CAI Guo-Qiang 蔡國強

Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China. He was trained in stage design at the Shanghai Theater Academy, and his work has since crossed multiple mediums within art, including drawing, installation, video and performance art. While living in Japan from 1986 to 1995, he explored the properties of gunpowder in his drawings, an inquiry that eventually led to his experimentation with explosives on a massive scale and to the development of his signature explosion events. Drawing upon Eastern philosophy and contemporary social issues as a conceptual basis, these projects and events aim to establish an exchange between viewers and the larger universe around them, utilizing a site-specific approach to culture and history. He currently lives and works in New York.
Cai was awarded the Japan Cultural Design Prize in 1995 and the Golden Lion at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999. In the following years, he has received the 7th Hiroshima Art Prize (2007), the 20th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (2009), and AICA’s first place for Best Project in a Public Space for Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms (2010). He also curated the first China Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale, 2005, and held the distinguished position as Director of Visual and Special Effects for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In 2012, Cai was honored as one of five Laureates for the prestigious Praemium Imperiale, an award that recognizes lifetime achievement in the arts in categories not covered by the Nobel Prize. Additionally, he was also among the five artists who received the first U.S. Department of State - Medal of Arts award for his outstanding commitment to international cultural exchange.
Among his many solo exhibitions and projects include Cai Guo-Qiang on the Roof: Transparent Monument, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2006 and his retrospective I Want to Believe, which opened at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York in February 2008 before traveling to the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in August 2008 and then to the Guggenheim Bilbao in March 2009. In 2011, Cai appeared in the solo exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar, his first ever in a Middle Eastern country. In 2012, the artist appeared in three solo exhibitions:Cai Guo-Qiang: Sky Ladder (The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), Cai Guo-Qiang: Spring (Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China), and A Clan of Boats (Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark).
His first-ever solo exhibition in Brazil, Cai Guo-Qiang: Da Vincis do Povo, went on a three-city tour around the country in 2013, traveling from Brasilia to São Paulo before reaching its final destination in Rio de Janeiro. In October 2013, Cai created One Night Stand (Aventure d’un Soir), an explosion event for Nuit Blanche, a citywide art and culture festival organized by the city of Paris.
His exhibition, Falling Back to Earth opened in November 2013 at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in Australia. He currently lives and works in New York.
- 1957
- Born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China
- 1981-1985
- Department of Stage Design, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Shanghai, China
- 1989-1991
- School of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba, Japan
- 1993
- Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- 1995-1996
- P.S.1 The Institute for Contemporary Art: National and International Studio Program, Asian Cultural Council Grant, New York, USA
- 2008
- Core member of the creative team and Director of Visual and Special Effects for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China
- 2009
- Director of fireworks festivities for China’s 60th National Day, Beijing, China
- 2010
- Fireworks Artistic Director, Taiwan
- Core member of the creative team, Taipei International Flora Exposition, Taiwan
- 1995-
- Residence New York, USA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- 2019
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Cuyahoga River Lightning”, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape”, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- “In the Volcano: Cai Guo-Qiang and Pompeii”, National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Naples, Italy
- 2018-2019
- “Flora Commedia: Cai Guo-Qiang at the Uffizi”, The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy
- 2017-2018
- “The Spirit of Painting. Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado”, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
- 2017
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: October”, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia
- 2016-2017
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: My Stories of Painting”, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- 2015-2016
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis”, Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy
- 2015
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Penglai / Hōrai”, Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art KINARE, Niigata, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: There and Back Again”, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Unmanned Nature”, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
- 2014-2015
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Impromptu”, Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 2014
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: The Ninth Wave”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Moving Ghost Town”, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, USA
- 2013-2014
- “Falling Back to Earth”, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
- 2013
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Da Vincis do Povo”, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil and Museu dos Correios, Brasilia / São Paulo / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2012
- “A Clan of Boats”, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Spring”, Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Sky Ladder”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), Los Angeles, USA
- 2011-2012
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab”, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
- 2011
- “Move Along, Nothing to See Here”, Cohen Gallery, Brown University, Providence, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang--1040M Underground”, IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Intiatives, Donetsk, Ukraine
- 2010-2011
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Sunshine and Solitude”, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Travels in the Mediterranean”, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nice, France
- 2010
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Odyssey”, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Head On”, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant Da Vincis”, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- 2009-2010
- “Fallen Blossoms”, Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Hanging Out in the Museum”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2008-2009
- “The 7th Hiroshima Prize”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima City, Japan
- “I Want to Believe”, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA, Traveled to National Art Museum of China, Beijing / Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
- 2007
