View source for Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

{{Short description|Chinese conceptual artists}}
'''Sun Yuan''' (born 1972) and '''Peng Yu''' (born 1974) are Chinese [[conceptual art|conceptual]] artists<ref name="economist">{{Cite web |title=Seeing red |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2005/06/23/seeing-red |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413205341/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2005/06/23/seeing-red |archive-date=2024-04-13 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=The Economist}}</ref> whose work has a reputation for being confrontational and provocative.<ref>Marlow, Tim, The Independent, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001119/ai_n14353576 Visual Art: East meets West in new cultural revolution] from [http://findarticles.com FindArticles.com]{{cbignore}}</ref> They have lived and worked collaboratively in [[Beijing]] since the late 1990s.<ref name="grassi">{{Cite web |last=Yuan, Yu |first=Sun, Peng |title=Sun Yuan / Peng Yu - The World Belongs to You - Palazzo Grassi Venice |url=http://www.palazzograssi.it/en/exhibition/world-belongs-to-you/room-map/sun-yuan-peng-yu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906194055/http://www.palazzograssi.it/en/exhibition/world-belongs-to-you/room-map/sun-yuan-peng-yu |archive-date=6 September 2012 |access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref>
In 2001, they won the Contemporary Chinese Art Award.<ref name="artnet">{{Cite web |title=ArtNet.com |url=http://www.artnet.com/artist/424834628/sun-yuan--peng-yu.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307050849/http://www.artnet.com/artist/424834628/sun-yuan--peng-yu.html |archive-date=2008-03-07 |access-date=2008-03-12}}</ref> They create pieces that dive deep into human nature, psychological, and political experiences.
==Early life and education==
Sun Yuan was born in [[Beijing|Beijing, China]] in 1972 and Peng Yu was born in [[Heilongjiang|Heilongjiang, China]] in 1974.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sunyuan & Pengyu |url=http://sunyuanpengyu.com/artist/sunyuan_pengyu.html |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=sunyuanpengyu.com}}</ref>
The two met each other while attending at the [[Central Academy of Fine Arts]] in Beijing, where they both studied oil painting.<ref name="artrkl" />
==Career==
After completing their studies in the 1990s, Sun Yuan and Peng Yu had short solo careers that set an artistic foundation for their partnership in the early 2000s.<ref name="artrkl">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-02 |title=Sun Yuan and Peng Yu |url=https://artrkl.com/blogs/news/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=ArtRKL |language=en}}</ref>
The two began making "non-normative and unconventional art" in the 2000s.<ref name="sunyuanpengyu">{{Cite web |title=works |url=http://sunyuanpengyu.com/works/all.html |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=sunyuanpengyu.com}}</ref>
==Personal life==
They were married in 2000.<ref name="artrkl" />
==Work==
[[File:Old persons home by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu.jpg|thumb|450px|right|''Old Persons Home'' by Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, [[Saatchi Gallery]], London]]
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu have created [[Kinetic art]] and [[Installation art]] pieces that work to incorporate unconventional and organic materials into artworks and create "statement" pieces about the current systems of political and social authority.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Sun Yuan and Peng Yu |url=https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> They have utilized technology and multi media art to "comment critically on the modern understanding and exercise of political constructs like the nation-state, sovereign territory, freedom, and democracy."<ref name=":3" />
Sun Yuan and Peng Yu work with unconventional media such as [[taxidermy]], human fat, and machinery.{{cn|date=June 2024}}
For the 2005 [[Venice Biennale]], the duo invited Chinese farmer Du Wenda to present his homemade [[UFO]] at the Chinese Pavilion.<ref name="economist" />
The 2008 installation ''Old People's Home'',  comprised 13 hyperrealistic sculptures of elderly world leaders, including [[Yasser Arafat]] and [[Leonid Brezhnev]], in electric wheelchairs set to automatically wander through the room and bump into one another.<ref name="telegraph">{{Cite web |last=Dorment |first=Richard |date=7 October 2008 |title=Review: The Revolution Continues: New Art From China at the Saatchi Gallery |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3561773/Review-The-Revolution-Continues-New-Art-From-China-at-the-Saatchi-Gallery.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306213941/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3561773/Review-The-Revolution-Continues-New-Art-From-China-at-the-Saatchi-Gallery.html |archive-date=2023-03-06 |access-date=2016-03-05 |website=Telegraph.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="saatchi">{{Cite web |last=Yuan, Yu |first=Sun, Peng |title=Sun Yuan and Peng yu |url=http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yu_yuan.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201072800/http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yu_yuan.htm |archive-date=1 December 2007 |access-date=23 April 2012 |website=saatchi}}</ref>
