The 2026 Graduation Season of the Central Academy of Fine Arts concluded successfully on June 22. Due to exhibition installation and dismantling arrangements, our museum will be temporarily closed starting June 23, 2026. Please follow our subsequent announcements for the reopening date.
The participating schools and departments during this period include: the School of Architecture, Department of Sculpture, School of Design, School of Chinese Painting, School of Calligraphy, Department of Printmaking, School of Humanities, and School of Continuing Education. The graduation works presented by the above institutions cover diverse artistic forms, including urban landscapes, the revitalization of industrial and agricultural wastelands, ink painting and calligraphy, art design empowered by AI, as well as visual communication enhanced by cutting-edge technologies such as digital media and interactive design.
School of Architecture╲
Whether viewed as a public space or an artistic discipline, architecture has always stood apart from science and technology, which are widely regarded as free of ideological shackles. Every building is an intricate aggregation interwoven with physical conditions, power dynamics, cultural connotations, aesthetic values and numerous other elements. We no longer accept the supposed historical inevitability of any architectural style or cultural evolution; such notions are merely historical narratives constructed through specific perspectives and logical frameworks. Likewise, beneath architecture’s functional and aesthetic appearances lies a solid underpinning of power.
Against the context of contemporary society, translating the tensions among various architectural elements into artistic expression has become the core creative focus of this year’s undergraduate architecture students.
The graduation works of this cohort predominantly revolve around regeneration solutions for spaces left behind during China’s decades-long urbanization drive since the reform and opening-up era. These include dilapidated traditional agricultural villages, decaying agricultural infrastructure such as granaries, abandoned light and heavy industrial zones — including coal mines and steel mills that have completed their historical missions, renovation proposals for unfinished urban buildings near Baiziwan, and renewal plans for ageing residential communities such as Wangjing Xiyuan and Wangjing Community. A representative example is the graduation project Regeneration Scheme for Xuzhou Longdong Coal Mine developed by the Architectural Renovation and Regeneration Studio. This project serves as a model case of integrated education, research and on-site practical implementation at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Department of Printmaking╲
At the heart of printmaking creation is the use of print-specific language with distinctive "print quality" to convey artists’ perceptions and authentic experiences of contemporary society. The so-called "print quality" largely refers to a unique charm inherent to print art, forged by merging the intrinsic aesthetic properties of various physical printing media with artists’ personalized expressive styles. Prime examples include the "cutting texture" and "wood grain" found in woodcuts. A reverence for and relentless pursuit of pure artistic language has long been a tradition across all fine arts departments at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a trait vividly reflected in the works of this year’s undergraduate printmaking graduates. What makes these pieces even more exceptional is their portrayal of the pure, fresh beauty of life, paired with a calm, tender and sincere outlook toward the world and the self. Free from grand idealistic narrative myths, they also steer clear of the extreme inward self-expression typical of modern art. This poised, peaceful and gentle temperament glimmers like crystal-clear gemstones amid today’s rapidly shifting society.
School of Chinese Painting
School of Calligraphy╲
Graduation works from the School of Chinese Painting and the School of Calligraphy lay particular emphasis on inheriting and relentlessly refining traditional artistic language, which can be regarded as the fundamental ethos shared by all fine arts departments at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Art serves as a medium for perceiving and representing the world. Rooted in the time-honored cultural lineage of the Chinese nation, traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy embody a uniquely Chinese way of sensing the world and translating such perceptions into visual forms. Therefore, the rigorous, lifelong cultivation of painting and calligraphic language transcends mere formal techniques, evolving into an essential vehicle for artistic expression that embodies contemporary Chinese identity.
Department of Sculpture╲
Most graduation works of the Department of Sculpture are dedicated to carrying forward the lineage of traditional sculptural language in the dimensions of representation, expression, metaphor and symbolism. Nevertheless, this year’s creations have made remarkable breakthroughs particularly in conceptual exploration and material expansion at the intersection of sculpture and installation art. Take Vanity by Li Kejia as an example: skyscrapers carved and shaped from found object computer keyboards stand as the Babel Tower of humanity in the new century and a mirage of mankind in a new era. Surrounded and enclosed by four-sided glass mirrors, the skyscraper forms simultaneously reconstruct a vectorized landscape of towering buildings.
School of Design╲
Contemporary design art increasingly leans toward expressing creators’ real-time social experiences and inner emotions, which stands in stark contrast to the focus of traditional art and design. Traditional design places greater emphasis on technical limitations of material media, practical utility and functionality, cost comparability, traditional elements, prevailing aesthetic trends, and formal beauty. This shift is clearly evident in the graduation works of undergraduate students from the School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts. As technology, function and structure increasingly give way to form, light and shadow, color, space, and even interactivity and virtuality, design art has embraced the concept of expansive design. Meanwhile, the dividing lines between design and installation, performance, digital and other art forms have grown increasingly blurred. The undergraduate works of this year reflect the multifaceted complexity of design as a contemporary discipline, as well as the tremendous efforts these young artists have poured into sincerely articulating their personal perceptions and lived experiences. To a certain extent, such sincerity and purity constitute the most precious essence of art.
We look forward to the arrival of
the 2027 CAFA Graduation Season
Editor-in-Chief: He Yisha
Responsible Editor: Du Yinzhu
Contributor: Hong Mei
On-site Photographs: Sun Xiaomeng