- “Light Passage: Cai Guo-Qiang & Shiseido”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune: Stage One”, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
- 2006
- “Captured Wind Arrested Shadow: Cai Guo-Qiang and Lin Hwai-min’s Wind Shadow”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Head On”, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Long Scroll”, National Gallery of Canada, Quebec, Canada
- “Cai Guo-Qiang on the Roof: Transparent Monument”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Stage”, San Gimignano Mountain and Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, USA
- 2005
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Life Beneath the Shadow”, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Paradise”, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: On Black Fireworks”, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern,Valencià, Spain
- 2004-2005
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune”, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Traveler”, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA
- 2003
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: An Explosion Event: Light Cycle Over Central Park”, Asia Society Museum, New York, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: For Your Pleasure Matrix 204”, Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, USA
- 2002
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Ethereal Flowers”, Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea, Trento, Italy
- “Cai Guo-Qiang’s CHADO Pavilion: Homage to Tenshin Okakura”, Hakone Open-Air Museum, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang”, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- 2001-2002
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: An Arbitrary History”, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France; S.M.A.K. (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst), Ghent, Belgium
- 2001
- “Cai Guo-Qiang:Iwaki Ninety-Nine Pagodas”, Gallery Iwaki, Iwaki, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Impression Oil Drawings”, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Performing Chinese Ink Painting”, Contemporary Art Gallery and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver, Canada
- 2000
- “Cai Guo-Qiang”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- 1999
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: I Am the Y2K Bug”, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
- 1998
- “Day Dreaming: Cai Guo-Qiang”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- 1997
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Cultural Melting Bath: Projects for the 20th Century”, Queens Museum of Art, New York, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Flying Dragon in the Heavens”, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
- 1994
- “Chaos: Cai Guo-Qiang”, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Concerning Flame”, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: From the Pan-Pacific”, Iwaki City Art Museum, Fukushima, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Calendar of Life”, Gallery APA, Nagoya, Japan
- 1993
- “Cai Guo-Qiang”, Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Naoshima, Japan
- “Long Mai: The Dragon Meridian”, P3 art and environment, Tokyo, Japan
- 1992
- “Wailing Wall: From the Engine of Four Hundred Cars”, IBM Kawasaki Gallery, Kawasaki, Japan
- 1991
- “Primeval Fireball: The Project for Projects”, P3 art and environment, Tokyo, Japan
- 1990
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Works 1988/89”, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Osaka, Japan
- 1989
- “Explosions and Space Holes”, Kigoma, Tokyo, Japan
- 1987
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Gunpowder Art”, Kigoma, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang’s Painting”, Office of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- 2019
- 「物之魅力:當代中國材質藝術」巡展,洛杉磯縣立藝術博物館,美國
- “Daisuke Miyatsu Collection x Kasama Museum: Blending the quintessence of modern and contemporary art”, Kasama Nichido Museum of Art, Kasama, Japan
- “30th Anniversary Exhibition: The Seven Lamps of the Art Museum”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima City, Japan
- 2018
- “Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, A Beautiful Elsewhere”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
- 2017-2018
- “From Life”, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
- “Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World”, The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
- 2017
- “Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition [Culture City of East Asia 2017, Tokyo], Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo)”, Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan
- “Highlights: La Collection de la Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain”, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), Seoul, Korea
- 2016-2017
- “The End of the World”, Centro Pecci, Prato, Italy
- “The Great Animal Orchestra”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- 2016
- “Culture City of East Asia 2016”, Todaiji Temple, Nara, Japan
- 2015-2016
- “Scenes for a New Heritage: Contemporary Art from the Collection”, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
- 2015
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2015”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata, Japan
- “Harmony and Transition: Chinese Landscape in Contemporary Art”, MARTa Herford, Herfod, Germany
- “Arts & Foods: Rituals since 1851”, Triennale de Milano, Milano, Italy
- “Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture”, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto Japan
- “Heaven and Hell. From Magic Carpets to Drones”, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium
- 2014-2015
- “Manifest Intention: Drawing in All Its Forms”, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli, Turin, ITaly
- 2014
- “China’s Changing Landscape”, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skärhamn, Sweden
- 2014
- “Bloom: ESLITE GALLERY 25th Anniversary”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- “Frank Gebry: Solaris Chronicles”, Atelier de la Mécanique, Parc des Ateliers, Arles, France
- “Vivid Memories”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- “I Look At Things...”, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
- “Ravaged”, M-Museum Leuven, Belgium
- 2013
- “Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- “Portrait of the Times – 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
- “White Light/ White Heat”, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice, Italy
- 2012
- “Dialogues with Contemporary Art from Museum Collection”, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- “Extra-Large”, Forum Grimaldi Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco
- “Longing for Perfection, 21 Years of Collecting by the Kröller-Müller Museum”, Kröller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
- “Swept Away: Dust, Ashes, and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design”, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
- 2011
- “Windflower, Perceptions of Nature”, Kröller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
- “Invisibleness is Visibleness: International Contemporary Art Collection of a Salaryman - Daisuke Miyatsu”, Agora Art Project x Space, Taipei, Taiwan
- “RegressProgress”, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
- “Water, Fire and the Earth”, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Japan
- 2010-2011
