Playful kinetic artworks on display

In young Chinese artist Tong Kunniao’s solo exhibition “NIAO x KUN x TONG,” at the Jupiter Museum of Art, Tong presents new kinetic sculptures, paintings and mixed-media installations, paired with his eccentric, mechanical object performances.

His works center around the image of the bird: an air-born creature, free to observe the world from above, yet bound to live on land. Freedom, balance and gravity, inherent characteristics of the feathered being, are central themes in the artist’s idiosyncratic body of work.

Having grown up amid the rapid digitization and concurrent rise of mass consumerism in China, in his practice Tong fosters a fascination for used commercial goods as cultural remnants from our time. From stockings to used books and recycled broom sticks, he transforms seemingly trivial motifs and everyday material into whimsical, playful sculptures that resemble “balancing bird” toys — hovering, winged creatures balancing on a central gravitational point. The artist’s work reflects a re-enchantment with the physical world and challenges the way we place meaning in commonplace objects today.

An installation by Tong Kunniao.

The exhibition starts with the “non-digitalized” video installations which combine images from an old-style slide projector and those from other mechanical devices, illustrating the inner logics and the playful mentality behind the artistic creations.

“Balance Birds Series of Works,” a series of large-scale bird sculptures based on the physical principles of balance that have evolved as one of the most prominent works of the artist, will also be included.

Other works such as “The Answer Will Open in the Air,” an installation composed of opening and closing fans which capture the disappearance of time, and the “Vomit Book,” a book-shaped device that can spit bubbles will also be exhibited. The exhibition highlight will be the gigantic work “Golden Trash” placed outside, a public art installation emphasizing the wild and intractable attitude of the artist.

Tong Kunniao’s installation “The Answer Will Open in the Air.”

Tong was born in Changsha in 1990 and graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2015. His “nomad art” style is also considered to be in line with the “clusterfuck aesthetic” as described by Jerry Saltz in 2005.

Dates: Until Nov. 1

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Mondays

Tickets: 34-68 yuan

Venue: Jupiter Museum of Art, 6 Lanhua Road, Futian District (福田区蓝花道6号木星美术馆)

Metro: Line 4 to Futian Checkpoint Station (福田口岸站), Exit B and then take a taxi