"Angel" (2008) was a fibreglass angel sculpture complete with flesh-covered wings, white hair, and frighteningly realistic skin that featured details like wrinkles, sunspots, and peach fuzz.<ref name="artnet2015">{{Cite web |date=28 July 2015 |title=Sun Yuan and Peng Yu's Fallen Angel |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu-fallen-angel-320428 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227195901/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu-fallen-angel-320428 |archive-date=2015-12-27 |access-date=2016-03-05 |website=artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref>
Their 2009 solo exhibition, ''Freedom'', at Tang Contemporary in [[Beijing]], featured a large firehose hooked to a chain that erupted water spray at a distance of 120 meters and thrashed throughout an enormous metal cage.<ref name="timeout">[https://www.timeout.com/cn/en/beijing/aroundtown/feature/8144/of-corpse-we-can.html Duff, Stacey, Time Out Beijing,"Of Corpse We Can"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090711153318/http://www.timeout.com/cn/en/beijing/aroundtown/feature/8144/of-corpse-we-can.html |date=2009-07-11 }}</ref>
Their 2016 work, ''[[Can't Help Myself (Sun Yuan and Peng Yu)|Can’t Help Myself]]'' was commissioned for the [[Guggenheim Museum in New York|Guggenheim Museum]] and displayed as part of their ''Tales of Our Time'' exhibition.<ref name=":0" /> The work consisted of a large [[KUKA]] [[industrial robot]] with a robotic arm and visual sensors behind clear acrylic walls.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Can't Help Myself|url=https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/34812|access-date=2022-01-14|website=The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-08-27|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220827024724/https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/34812|url-status=live}}</ref> The robot was programmed to endlessly attempt to sweep red, viscous, blood-like liquid into a circle around its base, in the process spreading and splattering the "blood." It was also programmed with thirty-two "dance moves" and reacted to people around it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sun Yuan & Peng Yu {{!}} Can't Help Myself (2016) Artsy|url=https://www.artsy.net/artwork/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu-cant-help-myself|access-date=2022-01-14|website=www.artsy.net|archive-date=2022-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114020540/https://www.artsy.net/artwork/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu-cant-help-myself|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bax|first=Christine|date=2020-07-27|title=Watching Can't Help Myself is like looking at a caged animal • Hypercritic|url=https://www.hypercritic.org/experience/art/contemporary-art/sun-yuan-peng-yu-cant-help-myself-review/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Hypercritic|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112153308/https://www.hypercritic.org/experience/art/contemporary-art/sun-yuan-peng-yu-cant-help-myself-review/|url-status=live}}</ref> These "dance moves" became more "depressed" and erratic as time went on, and eventually stopped operating in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2022-01-18 |title=A dystopian robot arm is taking over TikTok, but what does it really mean? |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/55253/1/dystopian-robot-arm-taking-over-tiktok-what-does-it-really-mean-cant-help-myself |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=Dazed |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129021428/https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/55253/1/dystopian-robot-arm-taking-over-tiktok-what-does-it-really-mean-cant-help-myself |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Can't Help Myself'' was also displayed in the [[58th Venice Biennale|2019 Venice Biennale]]'s main exhibition, "May You Live in Interesting Times."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Greenberger|first=Alex|date=2022-01-13|title='Me Watching Y'all Cry Over a Robot Scooping Red Paint': Sun Yuan and Peng Yu Installation Becomes Bizarre Viral Hit on Social Media|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sun-yuan-peng-yu-cant-help-myself-twitter-tiktok-1234615686/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=ARTnews.com|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114021112/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sun-yuan-peng-yu-cant-help-myself-twitter-tiktok-1234615686/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the controversial<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/arts/design/dogs-fighting-guggenheim.html|title = Guggenheim Exhibit with Video of Dogs Trying to Fight Stirs Criticism|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 22 September 2017|last1 = Haag|first1 = Matthew|access-date = 17 May 2018|archive-date = 17 May 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180517150826/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/arts/design/dogs-fighting-guggenheim.html|url-status = live}}</ref> ''[[Dogs That Cannot Touch Each Other]]'', eight dogs (four pairs facing one another) were strapped onto treadmills in a public installation.