Third Realm

Third Realm presents contemporary Asian art from the FarEastFarWest collection, a Shanghai-based organization that commissions and acquires contemporary Asian artworks and is housed at the MoCP. Capturing nearly a decade of crucial artistic production in Asia (2007-2013), Third Realm presents works by artists who use photography, film, installation, and performance to investigate liminal spaces. Covering a range of conceptual modalities and cultural contexts, these works disrupt binaries—of global and local, present and historical, spiritual and secular. Featuring artists predominantly from China, as well as Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia, and projects developed in Asia by international artists such as Paola Pivi, Third Realm connects works from across East and Southeast Asia to present a comprehensive view of contemporary Asian art that, while conceptually grappling with shared themes, is still resistant to broad categorization. 

This exhibition is curated by Davide Quadrio. Artists include Birdhead, Cao Fei, Comfortable Collective, FX Harsono,  Jompet (Agustinus Kuswidananto), Lu Yang, Sutee Kunavichayanon, Surasi Kusolwong, Gary Ross Pastrana, Paola Pivi, Sun Xun, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Xijing Men, Yang Zhenzhong, and Zhou Xiaohu.

FarEastFarWest was founded in 2007 by Eric Guichard and Davide Quadrio and serves as a production platform for artistic projects. The shared goal of its co-founders is to identify artists, select projects and produce historic pieces which address contemporary issues relevant to life in Asia. Individual artworks from the collection have been displayed in prestigious arts institutions across Asia and Europe. FarEastFarWest endeavors to continue promoting the visibility of the artists involved in its program.

Image: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Ghost Teen, 2009