Material: Ink on paper

The original artwork belongs to the Norton–Van Buren Archaeological Study Collection at American Academy of Rome.

Medium: Ink on paper

The original artwork belongs to the Norton–Van Buren Archaeological Study Collection at American Academy of Rome.

Material: Ink on Xuan paper

Dimensions variable 

Location: American Academy in Rome

The Wall and the Road is an installation comprising of The Wall (1990-1991) and The Road (2024). The Road was commissioned by the American Academy in Rome during Xu Bing's residency there. The work is a 24-meter long drawing of a section of the Appian Way (Via Appia), produced on site in partnership with the Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica in collaboration with students from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, Nuova Accademia delle Belle Arti, Istituto Europeo del Designas, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, and the City University of Hong Kong. The work was realized with the technique of rubbing, for which the process is as followed: apply natural adhesive to the object to be reproduced, cover it with a large sheet of Xuan paper, then "poach" the surface with ink-soaked cotton wads, and lastly, peel away the rubbing from the surface of the object.  The details of the Appian Way stone blocks preserved in the work bear witness to the centuries-old history of this ancient path. Xu Bing has used this technique before in the other work exhibited, The Wall (1990-91), rubbing drawing of a tower of the Chinese Wall. It is the first time that this work is exhibited in Italy. For Xu Bing, the technique of rubbing holds rich historical and philosophical significance: it not only contains traces of the past but also symbolizes revelatory communication that transcends the limits of time and space.

SCA-1 is an art satellite, it has been launched on February 3, 2024.

This satellite is produced by the Xu Bing Studio and Beijing Wanhu Chuangshi Co. Before SCA-1, among the thousands of satellites flying above us today, there are scientific satellites, meteorological, communication, and military ones, but an "art satellite" has been missing.

Xu Bing set the concept of this satellite as follows: "By inviting artists to participate in the Space Art Residency Program, we will share the rights and interests of using this satellite and create our own works.  It is an attempt to build a dialogue between space technology and contemporary art, extending our thinking to a broader space in exploring this highly 'futuristic' field.

Xu Bing Art Satellite Creative Residency Project public email: sca@xubingstudio.cn

Materials: Natural debris, found objects, frosted glass panel, projection

Location: Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, Texas

Dimensions: 219 x 366 x 50 cm / 86.2 x 144 x 19.7 inches

Original painting:  Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains, 鹊华秋色 (1295) by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322)

In Background Story, Xu Bing has created a shadow box using materials like straw, weeds, dried flowers, branches, and garbage to substitute for ink painting. The debris is used to create brushstrokes. Background Story has a dynamic tension between what Xu calls “the outward appearance” and “inner content” of the work in order to force a “faulty understanding of the object.” This confusion is further enhanced once the visitor examines the back of the lightbox, which creates the illusion of the landscape painting, and instead discovers the debris used to form it. This piece is commissioned by Asia Society Texas for Xu Bing: Word Alchemy. For Xu Bing, it was important to use the debris to create Zhao’s painting as the artist originally conceived it without the colophons and seals that are now filling the sky of the original painting. Always evolving his artistic practice, Xu Bing, for the first time here, projected the later added colophons and seals onto the Background Story glass display.