Professor Paul Gladston

01/06/2026

Hot take: art history is rarely as neat as we’re told.

One exhibition doesn’t change everything.
One historical moment doesn’t explain an entire movement.

Dr. Yu-Chieh Li’s new monograph📘 , “Approaching Autonomy: Post-socialist Conceptualism in Chinese Art”, looks at contemporary Chinese art through archives, artists’ writings, and the messy reality of making art through political and cultural change – challenging the usual “East meets West” narrative.

From Robert Rauschenberg in Beijing to questions around autonomy, collective practice and artistic survival under pressure… there’s a lot here.

✨As JNCCA’s inaugural Judith Neilson Postdoctoral Fellow in Contemporary Art, Dr. Li developed her research through a vibrant environment of critical exchange, cross-cultural dialogue and contemporary art inquiry.

🔗 Read more via the link https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2026/05/negotiating-autonomy-in-contemporary-chinese-art

Book cover image courtesy of Dr. Yu Chieh Li and Brill

UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture

What does it mean for art to aspire toward autonomy in times of political transition, ideological pressure and accelerating globalisation?

06/05/2026

Meet the people behind ‘In-/Visible Spectrums’ 🎞️

Before the gallery lights turned on in London, there were studio visits, conversations 💬, and many moments of looking closely at works still in progress.

This documentary follows Professor Paul Gladston and co-curators Yique and Lin Zi as they meet artists across mainland China in 2025 and explore how the exhibition gradually took shape.

It’s a rare chance to see the thinking, dialogue and collaboration behind the scenes – and how video becomes a space for experimenting with ideas across the Sinosphere.

🎥 Watch the trailer now.

Keen to watch the full documentary? Click the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlFgjL8MOvM&list=PLvW1evjftfvlLyix97lDSGasX7c_AvJfh&index=2

#不可见的光谱 #展览 UNSW Arts, Design & ArchitectureUNSW

30/04/2026

Almost a year and a half in the making - and now open 🎉

On 15 April, “In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere (不-/可见的光谱: 华语文化圈当代影像艺术)” launched at SOAS Gallery, a pioneering exhibition shaped by international collaboration across teams in Australia, China, the UK and beyond.✨

Led by Professor Paul Gladston, UNSW Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art, this research-oriented exhibition features abstract, poetic, and open-ended works by 11 artists, moving between the everyday and the experimental, where contemporary forms meet lingering echoes of classical Chinese aesthetics.

Not every artwork seeks to explain itself or communicate a fixed meaning.

Some just sit with you.
Some feel familiar but are slightly off-centre.
Some make you notice things you didn’t before.

That’s what “In-/Visible Spectrums” is doing right now.

If you‘re nearby, come spend some time with the exhibition.

On view until 20 June 2026.

📍 SOAS Gallery, London
🎟 Free admission

In association with SOAS Gallery, Spring-Time Contemporary Art Research Center, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK, ShanghART Gallery, Beijing Commune, SPURS Gallery and WHITE SPACE.

Find out more about the exhibition at unsw.to/Invisiblespectrums


UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture SOAS University of London Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學藝術系

02/04/2026

What happens when video art stops explaining… and just makes you feel something?

In-/Visible Spectrums brings together 11 artists working across the Sinosphere — from mainland China and Hong Kong to diasporic contexts.

These video works move between cultures, identities and everyday moments.

Some are poetic.
Some feel quiet and strange.
Some ask questions without giving answers.

Instead of telling you what to think, the works leave space for interpretation and for viewers to experience meaning in their own way.

📍 SOAS Gallery, University of London
🗓 16 April – 20 June 2026
🎟 Free admission

Come see how contemporary artists are pushing what video art can be.

Exhibition and screenings produced and financially supported by the University of New South Wales Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art (JNCCA).

In association with Soas Gallery, Spring-Time Contemporary Art Research Center, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK, ShanghART Gallery, Beijing Commune, SPURS Gallery and WHITE SPACE.

Find out more about the exhibition: unsw.to/Invisiblespectrums

UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture SOAS University of London Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學藝術系

21/12/2025

✨ JNCCA 2025 Recap ✨🌏

2025 took us across the UK, US, Hong Kong and mainland China — researching, connecting, and shaping new conversations in contemporary art.

🎉 Highlights include:
• A major video art exhibition coming to SOAS London (2026) 🎥
• New JNCCA Editions publications 📚
• International screenings & symposiums 🎬
• 99% student satisfaction since 2022 🎓

With thanks to Judith Neilson for her generous support, and to our dedicated team and collaborators worldwide. 🌟

👉 Read the full update via our latest newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/81da07c0f9bd/2025-end-of-year-message-from-the-unsw-judith-neilson-chair-of-contemporary-art-2751325?e=50f219eb57

UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture

16/12/2025

🎓✨ Celebrating cross-cultural brilliance!