- “Nuit Electriques”, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Russia; LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón, Spain
- “Collector’s Choice / Collector’s Voice”, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
- 2010
- “Berliner Bilder”, Koidl Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany
- “Arts and Cities”, Aichi Triennial, Nagoya
- “Post Monument”, XIV International Sculpture Biennale of Carrara, Carrara, Italy
- “Alpha Omega”, DESTE Foundation Centre For Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
- “The Beauty of Distance Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age”, The 17th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- 2009
- “The Sky within My House” Contemporary Art in 16 Patios of Cordoba”, Municipal Archive of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
- “Bike Rides”, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, USA
- The 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Fukuoka, Japan
- “Stages”, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France, Traveled to 69th Regiment Armory / Deitch Projects, New York, USA, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, USA
- “Meeting Point”, 10th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
- 2008-2009
- “Prospect.1 New Orleans”, New Orleans, USA
- 2008
- “Academia. Qui es-tu?”, La Chapelle de l’Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France
- “New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond.”, Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue Exhibition Series II, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China
- “God & Goods: Spirituality and Mass Confusion”, Villa Manin Centro d’Arte Contemporanea, Cordoipo, Italy
- “Blood on Paper: The Art of the Book”, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
- “Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art”, Barbican Gallery, London, UK
- 2007
- “Artempo: Where Time Becomes Art”, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
- “6 Billion Perps Held Hostage! Artists Address Global Warming”, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA
- “Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- 2006-2007
- “Searching for Dreams in the Canals”, Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China
- “Shu: Reinventing Books in Contemporary Chinese Art”, China Institute Gallery, New York / Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, USA
- “Out of Time: A Contemporary View”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
- 2006
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2006”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan
- “Opening Exhibition: Eldorado”, Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
- “Min Tai Yuan Museum Collection (Inaugural Exhibition)”, Min Tai Yuan Museum, Quanzhou, China
- 2005
- “Arte all’Arte 10”, Tuscany, Italy
- “Translation”, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
- “(my private) Heroes”, MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany
- “Trading Place: Contemporary Art Museum”, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taiwan
- “DreamingNow”, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, USA
- 2004-2005
- “Past in Reverse: Contemporary Art of East Asia”, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, USA
- 2004
- “26th Bienal de São Paulo: Free Territory”, Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, Parque do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
- “The Snow Show: Harvested Ice”, Rovaniemi, Finland
- 2003
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2003”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan
- “Alors, la Chine?”, Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
- “Pulse, Art, Healing, and Transformation”, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA
- “Tate & Egg Live 2003”, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, London, UK
- 2002-2003
- “Ce Qui Arrive (Unknown Quantity)”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- “The First Guangzhou Triennial. Reinterpretation: A Decade of Experimental Chinese Art”, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
- 2002
- “Paris-Pékin”, Espace Cardin, Paris, France
- “3e Biennale de Montréal”, Cité Multimédia dans le Vieux-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- “The Galleries Show”, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
- “The Power of Art: The 2nd Inaugural Show of the Prefectural Museum of Art”, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, Japan
- “Tokachi International Contemporary Art Exhibition: Demeter”, Obihiro Racetrack and Nishimaki Park, Hokkaidō, Japan
- “Red Continent: Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition”, Gwangju Art Museum, Gwangju, Korea
- “Magnete: artisti stranieri in Toscana 1945–2000”, Fattoria di Celle, Santomato, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy
- “EV+A 2002: Heroes + Holies”, Limerick, Ireland
- “Art that Heals”, Apexart, New York, USA
- “Painting without Painting”, Museum der bildende Künste Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- 2001-2003
- “The Gift: Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality”, Palazzo delle Papesse, Centro Arte Contemporanea, Siena/ Centro Culturale Candiani, Venice, Italy; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale/ Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York/ Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA; Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton,Canada
- 2001-2002
- “Form Follows Fiction”, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
- “Arte all’Arte 6”, Tuscany, Italy
- 2001
- “Yokohama 2001, International Triennale of Contemporary Art: Mega Wave: Towards a New Synthesis”, Yokohama, Japan
- “Plateau of Humankind, 49th Venice Biennale”, Giardini di Castello, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
- “Sonsbeek 9:LocusFocus”, Sonsbeek Park, Arnhem, The Netherlands
- “Uncommon Threads: Contemporary Artists and Clothing”, Herbet F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
- 2000-2001
- “Shanghai Biennale 2000: Shanghai Spirit”, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- “Open Ends: MoMA 2000”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
- 2000
- “Media City Seoul 2000”, Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
- “Lustwarande / Pleasure-Garden”, De Oude Warandepark, Tilburg, The Netherlands
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2000”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan
- “The Quiet in the Land: Everyday Life, Contemporary Art and Project Axé”, Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
- “Sharing Exoticisms. 5th Lyon Biennale d’art contemporain”, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France
- “La Ville, le Jardin, la Memoire: Le Jardin”, Académie de France à Rome, Villa Médicis, Rome, Italy
- “Art Unlimited, Art 31 Basel”, Art Basel, Messe Basel, Switzerland
- “Erresistentziak / Resistencias (Acts of Resistance)”, Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea Erakustaret, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
- “Biennale of Sydney 2000”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- “Outbound: Passages from the 90s”, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, USA
- “Kunstwegen”, Public Art Project, Nordhorn, Germany; Zwolle, The Netherlands
- “Over the Edges”, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium
- “Pioneers of Chinese Contemporary Art”, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan
- “2000 Biennial Exhibition”, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA
- “Gratitude”, one day event and exhibition, Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, Taiwan
