Gabriel Kuri catalogue

Aranya Art Center is pleased to present the first museum exhibition in China by Gabriel Kuri, and the accompanying catalogue, which is the second catalogue independently published by the Aranya Art Center. In this catalogue, we are privileged to have two distinguished guest contributors, the curator Julie Boukobza, and Humberto Moro, the Deputy Director of Program at Dia Art Foundation.

Boukobza’s semi-fictional essay takes us on a captivating tour of Kuri’s exhibition at the Aranya Art Center, led by an unidentified guide who assists the visitors in bypassing the entrance of the private Aranya residential community. This intriguing story accentuates Aranya’s identity as a real estate developer, pointing out its private/public dilemma, engaging in an interesting dialogue with Kuri’s exploration of questions such as housing and shelter. Moro engaged in an extensive conversation with Kuri, covering a wide range of topics, from their shared Mexican memories to specific artworks that shaped Moro’s understanding of Kuri’s oeuvre. This intimate exchange provides invaluable insights into the artist’s life and creative process. Damien Zhang, the curator of the exhibition, looks at “time” as a piece of information in Kuri’s works through his text, dissected into three subparts—“multiplied,” “ambiguous,” and “capitalist” temporalities. Drawing inspiration from the observation of time, a traditional aesthetic training among the Chinese literati, he hopes to contribute another dimension of understanding Kuri’s practice.

Presenting Kuri’s exhibition at the Aranya Art Center and producing this catalogue hold immense significance for us. Many of Kuri’s artistic preoccupations, such as consumerism and real estate, offer an opportunity of self-reflection for Aranya. Aranya Art Center is committed to staging shows that provide a critical re-thinking of our own community, inviting the visitors and ourselves to deepen the understanding of the complex dynamics at play within our own cultural, economic and social landscape.

Special thanks to the Aranya and the Aranya International Culture Development Co., Ltd for their support in making this exhibition and publishing project possible. This catalogue is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Gabriel Kuri,” organized by Damien Zhang, the director of the Aranya Art Center, with the assistance of Wang Jiaming.

Editor: Damien Zhang / Coordinator: Jiang Ruoyu / Designer: Jin Yankai / Translators: Juliette Desorgues, He Xiao, Leah Huang / Editorial consultant: Owen Duffy.

Download a PDF of the catalogue here.