A NEW LANGUAGE OF CHINESE LACQUER: CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION
Video teaser of BODILESS exhibition at EAST WEST SPACE Barcelona,
Contemporary art is often an experiment that leaves audiences perplexed. For China, the search for a unique voice in contemporary artistic expression is likewise an ongoing experiment—one that seeks to reclaim cultural authorship in a rapidly globalizing world.
Since the Reform and Opening-up, China’s artistic landscape has been deeply influenced by Western paradigms, especially those rooted in the Euro-American cultural sphere, often associated with Eurocentrism and its dominant aesthetic narratives. Under the relentless drive for commercial development, globalization has given rise to widespread aesthetic homogenization. This has not only shaped modes of artistic production but also narrowed public aesthetic sensibilities, creating a vicious cycle that restricts innovation and subtly imposes value systems. As a result of this pervasive homogenization, a nation’s cultural voice risks being drowned in the broader currents of global convergence.
Paradoxically, it often takes reaching such extremes for clarity to emerge. In the search for meaning, what resurfaces is not the chase for novelty, but a longing for emotional and cultural resonance—for identity. In response, projects like the national preservation of intangible cultural heritage have gained renewed attention, with the traditional craft of lacquer emerging as a particularly significant focus.
But must tradition be confined to its historical forms?
BODILESS, the new contemporary art exhibition in Barcelona | EAST WEST SPACE
While periods of retro revival occasionally emerge, innovation continues to propel cultural development. In an interview during Paris Design Week’s China Week, renowned Chinese curator Song Tao summarized the evolving dialogue between traditional Chinese lacquer technique and contemporary artistic expression:
Song Tao, art director and curator of EAST WEST SPACE
“Chinese contemporary art and design continuously seek traditional materials, techniques, and creative methods. Even within China, the artistic potential of lacquer remains widely underestimated. For many, lacquer is still primarily associated with traditional screens, furniture, and tea utensils—objects rooted in craft rather than in contemporary artistic expression. Yet lacquer technique and lacquer art belong to two fundamentally distinct realms. Lacquer, as a uniquely Chinese artistic medium, embodies both physical and cultural traditions deeply aligned with Chinese philosophical thought.”
— Song Tao, Paris Design Week, 2024
Having spent nearly two decades advocating for lacquer art—from field research to exhibition curation—Song Tao has witnessed its gradual evolution. Under his observation, the emergence of lacquer in contemporary Chinese art has only gained traction in the past five years, coinciding with a broader resurgence of interest in Eastern aesthetics. Young Chinese artists are increasingly embracing lacquer not as a nostalgic reference, but as a living, adaptive material capable of speaking to contemporary concerns.
It is within this context that Song Tao launched the “Bodiless Initiative”—a long-term project that seeks to foster dialogue between traditional craft cultures and contemporary Chinese art. The aim is not merely to preserve heritage, but to revitalize it through experimentation, and to carve out a new aesthetic language for Chinese contemporary art on the global stage. Europe was chosen as the initiative’s starting point, given its longstanding role in the art world and its well-established institutional frameworks. Yet the vision of “Bodiless” extends beyond Europe; it seeks to unfold within a truly global context. After debuting at Paris Design Week 2024 and subsequent exhibitions in Brussels, the project now arrives at EAST WEST in Barcelona.
ABOUT BODILESS: CONTEMPORARY CHINESE LACQUER EXHIBITION
The current exhibition, titled「Bodiless 脱胎」, brings together the works of five China-born and raised artists, each of whom employs lacquer as a central medium. In their hands, lacquer is no longer a static symbol of tradition, but a conduit for reimagining identity, history, and materiality. Through their individual practices, these artists explore the tension between the weight of cultural inheritance and the freedom of personal expression.
