When a boat slowly paddling by,
The crowd slowly gathers.
We know,
Why we encounter.
Because we come with,
The ideologies we share for art,
The passion we share for materials,
The innocence we have for heaven and earth,
We long to move forward side by side.
Looking back to the moment when the "Material Thinking" International Contemporary Material Art Biennale first set sail, its journey began from the halls of Tsinghua University. Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, it received unwavering support from artists and scholars across 80 different nations, with over 2,000 submissions. In December 2022, when the first exhibition was unveiled simultaneously in Qingdao and Beijing, marking the official start of the luminous journey of "Material Thinking." Though the journey began amid adversity, the overwhelming response allowed us to glimpse the infinite potential and expansive future of material art in contemporary art field. Like a new wave, brimming with energy and momentum, it propels the great ship of "Material Thinking" as it sounds its horn and sets a voyage towards the horizon.
The theme of "Material Thinking" encapsulates its essence. This academic brand focuses on "material art," striving to uncover the agency, spontaneity, and spirit of matter. It invites us to rethink our traditional perceptions of materiality, to ponder how material shapes our lives, and how it influences our relationships—with ourselves, with others, and with the outside world. It calls us to reflect on modernity’s anthropocentrism and to move towards an ecological discourse rooted in post-humanism. This is not only an art exhibition but an academic movement, one that seeks to reframe and reconstruct contemporary art through biennial actions, offering new theories, practices, and perspectives by viewing art through the lens of materiality, the dimensions of matter, and new materialist philosophy. In doing so, "Material Thinking" guides the transformation of contemporary art.
When "Material Thinking" sailed into the picturesque land of Karamay, Xinjiang—a city infused with the textures of oil and steel—it drew upon a new strength and spirit. The unique local culture, customs, and natural beauty of this region breathed fresh inspiration into both the artists and the evolution of contemporary material art. As a result, this year’s "Material Thinking" expands into a full art season, composed of three parts: the second "Material Thinking" International Contemporary Material Art Biennale, the Karamay Youth Mine•Wild Art Creation Camp, and the Karamay-themed Photography and Oil Painting Exhibition. These projects infuse this traveling academic brand with more regional elements and site-specific experiences, giving it broader perspectives, greater influence, and enduring vitality.
The Biennale, following careful selection, will present over 200 works from 48 countries across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. The creation camp will welcome nearly 20 outstanding young artists from home and aboard to showcase site-specific works. The plein-air exhibition will feature over 70 photography and oil paintings created by faculty and students from Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design during their summer practice in Karamay. This year’s art season promises a distinctive artistic feast for the audience, with a rich and diverse array of creative forms.
As "Material Thinking" progresses to this point, we are surrounded by many old friends, while continually welcoming new ones. From across the globe, across the mountains and seas, we gather here through our artworks, exchanging ideas and building common understandings. In the golden autumn of September, we gather in Northern Xinjiang. We believe this grand material art festival in Karamay will be more than a brilliant season in the river of time—it will be an embrace across time and space, a moment engraved in memory.