Sun Xun, The Time Vivarium - 18, 2014, acrylic on paper, 59 by 98 1/2 inches. Courtesy Sean Kelly, New York.
From an exuberantly painted field of flowers to a valley of skulls, this exhibition-which comprises paintings, murals and a painted accordion book-touches on many of the ways that lived experience and personal memory differ from official history. Combining his father’s recollections of the Cultural Revolution with his own perceptions as a global artist, Sun Xun (b. 1980) creates a phantasmagoria of images (animals, plants, soldiers, traditional maidens, etc.) destined for one of his signature animations. Assistants from his commercial studio in Beijing join the artist onsite, allowing visitors an inside look at the production process. In early January, the entire gallery hanging will change, yielding a dramatic in-the-mix theater setting for the finished film.