Ren Han
Ren Han (b. 1984, Tianjin) currently lives and works in Paris. In 2006, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in oil painting from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. In 2011, he earned a master’s degree in art (DNSEP) from École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Nice – Villa Arson.
Born in the year coinciding with the title of George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,” Ren Han’s formative years unfolded amidst the explosive urbanization in China and the rapid global proliferation of the internet. He incorporates images from mythology, nature, and the digital realm into his works, leading a series of research and reflections on the consumption of visual culture in the Internet age, using techniques such as drawing, installations, and site-specific works. He once said, “I question the meaning of humans continually constructing and deconstructing under the impetus of desire,” and his work is a Sisyphean response to the world.
Ren Han’s works have been widely featured in international exhibitions, including venues such as Monnaie de Paris; Jeune Création, Centquatre, Paris; Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris; Salon de Montrouge, Le Beffroi, Montrouge; Asian Art Museum, Nice; Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival, Xiamen; Today Art Museum, Beijing; Times Museum, Beijing; Taikang Space, Beijing; Nanjing Art Academy Art Museum; OCAT, Xi’an; Moscow Museum of Modern Art, etc. In addition, he has held solo exhibitions at institutions like the Musée du Nouvel Institut Franco-Chinois, Lyon; Zeto Art, Paris; Yishu 8, Paris; C-Space, Beijing; Qimu Space, Beijing, etc.
Works:
Vitae:
Solo exhibitions (selection)
2023: The myth of the absurd, Galerie Met, Berlin, Germany
2023: Inferno & Elysium, Musée du Nouvel Institut Franco-Chinois, Lyon, France
2022: After All That Fell, Zeto Art, Paris, France
2020: Bibliothèque de Ren Han, Yishu 8 Chez Tante Martine, Paris, France
2017: Void and Ashes, Qi Mu Space, Beijing, China
2016: Mirror Image, C-Space, Beijing, China
2014: Emulating Nature, C-Space, Beijing, China
Group exhibitions (selection)
2023: Oubliette Sous Ma Peau, Zeto Art, Paris, France
2023: Trouble, Patronage Laïque Jules Vallès, Paris, France
2023: Lots of Fireworks This Year, Yell Space, Shanghai, China
2022: Stones On Saturn’s Halo, Qi Mu Space, Beijing, China
2022: A Crack In The Wall, Asia Now, Zeto Art, Monnaie de Paris, France
2021: Symbiose, Asia Now, Zeto Art, Paris, France
2021: Wake-Up Call, Poush Manifesto, Paris, France
2020: A Kind of Form, Song Art District, Beijing, China
2019: A Ten Year, OWSPACE X Taikang Space, Aranya, China
2019: The Time in Between, George V Art Center, Beijing, China
2019: 64e Salon de Montrouge, Le Beffroi, Montrouge, France
2017: A New Collection of Poetry, AMNUA, Nanjing, China
2017: Amassing Force – 2017 Wang Shikuo Award, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2017: Enigma of Existence, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China
2017: Multiple Halo, XI Contemporary Center, Dongguan, China
2016: Puzzles, OCAT Xi’an, Xi’an, China
2016: Up-Youth: Young Artists Experiment Field, Beijing Times Art Museum, China
2016: Ghost in Flash: After Photography, Taikang Space, Beijing, China
2015: JIMEI x ARLES International Photo Festival| Engine: The Image-triggered Mechanism of Artistic Production, Jiageng Art Center, Xiamen, China
2015: 24 Art Project – Naissance, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2014: Everyday Anxiety – the 5th Jinan International Photography Biennial, Art Museum of Shandong University of Art & Design, Jinan, China
2014: Look Into the Far Horizon – New Voices of Chinese Contemporary Art, Musée des Arts Asiatiques, Nice, France
2014: Paper Being, Tianjin Art Museum, Tianjin, China
2013: Unboundedness, China Cultural Center in Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2013: ABC, Austrian Embassy in China, Beijing, China
2013: Consciousness, Tianjin Art Museum, Tianjin, China
2013: Contemporary Spirituality, Eglise Saint-Louis de l’hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
2012: New Directions: Young Chinese Contemporary Artists, Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA), Russia
2011: Jeune Création 2011, Centquatre, Paris, France
2011: Demain C’est Loin, Galerie de la Marine and Villa Arson, Nice, France
Art Fairs
2022: Asia Now, Zeto Art, Monnaie de Paris, France
2021: Asia Now, Zeto Art, Paris, France
2016: Art On Paper, Klein Sun Gallery, Pier 36, New York, USA
2015: ART021 – Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, C-Space, Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
2015: Art Beijing, Grand Space, Agricultural Exhibition Center of China, Beijing, China
2013: ART021 – Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, C-Space, NIB Rockbund, Shanghai, China
2013: DDessin[13], Atelier Richelieu, Paris, France
2012: Chic Dessin, Atelier Richelieu, Paris, France
2011: FID 2011 – the 3rd International Fair of Drawing, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
Artist Residencies
2023: PARADISE AIR, Matsudo, Japan
2023: Nouvel Institut Franco-Chinois, Lyon, France
2020: Yishu 8 Chez Tante Martine, Paris, France
Lectures/ Talks (Selection)
2016: Artist Salon, OWSpace, Beijing, China
2016: Artist Talk, Taikang Space, Beijing, China
2016: Space Regeneration Projects: art creations in alternative spaces, Beijing Design Week, Dashila, Beijing, China
2015: TEDx BohaiBay, Tianjin Grand Theatre, Tianjin, China
2014: Transnational Dialogues, Studio-X Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Awards
2019: Artist Fellowship, Ministry of Culture, Department of Hauts-de-Seine, City of Montrouge, France
2017: The Rock Award, Wang Shikuo Award, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Educations
2011: DNSEP(MFA) With Honors, Art Department, École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nice, Villa Arson, France
2006: BA, Oil Painting Department, Academy of Fine Arts Tianjin, China
Exhibitions: