Xu Bing (Chinese, b. 1955)
Xu is an artist renowned for his work with written language as art form and subject. He developed a system for writing called “square word calligraphy,” an interactive process that encourages the audience to attempt to decipher Bing’s text. Before coming to the US, Xu earned his BA from the printmaking department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Most of his work alludes to the Communist regime under Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution.
Xu’s works are internationally recognized and have been exhibited and held in the collections of various museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York; Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas; the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the National Gallery of Prague, Czech Republic; and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne.