- 1999-2000
- “Zeitwenden”, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Stiftung Ludwig Wein, Vienna, Italy
- “Hiriya in the Museum: Artists’ and Architects’ Proposals for Rehabilitation of the Site”, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
- “Kunst-Welten im Dialog”, Museum Ludwig Köln, Cologne, Germany
- “Beyond the Future: The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art”, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, Australia
- “International Currents in Contemporary Art”, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
- 1999
- “Looking for a Place: The Third International Biennial”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, USA
- “Aperto Over All, 48th Venice Biennale”, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
- “Panorama 2000: Art in Utrecht Seen from the Dom Tower”, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- “De Opening”, S.M.A.K. , Ghent, Belgium
- 1998-2000
- “Issey Miyake Making Things”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France; ACE Gallery, New York, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- “Inside Out: New Chinese Art”, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York and Asia Society, New York/ Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrery, Monterrery, Mexico; Tacoma Art Museum and Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
- “La Ville, le Jardin, la Mémoire, Académie de France à Rome, Villa Médicis, Rome, Italy
- 1998
- “Remanence”, Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia
- “Crossings”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
- “Global Vision: New Art from the 90’s Part II”, Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
- “Site of Desire: 1998 Taipei Biennial”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- “Where Heaven and Earth Meet”, Center for Curatorial Studies Art Museum, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, USA
- “Wounds: Between Democracy and Redemption in Contemporary Art”, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
- 1997-1999
- “Cities on the Move”, Secession, Exhibition Hall for Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria; Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, France; Nov. 26, 1997–Jan. 18, 1998. P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma–Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Hayward Gallery, London, UK
- 1997-1998
- “Performance Anxiety”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago/ Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, USA
- 1997
- “5th International Istanbul Biennial: On Life, Beauty, Translation, and Other Difficulties”, Istanbul, Turkey
- “Future, Past, Present, 47th Venice Biennale”, Giardini di Castelo, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
- “Promenade in Asia II”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1996-1997
- “The Hugo Boss Prize 1996”, Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, USA
- “De Rode Poort (The Red Gate)”, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium
- “The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art”, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, Australia
- “Between Earth and the Heavens: Aspects of Contemporary Japanese Art II”, Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan; Rufino Tamayo Art Museum, Mexico City, Mexico
- 1996
- “Origins and Myths of Fire: New Art from Japan, China and Korea”, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
- “23rd Bienal Internacional de São Paulo: Universalis”, Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, Parque do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
- “In the Ruins of the Twentieth Century. Twentieth Annual International Studio Artists Exhibition OFF-SITE”, P.S.1 The Institute for Contemporary Art, New York, USA
- 1995
- “Contemplation”, Ho-Am Museum, Seoul, Korea
- “Ripple Across the Water”, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- “TransCulture, The 46th Venice Biennale”, Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, Venice, Italy
- “Art in Japan Today 1985–1995”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- “The Ever-Changing, Drifting Heat: The First Johannesburg Biennale”, Electric Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1994-1995
- “Heart of Darkness”, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
- 1994
- “Creativity in Asian Art Now”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan
- “Well-Spring”, Bath Festival Exhibition, Bath, UK
- “Mito Annual ’94: Open System”, Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Center, Mito, Japan
- “Making New Kyoto ’94”, Kyoto City Hall, Kyoto, Japan
- “Promenade in Asia”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1993
- “Outdoor Workshop ’93”, Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Japan
- “Silent Energy”, Museum of Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK
- 1992
- “Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner Telekommunizierbarkeit”, Transformator–Verein zur Förderung aktueller Kunst, St. Veit/Glan, Vienna, Austria
- “Looking for Tree of Life: A Journey to Asian Contemporary Art”, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
- “Encountering the Others: The Kassel International Art Exhibition”, Hannover-Münden/ Kassel, Germany
- 1991
- “Exceptional Passage: Chinese Avant-Garde Artists Exhibition”, Mitsubishi-jisho Artium and Kashii former train yard, Fukuoka, Japan
- “Asian Wave: China”, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1990
- “The 7th Japan Ushimado International Art Festival”, Ushimado, Okayama, Japan
- “Museum City Tenjin ’90: Circulation of Sensibility: Visual City, Functioning Art”, Fukuoka City Hall and Nagahama Port, Fukuoka, Japan
- “Chine demain pour hier”, Pourrières, France
- 1989
- “89 Tama River Fussa Outdoor Art Exhibition”, Fussa Minami Park and Kumagawa Shrine, Fussa, Tokyo, Japan
- “16th International Modern Art AU Show”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- 1987
- “55th Memorial Exhibition of Dokuritsu Art Association”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- 1985
- “The Jinjiang Area Youths’ Oil Paintings Exhibition”, Jinjiang, China
- “The Shanghai and Fujian Youth Modern Art Joint Exhibition”, Fuzhou City Museum, Fuzhou, China
- “Cai Guo-Qiang and Hong Hong Wu: Paintings”, Quanzhou Art Gallery, Quanzhou, China
AWARDS
- 2018
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA
- 2016
- Bonnefanten Award for Contemporary Art (BACA), Maastricht, The Netherlands
- The Japan Foundation Awards, Tokyo, Japan
- The Asia Arts Awards, China / USA
- 2015
- Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Award, USA
- 2012
- 24th Praemium Imperiale – Lifetime Achievement in the Arts (Painting), Japan
- U.S. Department of State ~ Medal of Arts, Washington, D.C., USA
- 2010
- First Place for Best Project in a Public Space (for Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms), AICA, USA
- 2009
- 20th Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture, Japan
- 2007
- Hiroshima Art Prize, Hiroshima City Culture Foundation, Japan
- 2005
- Best Monographic Museum Show (for Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune) and Best Installation or Single Work in a Museum (for Inopportune: Stage One), International Association of Art Critics, United States
- 2001
- CalArts/Alpert Award in the Arts, USA
- 1999
- Golden Lion, 48th Venice Biennale, Italy
- 1997
- Oribe Award, Japan
- 1995
- Japan Cultural Design Prize, Japan
- Benesse Prize in conjunction with TransCulture, 46th Venice Biennale, Italy
PUBLIC ART
- 2010
