Sui Jianguo's Art Center

Project idea

Mr. Sui Jianguo, a world-renowned Chinese artist, was the first to move his studio into the 798 Industrial Zone of China in the 1990s. Since then, more artists have come there, and it was transformed from an abandoned factory into a center for creating art and expressing ideas. However, as this district develops rapidly, art begins to deteriorate, and commerce takes the lead. As a result, artists move away one after another. That’s why I choose to locate Sui Jianguo Art Center in 798 Art District, where a spatial transformation that reflects the shifts in time and state, and the artists’ changing works following the times, form three overlapping time loops on display. The viewers are like the flowing water in a river of time; the works are the rocks in this river, forever quietly examining the water that constantly passes by them. Like a monument as well as a time tunnel, the art center brings the past of 798 into the future."

Project description

The timelines in the central gallery are circular and divided into three themes of self-healing, resonance with the times and freedom from limitations, representing Sui’s three creation stages. The three time circles are intertwined and overlap, allowing audience to step outside the flow of time and view the works from a different perspective, walking through the past and reality.

The west side of the central gallery is Sui’s studio, facing the gallery, which works as a repository of his memories; art salon area, where the works of young artists supported by the Young Artists Foundation, sponsored by Sui’s wife, are displayed. It gives young people a chance to showcase themselves, just as 798 used to provide opportunities for budding artists.

Technical information

The main structure of the building is made of steel.

The roof structure of the central exhibition space is combined with the exhibit transportation system of the exhibition hall. The exhibit transportation system consists of and transport the exhibits from the air to the designated exhibition area. lt can also be used as a medium for hanging exhibits and hauling works into the air during normal exhibitions.