Poetry goes no further than language: A historical moment of art becoming art again

Poetry goes no further than language revisited a defining moment in mid-1980s China, when a group of artists began to question all existing values and presumptions about art.

Among them were the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai-based artist Qian Weikang. Dissatisfied with the mainstream visual trends of expression and symbolism, they turned instead to conceptualism, using systems of measurement, process and chance as their artistic material.

Active for only a short time, their experiments circulated among small networks of artists and critics before many of the works were dispersed, dismantled or destroyed.

Drawing on extensive research and careful reconstruction, this exhibition reunited the complete experimental output of New Measurement Group alongside key works by Qian Weikang, bringing this rarely seen chapter of art history to Australia for the first time.

A new responsive commission by Melbourne-based artist Darcey Bella Arnold unfolded throughout the exhibition, creating a dialogue across time, space and language.

Curated by Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu.

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Past Events

Poetry goes no further than language: Curator Floor Talk

A guided walk through Poetry goes no further than language with Exhibition curator Carol Yinghua Lu and Buxton Contemporary curator Annika Aitken

Poetry goes no further than language: Curator Floor Talk

A tour of Poetry goes no further than language by exhibition curator Carol Yinghua Lu

i feel orange 校澄

An interdisciplinary experience of instruction, language and serendipity curated in response to Poetry goes no further than language

Conceptualism and China

This symposium invited leading art historians and curators to discuss various aspects of conceptualism and Chinese art

Guided tours: Poetry goes no further than language

A free guided tour of Poetry Goes No Further that explored the artists, ideas and histories that shaped conceptual art in China during the 1980s

Table Poem

Invited visitors to create automated poetry from falling notes, exploring chance, language and participation within Chinese conceptual art traditions.

Gallery

Ones to Watch

Contemporary art origins in China

Curator Carol Yinghua Lu discusses our current exhibition and the foundations of contemporary art in China.

New Measurement Group

Founded in Beijing in 1989, New Measurement Group used rules, systems and collective decision-making to strip away individual authorship and challenge conventional ideas about art.

Rise of conceptual art in China

Explore the cultural moment behind Poetry goes no further than language at Buxton Contemporary.

Qian Weikang

In 1993, artist Qian Weikang was given a simple instruction: create an artwork in response to 45 degrees.

Dig Deeper

Poetry goes no further than language: Carol Yinghua Lu in conversation with Claire Roberts

Carol Yinghua Lu discusses Buxton Contemporary's exhibition Poetry goes no further than language, her curatorial practice and her return to the University of Melbourne, with Claire Roberts.

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