- “Ring Stone”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA, commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Public Art Program for Sloan School of Management
- “Odyssey”, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Arts of China Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA, commissioned by Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- 2007
- “One Stone”, Bronx Criminal Court, New York, USA, commissioned by the City of New York: Percent for Art Program Commission, for building designed by Rafael Vi ñoly
- 2003
- “Lighthouse”, Bandai, Niigata, commissioned by the city of Niigata
- “High Mountain Flowing Wate: 3-D Landscape Painting”, Roppongi Hills, Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan, commissioned by Mori Arts Center
- 2002
- “Turtle Fountain”, Dentsu Headquarters, Shiodome district, Tokyo, Japan, commissioned by Dentsu
- 2000
- “Skylight”, Oak Forest, Gramsbergen / Laar, The Netherlands, realized Sept. 1999, official opening June 2000, commissioned by Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, for the public art project Kunstwegen
- 1999
- “Dragon Boat”, Hakataza Theatre, Hakata Riverain, Fukuoka, Japan, commissioned by Hakata Riverain, Fukuoka
- 1998
- “Eighteen Saints”, Tocho-ji Temple, Tokyo, Japan, commissioned by Tocho-ji Temple
- 1994
- “Lion: Feng Shui Project for Mito:Chang Sheng”, Mito Train Station, Mito, Japan, commissioned by Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Center for the exhibition “Mito Annual ’94: Open System”
SOLO EXHIBITION
- 2006 "Captured Wind Arrested Shadow", Cai Guo-Qiang and Lin Hwai-min’s Wind Shadow, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- 1957
- Born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China
- 1981-1985
- Department of Stage Design, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Shanghai, China
- 1989-1991
- School of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba, Japan
- 1993
- Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- 1995-1996
- P.S.1 The Institute for Contemporary Art: National and International Studio Program, Asian Cultural Council Grant, New York, USA
- 2008
- Core member of the creative team and Director of Visual and Special Effects for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China
- 2009
- Director of fireworks festivities for China’s 60th National Day, Beijing, China
- 2010
- Fireworks Artistic Director, Taiwan
- Core member of the creative team, Taipei International Flora Exposition, Taiwan
- 1995-
- Residence New York, USA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- 2019
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Cuyahoga River Lightning”, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape”, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- “In the Volcano: Cai Guo-Qiang and Pompeii”, National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Naples, Italy
- 2018-2019
- “Flora Commedia: Cai Guo-Qiang at the Uffizi”, The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy
- 2017-2018
- “The Spirit of Painting. Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado”, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
- 2017
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: October”, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia
- 2016-2017
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: My Stories of Painting”, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- 2015-2016
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis”, Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy
- 2015
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Penglai / Hōrai”, Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art KINARE, Niigata, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: There and Back Again”, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Unmanned Nature”, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
- 2014-2015
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Impromptu”, Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 2014
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: The Ninth Wave”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Moving Ghost Town”, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, USA
- 2013-2014
- “Falling Back to Earth”, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
- 2013
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Da Vincis do Povo”, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil and Museu dos Correios, Brasilia / São Paulo / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2012
- “A Clan of Boats”, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Spring”, Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Sky Ladder”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), Los Angeles, USA
- 2011-2012
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab”, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
- 2011
- “Move Along, Nothing to See Here”, Cohen Gallery, Brown University, Providence, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang--1040M Underground”, IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Intiatives, Donetsk, Ukraine
- 2010-2011
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Sunshine and Solitude”, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Travels in the Mediterranean”, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nice, France
- 2010
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Odyssey”, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Head On”, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant Da Vincis”, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- 2009-2010
- “Fallen Blossoms”, Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Hanging Out in the Museum”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2008-2009
- “The 7th Hiroshima Prize”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima City, Japan
- “I Want to Believe”, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA, Traveled to National Art Museum of China, Beijing / Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
- 2007
- “Light Passage: Cai Guo-Qiang & Shiseido”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune: Stage One”, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
- 2006
- “Captured Wind Arrested Shadow: Cai Guo-Qiang and Lin Hwai-min’s Wind Shadow”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Head On”, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Long Scroll”, National Gallery of Canada, Quebec, Canada
- “Cai Guo-Qiang on the Roof: Transparent Monument”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Stage”, San Gimignano Mountain and Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, USA
- 2005
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Life Beneath the Shadow”, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Paradise”, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: On Black Fireworks”, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern,Valencià, Spain
- 2004-2005
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune”, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Traveler”, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA
- 2003
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: An Explosion Event: Light Cycle Over Central Park”, Asia Society Museum, New York, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: For Your Pleasure Matrix 204”, Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, USA
- 2002
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Ethereal Flowers”, Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea, Trento, Italy
- “Cai Guo-Qiang’s CHADO Pavilion: Homage to Tenshin Okakura”, Hakone Open-Air Museum, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang”, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- 2001-2002