Our incredible JNCCA doctoral graduates are reshaping how we think about art and space across cultures 🌏

Meet the Changemakers:

👩‍🎓 Nan Li | Art Criticism Revolutionary
✅ Decoded 30 years of East-West art dialogue
✅ Built "paradigm maps" for cross-cultural understanding
✅ Now inspiring students in Shanghai

👨‍🎓 Jianxiong Jing | Cartography Innovator
✅ Cracked the code of ancient Chinese maps
✅ Pioneered "post-West" spatial thinking
✅ Turning "wrong" maps into revolutionary insights

🎯 Their secret? They didn't try to fit in – they stood out. Read more: https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2025/12/graduation-spotlight-rethinking-art-criticism-and-map-making-across-cultures

💡 Key takeaway: Don't abandon your roots to join global conversations. Use them to lead the conversation.

Your turn to make waves 🌊

UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture

The UNSW Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art (JNCCA) proudly celebrates the recent graduation of two of the Chair’s doctoral students: Nan Li and Jianxiong Jing. Their work brings fresh trans-cultural perspectives to contemporary art criticism and cartography. Nan’s work examines how Chines...

17/11/2025

🎨 Avant-Garde Meets Neo-Confucian Thought 💡

🎤 Prof Paul Gladston is speaking at the international symposium “Intercultural Dialogue and Contemporaneity of Aesthetics” at Shenzhen University (22–23 Nov).

What’s he unpacking? ✨
• Loops, remix, collage – how PRC artists make the everyday feel brand new
• Why it hits differently in China – critique doesn’t always shout; sometimes it works quietly from within
• Less either/or, more in-between – where local meets global and meaning gets a glow-up

👉 Read more: https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2025/11/global-dialogue-local-insight-avant-garde-meets-neo-confucian-thought

📸 Figure 1: Zhang Peili, ​ Happiness(Xingfu) (2006). Two-channel video (PAL), sound/colour, 6’39”. © Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing.​ Courtesy of the artist and Boers-Li Gallery

UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture Shenzhen University

Professor Paul Gladston, the inaugural Judith Neilson Chair of Chinese Contemporary Art at UNSW Sydney, will speak at the international symposium “Intercultural Dialogue and Contemporaneity of Aesthetics,” hosted by Shenzhen University on 22–23 November 2025.

29/10/2025

🎬 Absent Participation – Moving Images as Art
📍 Shenzhen · Aug 29-31, 2025

A rare and thought-provoking forum exploring Chinese contemporary experimental video art – where moving images drift between visibility and resistance.

Curated by Yique in association with UNSW JNCCA, WeArt们, and Longcheng Creativity Community, the forum showcased works that resist commercial markets and challenge cultural norms – art as poetic, provocative, and enduring.

Together, artists, curators, and audiences dived deep into how moving images become acts of resistance, reflections of complexity, and sparks that awaken new perspectives. ✨

Insights from this closed-door gathering will inform In-/Visible Spectrums, a major exhibition of Sinosphere contemporary video art at SOAS Gallery, London (2026).

💫 Next stop: Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Shenzhen 🌊✨

Thrilled to return to Shenzhen this November! The JNCCA team is bringing more screenings, talks, and bold moving images that won’t fade.

Stay tuned for details 👀

🔗 More on the August forum: https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/jncca/news-and-events/events/absent-participation-moving-images-as-art

UNSW UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture

21/10/2025

Thank you to our colleagues at UNSW ADA for sharing the launch of "The Tides of the Century". It has been an honour to co-edit this book with Professor Chunchen Wang, and to see it now reach a wider readership through JNCCA Editions. We hope it will spark reflection on how contemporary art responds to the profound changes shaping our times.

Originally created for one of China’s largest international art exhibitions on Ocean Flower Island, this book reflects on how contemporary art responds to the challenges of pandemic, post-globalisation, and shifting cultural landscapes.

📖 Download your free digital copy here: https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/jncca/research -tides-of-the-century

29/09/2025

🎞How slow is 12 frames per second? Slow enough to represent the effect of sunlight settled accidently on paper and how feelings change when a morning is disturbed suddenly by rain.

“Tan Lijie — Selected Works” invites you to drift, to linger in the soft pulse of the enchanted everyday. Here, memory and apprehension unfold through imaginary dreamscapes where bougainvillea, borders, and daily rituals entwine to become something quietly extraordinary.

📖 New from our UNSW Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art (JNCCA) Editions, this beautifully illustrated bilingual volume (English and Chinese) unites two exhibitions curated by Professor Paul Gladston and Dr Lynne Howarth-Gladston.

Tan’s work traces “intersecting resonances,” weaving classical Chinese aesthetics with contemporary image-making as part of historically unfolding transcultural relays.

Open the book anywhere; let the images and texts guide your pace. Then tell us: which of Tan’s interventions on the “real” makes you look twice?

🔗 Download your free copy:

https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/jncca/research -lijie-selected-work


UNSW Arts, Design & ArchitectureUNSW