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Collage of five diverse artworks from the Hammer Museum Collections side by side. From left to right: 1) Contemporary painting of two embracing figures with surreal elements. 2) Post-impressionist style painting of trees with vibrant blues and greens. 3) Black and white illustration of a face with intricate patterns. 4) Japanese woodblock print style image of a figure in a checkered robe. 5) Photograph of a couple dancing, the woman in a black dress and the man in white

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Photograph of a young girl sitting on a wall looking toward the skyline of Shenzhen

Cruel Youth Diary: Chinese Photography and Video from the Haudenschild Collection

  • – This is a past exhibition

Selected from a recent major gift of works to the Hammer Contemporary Collection by the Haudenschild family, this exhibition focuses on pioneering Chinese photography and video from the 1990s and early 2000s. Cruel Youth Diary looks at a generation of artists whose work responded to a period of tremendous social, political, and economic change in mainland China. Through strategies of Conceptual art, performance, and installation, these artists reflected on and critiqued the visual culture of a burgeoning new China on the cusp of the 21st century.

Featuring works by Cao Fei, Chen Shaoxiong, Feng Mengbo, Hong Hao, Kan Xuan, Liu Wei, Shi Yong, Song Tao, Weng Fen (also known as Weng Peijun), Xiang Liqing, Xu Zhen, Yang Fudong, Yang Yong, Yang Zhenzhong, Zhao Bandi, and Zhu Jia.

Cruel Youth Diary: Chinese Photography and Video from the Haudenschild Collection is organized by Nicholas Barlow, curatorial assistant, with Aram Moshayedi, Robert Soros Senior Curator. 

Cruel Youth Diary: Chinese Photography and Video from the Haudenschild Collection is made possible by East West Bank.

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