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: An Arbitrary History”, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France; S.M.A.K. (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst), Ghent, Belgium
- 2001
- “Cai Guo-Qiang:Iwaki Ninety-Nine Pagodas”, Gallery Iwaki, Iwaki, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Impression Oil Drawings”, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Performing Chinese Ink Painting”, Contemporary Art Gallery and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver, Canada
- 2000
- “Cai Guo-Qiang”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- 1999
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: I Am the Y2K Bug”, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
- 1998
- “Day Dreaming: Cai Guo-Qiang”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- 1997
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Cultural Melting Bath: Projects for the 20th Century”, Queens Museum of Art, New York, USA
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Flying Dragon in the Heavens”, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
- 1994
- “Chaos: Cai Guo-Qiang”, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Concerning Flame”, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: From the Pan-Pacific”, Iwaki City Art Museum, Fukushima, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Calendar of Life”, Gallery APA, Nagoya, Japan
- 1993
- “Cai Guo-Qiang”, Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Naoshima, Japan
- “Long Mai: The Dragon Meridian”, P3 art and environment, Tokyo, Japan
- 1992
- “Wailing Wall: From the Engine of Four Hundred Cars”, IBM Kawasaki Gallery, Kawasaki, Japan
- 1991
- “Primeval Fireball: The Project for Projects”, P3 art and environment, Tokyo, Japan
- 1990
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Works 1988/89”, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Osaka, Japan
- 1989
- “Explosions and Space Holes”, Kigoma, Tokyo, Japan
- 1987
- “Cai Guo-Qiang: Gunpowder Art”, Kigoma, Tokyo, Japan
- “Cai Guo-Qiang’s Painting”, Office of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- 2019
- 「物之魅力:當代中國材質藝術」巡展,洛杉磯縣立藝術博物館,美國
- “Daisuke Miyatsu Collection x Kasama Museum: Blending the quintessence of modern and contemporary art”, Kasama Nichido Museum of Art, Kasama, Japan
- “30th Anniversary Exhibition: The Seven Lamps of the Art Museum”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima City, Japan
- 2018
- “Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, A Beautiful Elsewhere”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
- 2017-2018
- “From Life”, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
- “Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World”, The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
- 2017
- “Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition [Culture City of East Asia 2017, Tokyo], Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo)”, Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan
- “Highlights: La Collection de la Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain”, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), Seoul, Korea
- 2016-2017
- “The End of the World”, Centro Pecci, Prato, Italy
- “The Great Animal Orchestra”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- 2016
- “Culture City of East Asia 2016”, Todaiji Temple, Nara, Japan
- 2015-2016
- “Scenes for a New Heritage: Contemporary Art from the Collection”, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
- 2015
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2015”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata, Japan
- “Harmony and Transition: Chinese Landscape in Contemporary Art”, MARTa Herford, Herfod, Germany
- “Arts & Foods: Rituals since 1851”, Triennale de Milano, Milano, Italy
- “Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture”, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto Japan
- “Heaven and Hell. From Magic Carpets to Drones”, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium
- 2014-2015
- “Manifest Intention: Drawing in All Its Forms”, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli, Turin, ITaly
- 2014
- “China’s Changing Landscape”, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skärhamn, Sweden
- 2014
- “Bloom: ESLITE GALLERY 25th Anniversary”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
- “Frank Gebry: Solaris Chronicles”, Atelier de la Mécanique, Parc des Ateliers, Arles, France
- “Vivid Memories”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- “I Look At Things...”, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
- “Ravaged”, M-Museum Leuven, Belgium
- 2013
- “Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- “Portrait of the Times – 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
- “White Light/ White Heat”, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice, Italy
- 2012
- “Dialogues with Contemporary Art from Museum Collection”, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- “Extra-Large”, Forum Grimaldi Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco
- “Longing for Perfection, 21 Years of Collecting by the Kröller-Müller Museum”, Kröller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
- “Swept Away: Dust, Ashes, and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design”, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
- 2011
- “Windflower, Perceptions of Nature”, Kröller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
- “Invisibleness is Visibleness: International Contemporary Art Collection of a Salaryman - Daisuke Miyatsu”, Agora Art Project x Space, Taipei, Taiwan
- “RegressProgress”, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
- “Water, Fire and the Earth”, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Japan
- 2010-2011
- “Nuit Electriques”, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Russia; LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón, Spain
- “Collector’s Choice / Collector’s Voice”, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
- 2010
- “Berliner Bilder”, Koidl Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany
- “Arts and Cities”, Aichi Triennial, Nagoya
- “Post Monument”, XIV International Sculpture Biennale of Carrara, Carrara, Italy
- “Alpha Omega”, DESTE Foundation Centre For Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
- “The Beauty of Distance Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age”, The 17th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- 2009
- “The Sky within My House” Contemporary Art in 16 Patios of Cordoba”, Municipal Archive of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
- “Bike Rides”, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, USA
- The 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Fukuoka, Japan
- “Stages”, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France, Traveled to 69th Regiment Armory / Deitch Projects, New York, USA, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, USA
- “Meeting Point”, 10th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
- 2008-2009
- “Prospect.1 New Orleans”, New Orleans, USA
- 2008
- “Academia. Qui es-tu?”, La Chapelle de l’Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France
- “New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond.”, Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue Exhibition Series II, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China
- “God & Goods: Spirituality and Mass Confusion”, Villa Manin Centro d’Arte Contemporanea, Cordoipo, Italy
