Centre Pompidou Adds to its Contemporary Chinese Art Holdings

A major group exhibition at the Centre Pompidou has brought the work of 15 contemporary Chinese artists into the museum’s permanent collection, expanding that collection by more than 20 percent.

The exhibition, “目 China: A New Generation of Artists,” presents the recent work of Chinese artists born from the late 1970s to the early ’90s. Notably, seven of the 15 artists whose work was ultimately acquired by the Centre Pompidou were women. Prior to the acquisition, there were 58 Chinese contemporary artist’s in the museum’s permanent collection.

Since the Covid 19 pandemic, artists in the region have had difficulty cultivating an audience outside of mainland China, the museum said, and this exhibition gives visibility to a group that has the unique perspective of living their formative years during China’s transformation into an economic powerhouse.

Alice Chen, Chen Wei, Cui Jie, Hu Xiaoyuan, and Lu Yang are among the artists featured in “目China: A New Generation of Artists” whose work now sits in the museum’s permanent collection. Both the exhibition and the acquisitions were largely made possible by Chanel, which has a history of promoting and expanding Sino-French relations in the arts and culture sector. 

Earlier this year, Chanel announced a partnership with Shanghai’s Power Station of Art that would see the restoration and enhancement of that museum, its collection, and its capacity to do research. 

“I am delighted that Chanel’s support will enable the Centre Pompidou to acquire works by some of the most dynamic young Chinese artists working today,” Yana Peel, global head of arts and culture at Chanel, said in a press release. “We are proud that the multifaceted and long-term partnership between Chanel and Centre Pompidou celebrates creativity in China, bringing it to diverse audiences in Paris and around the world.”

In that same release the Centre Pompidou’s president, Laurent Le Bon, thanked Chanel for helping the museum “deepen our engagement with the vibrant contemporary Chinese art,” an initiative the museum began with the “Alors la Chine?” exhibition in 2003.

Since then, the museum has worked to strengthen French-Chinese cultural collaborations. In November 2019, the museum inked a five year partnership with the Shanghai West Bund Museum that would see each institution lend works and experience to the other and support each other in organizing certain exhibitions. That partnership was extended for an additional five years in 2023.

The exhibition opened on October 9, just days before the art world descended upon Paris for the opening days of the newly rebranded Art Basel Paris, which opened to VIPs on October 16 in the Grand Palais.