Contemporary Asian Art exhibition | Chinese lacquer at EAST WEST SPACE Barcelona
The exhibition’s title “Bodiless” references a pivotal technique in traditional lacquer craftsmanship, but also suggests a broader philosophical inquiry. It symbolizes a process of creative self-transcendence: shedding material and conceptual limits, and evolving toward a new expressive form. Lacquer itself—having demonstrated remarkable vitality over more than 8,000 years of Chinese history—is a fitting metaphor. Its continued reinvention attests to an intrinsic capacity for transformation, adapting seamlessly to changing times and functions. Like human potential, it is flexible, resilient, and full of yet-untapped possibilities.
FIVE CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ARTISTS
A spirit of innovation lies at the core of Song Tao’s curatorial vision and serves as a key criterion in his selection of artists for the exhibition. The “Bodiless” exhibition presents a group of emerging voices working across painting, sculpture, installation, and interdisciplinary practices. Hence, five artists though all work with lacquer, they each demonstrate a clear creative direction, a distinct approach to technique, and a unique visual language, which showcase their capacity of exploring the material’s potential for expansion, and making conceptual innovation through form, texture, and process.
ZHING SHENG | 钟声
ZHONG SHENG | Bodiless exhibition in EAST WEST SPACE
Zhong Sheng (b. 1971, Anshan, Liaoning) holds a master’s degree in Lacquer Art from the School of International Business at Pai Chai University in South Korea. He is currently Head of the Department of Arts and Crafts at the College of Art and Design, Beijing University of Technology, where he also serves as a graduate advisor. Rooted in decades of material experimentation and cross-cultural education, Zhong has developed a distinctive visual language that bridges traditional lacquer techniques with contemporary sensibilities. His work explores the interplay of natural lacquer with materials such as ash, linen, metal powder, mother-of-pearl, and turquoise, resulting in highly textural compositions. By reexamining the role of craftsmanship within contemporary art, Zhong contributes to the expanding discourse on lacquer as a dynamic and future-facing medium.
LIU LIJUN | 刘丽君
LIU LIJUN | Bodiless exhibition in EAST WEST SPACE
Liu Lijun (b. 1992, Fuzhou, Fujian) graduated from Minzu University of China in 2015.With a background in traditional Chinese painting, she later turned her attention to lacquer and has since dedicated herself to exploring its expressive potential. Her practice is driven by a persistent inquiry into how traditional materials can give rise to new forms of contemporary expression. Liu’s works often embody a tension between softness and sharpness, revealing a delicate balance that reflects both aesthetic discipline and personal introspection. Over time, her evolving body of work offers glimpses into her shifting creative state, shaped by the emotional and intellectual currents of each stage in her artistic journey.
OU TINGHZU | 区廷柱
OU TINGZHU | Bodiless exhibition in EAST WEST SPACE
Ou Tingzhu (b. 1991, Jiangmen, Guangdong) received his Master’s degree in Lacquer Art from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2017 and currently lives and works in Guangzhou. With a consistent focus on sculptural form, Ou has developed a distinctive practice centered on the image of the “tower”—a symbolic structure that encapsulates his long-standing interest in monumentality, spirituality, and the natural world. His works examine the psychological projection of power and reverence onto objects, drawing from both ancient ritual forms and contemporary aesthetics. Across a growing body of solo and group exhibitions in China and abroad, Ou’s practice continues to push the conceptual boundaries of lacquer as a sculptural language.
SUN WENJIA | 孙文佳
SUN WENJIA | Bodiless exhibition in EAST WEST SPACE
Sun Wenjia (b. 1986, Fujian) is a graduate of the College of Fine Arts at Fujian Normal University and is currently based in Fuzhou. His practice focuses on expanding the formal and conceptual possibilities of lacquer through multi-dimensional approaches that encompass installation, sculpture, and spatial intervention. Sun’s work is situated at the intersection of Eastern mysticism and contemporary abstract aesthetics, often traversing material, space, and action. With a keen sensitivity to both historical narratives and contemporary conditions, he seeks to unite the physical and the spiritual—investigating what he calls “the shape of time” within the context of the post-industrial and algorithmic age.