- “Blood on Paper: The Art of the Book”, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
- “Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art”, Barbican Gallery, London, UK
- 2007
- “Artempo: Where Time Becomes Art”, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
- “6 Billion Perps Held Hostage! Artists Address Global Warming”, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA
- “Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
- 2006-2007
- “Searching for Dreams in the Canals”, Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China
- “Shu: Reinventing Books in Contemporary Chinese Art”, China Institute Gallery, New York / Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, USA
- “Out of Time: A Contemporary View”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
- 2006
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2006”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan
- “Opening Exhibition: Eldorado”, Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
- “Min Tai Yuan Museum Collection (Inaugural Exhibition)”, Min Tai Yuan Museum, Quanzhou, China
- 2005
- “Arte all’Arte 10”, Tuscany, Italy
- “Translation”, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
- “(my private) Heroes”, MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany
- “Trading Place: Contemporary Art Museum”, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taiwan
- “DreamingNow”, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, USA
- 2004-2005
- “Past in Reverse: Contemporary Art of East Asia”, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, USA
- 2004
- “26th Bienal de São Paulo: Free Territory”, Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, Parque do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
- “The Snow Show: Harvested Ice”, Rovaniemi, Finland
- 2003
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2003”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan
- “Alors, la Chine?”, Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
- “Pulse, Art, Healing, and Transformation”, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA
- “Tate & Egg Live 2003”, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, London, UK
- 2002-2003
- “Ce Qui Arrive (Unknown Quantity)”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
- “The First Guangzhou Triennial. Reinterpretation: A Decade of Experimental Chinese Art”, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
- 2002
- “Paris-Pékin”, Espace Cardin, Paris, France
- “3e Biennale de Montréal”, Cité Multimédia dans le Vieux-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- “The Galleries Show”, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
- “The Power of Art: The 2nd Inaugural Show of the Prefectural Museum of Art”, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, Japan
- “Tokachi International Contemporary Art Exhibition: Demeter”, Obihiro Racetrack and Nishimaki Park, Hokkaidō, Japan
- “Red Continent: Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition”, Gwangju Art Museum, Gwangju, Korea
- “Magnete: artisti stranieri in Toscana 1945–2000”, Fattoria di Celle, Santomato, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy
- “EV+A 2002: Heroes + Holies”, Limerick, Ireland
- “Art that Heals”, Apexart, New York, USA
- “Painting without Painting”, Museum der bildende Künste Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- 2001-2003
- “The Gift: Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality”, Palazzo delle Papesse, Centro Arte Contemporanea, Siena/ Centro Culturale Candiani, Venice, Italy; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale/ Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York/ Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA; Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton,Canada
- 2001-2002
- “Form Follows Fiction”, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
- “Arte all’Arte 6”, Tuscany, Italy
- 2001
- “Yokohama 2001, International Triennale of Contemporary Art: Mega Wave: Towards a New Synthesis”, Yokohama, Japan
- “Plateau of Humankind, 49th Venice Biennale”, Giardini di Castello, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
- “Sonsbeek 9:LocusFocus”, Sonsbeek Park, Arnhem, The Netherlands
- “Uncommon Threads: Contemporary Artists and Clothing”, Herbet F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
- 2000-2001
- “Shanghai Biennale 2000: Shanghai Spirit”, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- “Open Ends: MoMA 2000”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
- 2000
- “Media City Seoul 2000”, Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
- “Lustwarande / Pleasure-Garden”, De Oude Warandepark, Tilburg, The Netherlands
- “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2000”, Tsunan Mountain Park, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan
- “The Quiet in the Land: Everyday Life, Contemporary Art and Project Axé”, Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
- “Sharing Exoticisms. 5th Lyon Biennale d’art contemporain”, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France
- “La Ville, le Jardin, la Memoire: Le Jardin”, Académie de France à Rome, Villa Médicis, Rome, Italy
- “Art Unlimited, Art 31 Basel”, Art Basel, Messe Basel, Switzerland
- “Erresistentziak / Resistencias (Acts of Resistance)”, Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea Erakustaret, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
- “Biennale of Sydney 2000”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- “Outbound: Passages from the 90s”, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, USA
- “Kunstwegen”, Public Art Project, Nordhorn, Germany; Zwolle, The Netherlands
- “Over the Edges”, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium
- “Pioneers of Chinese Contemporary Art”, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan
- “2000 Biennial Exhibition”, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA
- “Gratitude”, one day event and exhibition, Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, Taiwan
- 1999-2000
- “Zeitwenden”, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Stiftung Ludwig Wein, Vienna, Italy
- “Hiriya in the Museum: Artists’ and Architects’ Proposals for Rehabilitation of the Site”, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
- “Kunst-Welten im Dialog”, Museum Ludwig Köln, Cologne, Germany
- “Beyond the Future: The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art”, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, Australia
- “International Currents in Contemporary Art”, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
- 1999
- “Looking for a Place: The Third International Biennial”, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, USA
- “Aperto Over All, 48th Venice Biennale”, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
- “Panorama 2000: Art in Utrecht Seen from the Dom Tower”, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- “De Opening”, S.M.A.K. , Ghent, Belgium
- 1998-2000
- “Issey Miyake Making Things”, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France; ACE Gallery, New York, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- “Inside Out: New Chinese Art”, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York and Asia Society, New York/ Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrery, Monterrery, Mexico; Tacoma Art Museum and Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
- “La Ville, le Jardin, la Mémoire, Académie de France à Rome, Villa Médicis, Rome, Italy
- 1998
- “Remanence”, Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia
- “Crossings”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
