“Back Cruising”, Through the Eyes of a Curator

Shen Chen's Research Trip

Date: Jan.17-Feb.16, 2020
Residency location: Zurich, Geneva, Winterthur, etc.
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In this historic time of crisis, we are seeking innovative ways to connect with people from all corners of the world. As the theme of the campaign indicates, “Back Cruising”, we invite audiences to cruise abroad and backtrack the exhibitions that they will otherwise miss because of distance or affected by the virus. Through the eyes of a curator, this series introduces a total of seven exhibitions, covering several most noteworthy projects by Swiss visual artists shown in Switzerland and other countries in 2019 or 2020, supported by Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

We have invited young Chinese curator Shen Chen to guide audiences through these exhibitions while offering his keen and precise perspective. Shen Chen, as a winner of the “Emerging Curators Project (ECP)”, went to Switzerland from January 17 to February 16 this year, for a research trip supported by Pro Helvetia Shanghai. But when it was time to return, his flight was rescheduled several times due to the outbreak of Covid-19, leading to a prolonged stay until the end of March.

Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, È tempo ormai di dirti addio, @ Gibellina PhotoRoad, 2019

Claudia Comte, I Have Grown Taller from Standing with Trees, 2019, Installation view at Copenhagen Contemporary, Photo: Roman März

Julian Charrière, Towards No Earthly Pole, Exhibition view, 2019, © the Artist; 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich, © photo credits: Jens Ziehe, 2019

Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz, Moving Backwards, Swiss Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, 2019. Courtesy the artists. Photo: Annik Wetter.

© Zimoun, 297 prepared dc-motors, 1247m rope, wooden sticks 19cm, cardboard boxes 10x10x10cm, 2019

Miriam Cahn, DAS GENAUE HINSCHAUEN, 2019. Installation view third floor, Kunsthaus Bregenz. Photo: Markus Tretter. Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Paris, and Meyer Riegger, Berlin / Karlsruhe. © Miriam Cahn, Kunsthaus Bregenz

Pamela Rosenkranz Healer, 2019, Robot snake, 120 cm, Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 14: ‘Leaving the Echo Chamber’, Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation, Supported by Pro Helvetia and Stiftung Erna und Curt Burgaue

Featured reviews written in Chinese include:

Swiss Artists in Photo Road Gibellina
Claudia Comte in Copenhagen Contemporary
Julian Charrière in MASI Lugano
Swiss Pavilion in the 58th Venice Biennale
Zimoun in MAC Santiago
Miriam Cahn in Kunsthaus Bregenz
Pamela Rosenkranz in the 14th Sharjah Biennial

(Banner image: Julian Charrière, Towards No Earthly Pole, Exhibition view, 2019, © the Artist; 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich, © photo credits: Jens Ziehe, 2019)