Body · Illusion · Watchfulness
——The Epiphany of Eastern Aesthetics and Zhao Liang’s Dance Art
Time: 18:30–20:30, May 6, 2026
Venue: Lecture Hall, CAFA Art Museum
Speakers: Zhao Liang, Shao Yiyang, Yang Minggang, Wu Jian, Wu Hong
Organizer: CAFA Art Museum
Supporter: Chinese Academy of Arts
The Context-Praxis Salon is a public art education and academic event launched by CAFA Art Museum, aiming to connect and discuss contemporary artistic practices across diverse fields. We regularly invite experts and scholars from various disciplines to present their latest artistic practices and research findings to the public. Unlike the CAFAM Public Theatre, which adopts performance and exhibition as its core presentation forms, this salon showcases artists’ current practices through discourse and textual exchange. Together with the CAFAM Public Theatre, it forms a dual platform for the museum to conduct in-depth discussions and public communication on the cutting-edge frontiers of contemporary aesthetic education.
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请从中央美术学院美术馆西门进入学术报告厅
Off-campus visitors are requested to scan the QR code to register for entry.
Please enter the Auditorium through the West Gate of CAFA Art Museum.
Lecture Content
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In recent years, Zhao Liang, a prominent young contemporary dancer, has persistently pursued and explored the integration of modern dance with Eastern elements. He has established a distinctive artistic signature while infusing the ideas and concepts of modern dance into the ancient yet vibrant Eastern physical tradition, creating a series of stage works rooted in an Eastern cultural context. Among his representative works is the Eastern Spirit and Desire Trilogy, consisting of its first chapter Illusory Metamorphosis, middle chapter Tea, Illusion and Scripture, and final chapter Twin Retreats. His piece Martial Dance is an interdisciplinary collaboration between martial artists and modern dancers, seeking to liberate contemporary martial arts from the constraints of competitive sports. Another work, Divine Harmony, was created in a Zen monastery in Shanghai. All of these creations reflect Zhao Liang’s profound exploration and sincere passion for Eastern aesthetics. His artistic practice focuses not only on the innovation of physical movement vocabulary but also on embedding unique Eastern aesthetics into his dance works through striking visual expression. For this session of the Practical Context Research Salon, we are honored to invite renowned contemporary dancer Zhao Liang to share his artistic philosophy. Scholars from relevant fields will also be present to discuss and comment on the formation of traditional Eastern spiritual charm across diverse artistic disciplines.
Special Guest
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Zhao Liang
A leading contemporary Chinese dance artist, Zhao Liang graduated from the Department of Dance, Minzu University of China. He once served as a dancer with the Guangdong Modern Dance Company. Currently, he acts as the Art Director of Zhao Liang ART and a director of the China Dancers Association. He joined the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in 1998 and participated in international cultural exchange programs. In 2003, he became an independent artist and embarked on interdisciplinary creation. His representative work, the Eastern Spirit and Desire Trilogy — including Illusory Metamorphosis, Tea, Illusion and Scripture and Twin Retreats — integrates traditional Chinese opera with Western modern art. Inspired by Tang-dynasty tea utensils, Tea, Illusion and Scripture has staged nearly 200 global performances to date. His work Martial Dance further combines martial arts with modern dance. His choreographic works have won the Golden Lotus Award of China Dance and the New Drama Award of the Wenhua Awards. He also received the highest modern dance award at the International Dance Competition in Italy. Supported by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Fund and the National Art Fund, Zhao Liang has been selected for the National Leading Talents Training Program for Literature and Art.
Shao Yiyang
Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Vice Dean of the School of Humanities, doctoral supervisor and postdoctoral supervisor. She also serves as the lead researcher of Western Art History, Director of the World Art History Association, Member of the Art Theory Committee of the Chinese Artists Association, and Director of the Chinese Oil Painting Society. Additionally, she is the Executive Editor of the Visual Culture Series published by Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House. She earned her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Sydney in 2003 and once worked as a visiting professor at the University of Melbourne. In 2019, she was awarded the International Prize for Chinese Contemporary Art Criticism. Her major publications include After Postmodernism, Beyond Postmodernism, A History of Western Art, Modern and Contemporary Art of the 20th Century, Contemporary Art in a Global Context, and Western Art: A Visual History. She has led the translation of A New History of Renaissance Art and edited the series Documents of Modern Western Art Studies in China.
Yang Minggang
Doctor of Literature and Postdoctoral Fellow in Literary Aesthetics. He currently serves as Director and Research Fellow of the Dance Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Arts, as well as a doctoral supervisor. His research focuses on Chinese aesthetics, ancient literary theory, literary and art history, and art criticism. He has undertaken sub-projects of major art programs funded by the National Social Science Fund of China, including Research on the Current Assessment, Construction Goals and Evaluation Criteria of the Disciplinary System, Academic System and Discourse System of Chinese Art Studies, and Theoretical and Practical Research on Chinese Aesthetics and Artistic Spirit. He also presides over the Qing-dynasty sub-project of the key National Social Science Fund project A Comprehensive History of Chinese Aesthetic Consciousness. His authored works include A Comprehensive History of Chinese Aesthetic Consciousness: Qing Dynasty Volume and The Modern Transformation of Chinese Aesthetics. He is the chief editor of the six-volume series Studies on the Spirit of Chinese Aesthetics.
Wu Jian
Associate Professor at the School of Art and Communication, Beijing Normal University, and Doctor of Art Studies from Peking University. Supported by the China Scholarship Council, he pursued joint research in the field of Representation Culture at the University of Tokyo. His main research focuses on modern Chinese art theory and criticism, with a particular attention to contemporary dance practice and criticism from the perspective of art theory.
Wu Hong
Professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). He obtained his doctoral degree from the Graduate School of CAFA in 2019, and was a visiting scholar at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, from 2023 to 2024. His long-term research and creation focus on lithography, watermark woodcut and mixed media art. Characterized by woodblock imprints, ink diffusion and layered light and shadow, his practice is dedicated to the contemporary transformation of traditional printmaking, blending Eastern artistic conception with contemporary concepts. He has held numerous exhibitions at home and abroad. His solo exhibitions include Interpretation of a Poem, Calling Names Through Wood, Shifting Forms and Resonant Senses, and Wandering Ode on the Wall. His works are collected by major art institutions both domestically and internationally.
Host
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Geng Jinghua
Curator and writer, she serves at the Public Education Department of CAFA Art Museum. She curates and hosts art education programs including the CAFAM Public Theatre and Idea Lab. Her research focuses on case studies of contemporary artists, as well as the production and communication of public aesthetic education.
Chief Editor / He Yisha
Responsible Editor / Du Yinzhu
Editor / Zhang Ni
