Chen Zhou
A Vision of Retreat
Apr 5 - Jun 29, 2025
In today’s world, an endless stream of information fills our minds and lives, pushing real, tangible moments to the background. The world inside our phones often replaces what’s right in front of us.
To reflect on this “information overload,” artist Chen Zhou invited six people from different fields to take part in a ten-day retreat experiment. He transformed Jiayuanhai Art Museum into a temporary home, with spaces like a dining Room, living room, study, bedroom, tea room, silence Sanctum, Secret Chamber, exhibition epilogue, yoga Area, and an outdoor trail. through the rice paddy.
During the retreat, participants stayed fully offline and silent, living a nearly blank life. In this pause, they explored how to be alone, how to coexist, and how to reconnect with the essence of living. The thoughts, records, and objects from this retreat now form the core of the exhibition.
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计文于 Wenyu Ji
我觉得我在一片净土中安静了下来，我看到自己
I slowed down in this quiet little world—and there I was, face to face with myself.
Chen Zhou
Chen Zhou, born in 1987 in Zhejiang, China, is currently based in Shanghai. He primarily works with painting, video, and performance art, focusing on the human experience of existence. In his early works, mainly in video, he explored the absurdity of contemporary life, the performative and deceptive aspects of identity, and the loneliness and alienation within virtual worlds. Since the pandemic, he has increasingly focused on painting and performance. His long-term studies of Buddhist philosophy have gradually influenced his work, giving it an inner spiritual force, a tranquil aura, and an Oriental surrealist style.
His first feature work, Life Imitation (2017), received the ‘New: Vision Award’ at the CPH: DOX Film Festival and the ‘Asian Perspective Award’ at the DMZ Film Festival and has been included in the Official Selection of the 61st BFI London Film Festival. He is also selected by ArtReview Future Greats (2018). His performance Form as Emptiness IV (2024) was exhibited at the Centre Pompidou.
His recent solo exhibitions include: ‘A Vision of Retreat’Jia Yuanhai Art Museum, Shanghai(2025), ’Travelling Amid’ Centre Pompidou x West Bund Museum Project, West Bund Museum, Shanghai(2024); ‘Blue Hole’ White Cube, Hong Kong(2018)
Chen Zhou: A Vision of Retreat
Exhibition Map
Chen Zhou specially designed a ten-day seclusion experiment. He transformed the Jiayuanhai Art Museum into a livable "home".
Group photo of
seven recluses
Installation View
Exhibition layout features a dining Room, living room, study, bedroom, tea room, silence Sanctum, secret chamber, exhibition epilogue, yoga area, and an outdoor trail.
Tea Room
Brew a pot of tea, play a game of chess, or simply sit in stillness.
Dining Room
A quiet space, where the sounds of eating weave themselves into a kind of seasoning.
Living Room
A quiet space, where the sounds of eating weave themselves into a kind of seasoning.
Study
Conversations flow subtly through journal entries, forming a silent bond expressed in shared smiles.
Bedroom
The wind turns the bedroom into a berth, carrying you through the night.
Silence Samctum
Rest in the void within infinite reflections
No one knows what secrets it holds—vanished without a trace.
Secret Chamber
Vitality is contagious.
Yoga Area
Outdoor Pathway
The circle is a fundamental motion of celestial bodies. Walking in circular paths over time can help you enter a meditative state.