- “Global Vision: New Art from the 90’s Part II”, Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
- “Site of Desire: 1998 Taipei Biennial”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- “Where Heaven and Earth Meet”, Center for Curatorial Studies Art Museum, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, USA
- “Wounds: Between Democracy and Redemption in Contemporary Art”, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
- 1997-1999
- “Cities on the Move”, Secession, Exhibition Hall for Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria; Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, France; Nov. 26, 1997–Jan. 18, 1998. P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma–Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Hayward Gallery, London, UK
- 1997-1998
- “Performance Anxiety”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago/ Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, USA
- 1997
- “5th International Istanbul Biennial: On Life, Beauty, Translation, and Other Difficulties”, Istanbul, Turkey
- “Future, Past, Present, 47th Venice Biennale”, Giardini di Castelo, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
- “Promenade in Asia II”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1996-1997
- “The Hugo Boss Prize 1996”, Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, USA
- “De Rode Poort (The Red Gate)”, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium
- “The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art”, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, Australia
- “Between Earth and the Heavens: Aspects of Contemporary Japanese Art II”, Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan; Rufino Tamayo Art Museum, Mexico City, Mexico
- 1996
- “Origins and Myths of Fire: New Art from Japan, China and Korea”, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
- “23rd Bienal Internacional de São Paulo: Universalis”, Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, Parque do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
- “In the Ruins of the Twentieth Century. Twentieth Annual International Studio Artists Exhibition OFF-SITE”, P.S.1 The Institute for Contemporary Art, New York, USA
- 1995
- “Contemplation”, Ho-Am Museum, Seoul, Korea
- “Ripple Across the Water”, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- “TransCulture, The 46th Venice Biennale”, Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, Venice, Italy
- “Art in Japan Today 1985–1995”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
- “The Ever-Changing, Drifting Heat: The First Johannesburg Biennale”, Electric Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1994-1995
- “Heart of Darkness”, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands
- 1994
- “Creativity in Asian Art Now”, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan
- “Well-Spring”, Bath Festival Exhibition, Bath, UK
- “Mito Annual ’94: Open System”, Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Center, Mito, Japan
- “Making New Kyoto ’94”, Kyoto City Hall, Kyoto, Japan
- “Promenade in Asia”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1993
- “Outdoor Workshop ’93”, Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Japan
- “Silent Energy”, Museum of Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK
- 1992
- “Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner Telekommunizierbarkeit”, Transformator–Verein zur Förderung aktueller Kunst, St. Veit/Glan, Vienna, Austria
- “Looking for Tree of Life: A Journey to Asian Contemporary Art”, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
- “Encountering the Others: The Kassel International Art Exhibition”, Hannover-Münden/ Kassel, Germany
- 1991
- “Exceptional Passage: Chinese Avant-Garde Artists Exhibition”, Mitsubishi-jisho Artium and Kashii former train yard, Fukuoka, Japan
- “Asian Wave: China”, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- 1990
- “The 7th Japan Ushimado International Art Festival”, Ushimado, Okayama, Japan
- “Museum City Tenjin ’90: Circulation of Sensibility: Visual City, Functioning Art”, Fukuoka City Hall and Nagahama Port, Fukuoka, Japan
- “Chine demain pour hier”, Pourrières, France
- 1989
- “89 Tama River Fussa Outdoor Art Exhibition”, Fussa Minami Park and Kumagawa Shrine, Fussa, Tokyo, Japan
- “16th International Modern Art AU Show”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- 1987
- “55th Memorial Exhibition of Dokuritsu Art Association”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- 1985
- “The Jinjiang Area Youths’ Oil Paintings Exhibition”, Jinjiang, China
- “The Shanghai and Fujian Youth Modern Art Joint Exhibition”, Fuzhou City Museum, Fuzhou, China
- “Cai Guo-Qiang and Hong Hong Wu: Paintings”, Quanzhou Art Gallery, Quanzhou, China
AWARDS
- 2018
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA
- 2016
- Bonnefanten Award for Contemporary Art (BACA), Maastricht, The Netherlands
- The Japan Foundation Awards, Tokyo, Japan
- The Asia Arts Awards, China / USA
- 2015
- Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Award, USA
- 2012
- 24th Praemium Imperiale – Lifetime Achievement in the Arts (Painting), Japan
- U.S. Department of State ~ Medal of Arts, Washington, D.C., USA
- 2010
- First Place for Best Project in a Public Space (for Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms), AICA, USA
- 2009
- 20th Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture, Japan
- 2007
- Hiroshima Art Prize, Hiroshima City Culture Foundation, Japan
- 2005
- Best Monographic Museum Show (for Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune) and Best Installation or Single Work in a Museum (for Inopportune: Stage One), International Association of Art Critics, United States
- 2001
- CalArts/Alpert Award in the Arts, USA
- 1999
- Golden Lion, 48th Venice Biennale, Italy
- 1997
- Oribe Award, Japan
- 1995
- Japan Cultural Design Prize, Japan
- Benesse Prize in conjunction with TransCulture, 46th Venice Biennale, Italy
PUBLIC ART
- 2010
- “Ring Stone”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA, commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Public Art Program for Sloan School of Management
- “Odyssey”, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Arts of China Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA, commissioned by Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- 2007
- “One Stone”, Bronx Criminal Court, New York, USA, commissioned by the City of New York: Percent for Art Program Commission, for building designed by Rafael Vi ñoly
- 2003
- “Lighthouse”, Bandai, Niigata, commissioned by the city of Niigata
- “High Mountain Flowing Wate: 3-D Landscape Painting”, Roppongi Hills, Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan, commissioned by Mori Arts Center
- 2002
- “Turtle Fountain”, Dentsu Headquarters, Shiodome district, Tokyo, Japan, commissioned by Dentsu
- 2000
- “Skylight”, Oak Forest, Gramsbergen / Laar, The Netherlands, realized Sept. 1999, official opening June 2000, commissioned by Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, for the public art project Kunstwegen
- 1999
- “Dragon Boat”, Hakataza Theatre, Hakata Riverain, Fukuoka, Japan, commissioned by Hakata Riverain, Fukuoka
- 1998
- “Eighteen Saints”, Tocho-ji Temple, Tokyo, Japan, commissioned by Tocho-ji Temple
- 1994
- “Lion: Feng Shui Project for Mito:Chang Sheng”, Mito Train Station, Mito, Japan, commissioned by Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Center for the exhibition “Mito Annual ’94: Open System”
- SOLO EXHIBITION
- 2006 “Captured Wind Arrested Shadow: Cai Guo-qiang and lin Hwai-min’s wind Shadow”, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan