in dialogue with his latest works, it weaves a narrative across time and space with a new series of oil on canvases.

The paintings on view are arranged in collages of groups of four, taking the style of montage to reflect Zhao’s past and present memories of Qingdao. “These are accidental combinations”, Zhao says, “but they evoke different stories and emotions. Collage is a format of storytelling; the audience can form their interpretations and logical connections as they see the paintings.”

This fragmented composition also echoes social media grids. In his exhibition statement, Zhao discusses the influence of online platforms such as RedNote: “Two years ago, I visited TAG Art Museum and was captivated by the architecture. As I was preparing for the show, I stumbled upon images of Qingdao on RedNote which became a source of inspiration for these works. While social media offers a direct impression of Qingdao, I tried to channel my feelings by recalling personal experience in the city to the paintings, overcoming the impact of visual media consumption in the virtual world.”

Find out more via TAG Art Museum.