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Cheng Ran
Chung Kuo (Ck2k2x)
On the High Line at 14th St.
Daily, beginning at 7pm
Cheng Ran (b. 1981, Inner Mongolia, China) lives and works in Hangzhou, China. He is best known for his poetic films and videos that describe specific places and the experience of living in them. Cheng staged some of his earliest video works in his apartment, on the streets of Amsterdam, on a car ride through Iceland, telling grand truths through the mundane poetry of everyday life. His works have since expanded to immersive multi-channel installations and epic films that contrast historical sagas and rapid modernization.
On the High Line, Cheng presents the US premiere of his feature-length film Chung Kuo (Ck2k2k) (2017–2022; 65 min.). The film revisits famed Italian filmmaker Michaelangelo Antonioni’s controversial documentary portrait Chung Kuno—Cina (1972). Anotioni filmed the work at the invitation of the Chinese government, but focused on the people presumed to have been at the edges of his official tour. The final film sparked outrage among Chinese cultural critics and the general public for its failure to show an accurate portrait of the country.
Cheng’s film offers a new portrait of contemporary China, opening with the question “Is this another dream?” The film comprises 100 short documentary-style videos, each ranging from a few seconds to almost one hour. Taking place among skyscrapers, farmland, and wilderness, some of the clips are staged while others are filmed from life. With this work, the artist records the present and imagines future ghosts of modernization from his own perspective.
Organized by Melanie Kress, High Line Art Associate Curator.
Artist bio
Cheng Ran (b. 1981, Inner Mongolia, China) lives and works in Hangzhou, China. He has presented solo exhibitions of his work in institutions including By Art Matters, Hangzhou, China (2022); Center for Contemporary Art Tel-Aviv, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2018); La Non Maison, Paris, France (2018); K11 chi Museum, Shanghai, China (2017); MAC, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2017); New Museum, New York, USA (2016); K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China (2016); and YUAN Space, Beijing, China (2015). His work has been featured in group exhibitions at institutions including FRONT International, Cleveland, Ohio (2018); Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (2017); The National Gallery of Georgia, Tbilissi, Georgia (2017); Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, Singapore (2016); Xi’an Art Museum, Xi’an, China (2016); and Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong, China (2015).
Support
Lead support for High Line Art comes from Amanda and Don Mullen. Major support for High Line Art is provided by Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston, and Charina Endowment Fund. High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.