<ref name="onscreentoday">{{Cite web |title=Or Else It's Not Utopian |url=http://www.onscreentoday.com/conversation/or-else-its-not-utopian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306053738/http://www.onscreentoday.com/conversation/or-else-its-not-utopian |archive-date=2016-03-06 |access-date=2016-03-05 |website=onscreentoday.com}}</ref> It used living dogs for performance as part of the art. It was purposely provocative, and organizations such as PETA criticized the piece.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-25 |title=Guggenheim's Dogfighting Display Is 'Sick': PETA Says Pull the Plug |url=https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/guggenheims-dogfighting-display-sick-peta-says-pull-plug/ |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=PETA |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129021429/https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/guggenheims-dogfighting-display-sick-peta-says-pull-plug/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This was part of the exhibition “Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World |url=https://www.guggenheim.org/teaching-materials/art-and-china-after-1989-theater-of-the-world |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-01-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240124224304/https://www.guggenheim.org/teaching-materials/art-and-china-after-1989-theater-of-the-world |url-status=live }}</ref> The Guggenheim later released a statement, explaining the artist’s intentions. This piece was eventually removed from the Guggenheim’s digital archive.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement on the video work "Dogs That Cannot Touch Each Other" |url=https://www.guggenheim.org/press-release/statement-on-the-video-work-dogs-that-cannot-touch-each-other |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-01-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240124224309/https://www.guggenheim.org/press-release/statement-on-the-video-work-dogs-that-cannot-touch-each-other |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Selected exhibitions==
'''1997'''
* ''Counter-Perspectives'': The Environment & Us, Beijing
* ''Inside'', Tongdao Gallery Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing <ref>{{cite web |last=Yuan, Yu |first=Sun, Peng |title=Sun Yuan and Peng Yu |url=http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yu_yuan.htm |accessdate=24 April 2012 |archive-date=1 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201072800/http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yu_yuan.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
'''1999'''
* Post-Sense Sensibility Alien Bodies & Delusion (Basement), Beijing
'''2000'''
* ''Indulge in Hurt'', Sculpture Research Fellow of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
* 5th Biennale of Lyon, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France
* ''Fuck Off''!, Donglang Gallery, Shanghai
'''2001'''
* ''Get Out of Control'', Berlin, Germany
* Yokohama 2001 International Triennial of Contemporary Art, Yokohama, Japan
* Winner: The Contemporary Chinese Art Award of CCAA, Beijing
'''2002'''
* The First Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
'''2003'''
* ''Second-Hand Reality: Post-Reality'', Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
* ''Left Wing'', Beijing
* ''Return to Nature'', Shenghua Arts Centre, Nanjing, China
'''2004'''
* Ghent Spring, Contemporary Art Financial Award, Ghent, Belgium (solo)
* ''Between Past and Future:  New Photography and Video From China'', Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
* ''Australia:  Asia Traffic'', Asia-Australia Arts Centre
* ''The Virtue and the Vice:  le Moine et le Demon'', Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France
* ''All Under Heaven:  Ancient and Contemporary Chinese Art'', The Collection of the Guy and Myriam Ullens Foundation, MuHKA Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium
* ''What is Art''?, Shanxi Art Museum, Xi’an, China
* Australia - Asia Traffic, Asia-Australia Arts Centre, Australia
* [[Gwangju Biennale]], Gwangju, Korea
'''2005'''
* ''Higher'', F2 Gallery, Beijing, China (solo)
* ''Mahjong: Chinese Contemporary Art from Uli Sigg Collection'', Art Museum Bern, Switzerland
* The 51st Venice Biennale (China Pavilion), Venice
* ''To Each His Own'', Zero Art Space, Beijing
* Ten Thousand Years Post-Contemporary City, Beijing
'''2006'''
* ''Liverpool Biennial'', Tang Contemporary Art, Liverpool, UK
'''2009'''
* ''Unveiled: New Art From The Middle East'', Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
'''2016'''
* ''Tales of Our Time'', [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum|Guggenheim Museum]], NY<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/tales-of-our-time|title=Tales of Our Time|date=2016-04-04|newspaper=Guggenheim|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-03|archive-date=2016-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220040305/https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/tales-of-our-time|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
*The artists’ [http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/ official site]
*Sun Yuan and Peng Yu on [http://www.artnet.com/artists/sun-yuan-and-peng-yu/ ArtNet.com]
*Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s contribution to the [http://universes-in-universe.de/car/yokohama/trien1/exh-hall/e-sun-peng.htm 2001 Yokohama Triennale]
*Further information from the [http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yu_yuan.htm Saatchi Gallery]
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[[Category:Animal cruelty incidents]]
[[Category:Art duos]]