YAO BANGLIANG | 姚邦亮
YAO BANGLIANG | Bodiless exhibition in EAST WEST SPACE
Yao Bangliang (b. Chenzhou, Hunan) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education in 2011 and his Master of Design in 2015, both from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. His practice often carries a quiet narrative sensibility, balancing material logic with poetic undertones. Over time, he has developed a distinctive approach that transcends the flatness of traditional lacquer painting, allowing the medium to breathe within contemporary space. By layering, carving, and polishing lacquer into subtly shifting forms, he creates surfaces that respond to light and movement—transforming still materials into dynamic spatial experiences and extending the expressive potential of lacquer into sculptural form.
BOBILESS AND BEYOND
Under Song Tao’s curatorship, and through the practices of five distinctive artists, this exhibition forms a new and recognizable current within contemporary art. Drawing upon both the physical properties and philosophical dimensions of lacquer, these works engage in a dynamic interplay between tradition and experimentation.
We also could witness the potential of Chinese local artists in the contemporary art market—grounded in their originality, and shaped by years of dedication and sacrifice in their pursuit of lacquer as a medium. Lacquer art, though often viewed as a niche within contemporary practice, offers not only a unique material language but also a way of making art that is deeply rooted in history and the use of organic, natural materials. These elements together point toward a future of art that is both culturally grounded and materially conscious.
Together, the five artists embody the essence of “bodilessness”: a creative act of dissolving boundaries, reconfiguring meaning, and envisioning new futures. Ultimately, the exhibition reveals that innovation does not require the abandonment of the past—instead, it reminds us that inspiration often lies precisely within it.
Discover the unique textures of Chinese lacquer — one-of-a-kind works of art in the world.
FAQ: ALL ABOUT BODILESS EXHIBITION
WHAT DOES BODILESS MEAN AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT IN CONTEMPORARY ART?
“Bodiless 脱胎” is a contemporary lacquer art exhibition in Barcelona curated by Song Tao, featuring five emerging Chinese artists. The exhibition explores the transformation of traditional lacquer craftsmanship into contemporary artistic expression, bridging history, philosophy, and material innovation.
WHERE CAN YOU SEE THE BODILESS EXHIBITION FEATURING CONTEMPORARY CHINESE LACQUER ART?
The exhibition is currently on view at EAST WEST, an independent art space located in Barcelona. Following previous presentations in Paris and Brussels, this marks the third stop of the Bodiless Initiative’s international tour.
WHAT KIND OF ARTWORKS AND EXPERIENCES CAN VISITORS EXPECT AT THE BODILESS EXHIBITION?
Visitors will encounter lacquer works that move beyond flat surfaces—sculptural, layered, reflective pieces that respond to light and space. Each artist offers a unique visual language, revealing how lacquer can be both rooted in heritage and radically experimental.
WHICH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE BODILESS EXHIBITION IN BARCELONA?
The five featured Asian artists are Liu Lijun, Sun Wenjia, Zhong Sheng, Ou Tingzhu, and Yao Bangliang. Each brings a distinct perspective, technique, and conceptual focus to lacquer as a contemporary medium.
WHY IS TRADITIONAL CHINESE LACQUER ART BECOMING RELEVANT IN TODAY’S CONTEMPORARY ART SCENE?
Lacquer art, though often seen as niche, embodies deep cultural memory and material richness. This exhibition shows how lacquer—through its organic depth, philosophical resonance, and historical endurance—can play a powerful role in shaping the future of contemporary art.
HOW IS EAST WEST SPACE CONNECTING EUROPE AND ASIA THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ART?
By curating exhibitions like Bodiless 脱胎, EAST WEST SPACE builds cultural bridges between Europe and Asia, fostering dialogue through materiality, tradition, and innovation.
WHAT MAKES CHINESE LACQUER ART UNIQUE COMPARED TO OTHER TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES?
Chinese lacquer is unique for its depth, durability, and symbolism. Unlike other techniques, it transforms raw sap into layered, polished surfaces rich in cultural meaning and artistic complexity.
Exhibition view at EAST WEST SPACE, showcasing contemporary collectible art
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