Person

Born in 1977, Xu Zhen lives and works in Shanghai. A conceptual artist whose work takes many forms, Xu Zhen expertly manipulates western expectations of Chinese art and commerce. In 2009, he founded ‘MadeIn Company’ as a ‘contemporary art-creation corporation.’ Operating as MadeIn and abandoning his own name and artistic identity, Xu Zhen produced works ranging from painting, sculpture and installation to photography, performance and video. In 2013, MadeIn Company launched the brand ‘Xu Zhen’, thereby presenting the artist himself as a commodity, and now prefers his name to be recorded as XU ZHEN®, est. 2013, Shanghai, China. Xu Zhen has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions including ‘Alien’, ShanghArt West Bund (2018); ‘Xu Zhen’, James Cohan Gallery, New York (2016); ‘Xu Zhen Solo Exhibition’, Long Museum, Shanghai; ‘Xu Zhen’, Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria (all 2015); ‘Blissful As Gods’ at Space 2, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai; ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai (2014); ShangHART Singapore (all 2014); ‘Xu Zhen: A MadeIn Company Production’, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2014); ‘MadeIn Company’, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai (2012) and ‘Physique of Consciousness’, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (2011), as well as participating in major international group exhibitions, including ‘Turning Point: Contemporary Art in China Since 2000’, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai (2016) and ‘What About the Art? Contemporary Art from China’ at Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq (2016). Xu Zhen was the commissioned artist for the New York Armory Show in 2014. He was included in the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), represented China at the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005, and his work Eternity featured in the 20th Biennale of Sydney (2016).