In Guan Xiao’s “The Rising Torch”(2025), the modernist classic structure of “three standing ovals” is combined with the purely natural abstract form of tree balls to create the sculpture’s main framework. At its center stands a “nail” symbolizing a “torch.” The artist merges the nail from Gothic culture, which embodies an aesthetic of violence, with the torch representing direction and strength, resulting in a subtle transformation of their inherent characteristics. From the “torch” grows a silver motorcycle part, resembling a sprouting leaf. The exhilaration of new life is vividly expressed through the stark contrast between its sleek industrial finish and the heavy, handcrafted texture of the bronze elements.

In Evelyn Taocheng Wang’s work “Clayarks (With Feather) and Mirror and Imitation of Agnes Martin” (2024), the figure of “Clayarks” draws from Octavia E. Butler’s 1976 science fiction novel Patternmaster, referring to a human-animal hybrid mutated by a virus and seen as the “Other” by the dominant “Patternists.” In the work, the artist overlays the non-human Clayarks with the image of the Sphinx from Western mythology. Gazing at itself in the mirror, the figure subverts the classical narrative through the premise that “the Sphinx need not die,” mocking the mainstream’s hierarchical categorization of alterity. In “Frog Princess Flies Together with Golden Heaven Toad and Imitation of Agnes Martin”, the artist invents the character of the “Frog Princess” to address the absence of gendered narratives in fairy tales, infusing the work with feminist intent. The “Golden Toad,” a symbol of fortune from Chinese folk culture, enters into a cross-cultural dialogue with Western folklore. All these elements are placed within a grid reminiscent of Agnes Martin’s style, through which the artist seeks to explore possibilities of identity, boundaries, and narrative freedom in the process of reconfiguration.

Shuang Li‘s work employs resin, a polymer material, as its core medium, shaping it into the form of a “screen” while imbuing it with a subtle sense of life and temporality through its moist texture. “Route De Saint Georges” (2024), named after a street in Geneva, reflects the artist’s experience of isolation during the pandemic, which prevented her return to China. Memories are sealed like readymade objects within the transparent medium—both preserved and distanced, becoming a stagnant, elusive narrative. “Our Lady of Sorrows” (2024) draws on the Catholic imagery of the sorrowful Virgin Mary, transforming maternal empathy and pain into a distant yet intimate connection. It served as both spiritual solace during difficult times and a source of poignant reality.

Mire Lee‘s “Eyes of Fountain of Filth” series of sculptures are made from concrete and styrofoam. Within the context of the original installation at her 2022 solo exhibition at the Museum für Moderne Kunst, the works engage in a dialogue with texts by poet Kim Eon-hee. Lee often uses old construction materials, showing a particular preference for forms that evoke a sense of wear and exhaustion. For instance, a concrete mixer that once carried large quantities of concrete now bears dried residual layers that have become part of its very body. These objects possess massive “mouths,” yet remain unable to speak. Their volume, form, and inner depth convey an oppressive sense of dullness, perpetually and mechanically repeating physiological compulsions akin to vomiting, excretion, and parturition.

The Salama Tower in Doha, a modern symbol of the Gulf oil economic revival, reflects light and sky through its glass curtain walls, creating an optical interface where capital and environment mirror each other. Bamako Central Bank of West African States stands as a landmark of power within the West African financial system, embodying the economic aspirations of the post-colonial era. Dialoguing with these structures are animal ceramic figurines exported from China to the West during the Reform and Opening-up period—their crackled glazes, born of high-temperature firing, serve as both tangible traces of craftsmanship and metaphors for the ecological crisis of global warming. Through a cool and expansive lens, Cui Jie captures civilizational vistas against the backdrop of global trade, where the gloss of modernity and the alienation of technological industrialization are juxtaposed with anthropomorphic animal forms, evoking a complex nostalgia intertwined with memories and future utopias.