Beijing – May 23, 2025 – This May, the city of Beijing has been electrified by a flurry of major art events, with ART021 BEIJING, the Beijing Contemporary Art Expo, and 798 Gallery Week all taking place simultaneously. The convergence of artists, industry professionals, media, and celebrities has ignited a wave of enthusiasm for contemporary art across the capital.
Among the many highlights, Yanran Chen’s debut solo exhibition in China, “Neon Dreamland,” curated by Yuan Hong, stands out as a centerpiece of the cultural season. As the inaugural show of “Art Focus” and the official opening exhibition of the 2025 798 Gallery Week, it is a landmark event that art lovers won’t want to miss.
“Neon Dreamland” A Must-See Highlight of Beijing Art Season
Opening on May 23 and running through July 6, Neon Dreamland marks the first major solo exhibition in China for emerging artist Chen Yanran. The show takes place at Art Focus, the newly launched art space under the renowned Tang Contemporary Art Center. Curated by Yuan Hong—actor and founder of the cultural platform “Art Naoke”—the exhibition offers the public a deeply immersive journey through the artist’s diverse creative universe, featuring recent original paintings, sculptures, and more.
Immersive Experience, Multidimensional Works
In an era shaped by the rise of female voices, AI, and biotech reshaping human perception, Chen Yanran’s work responds with nuance and urgency. Her art interrogates the evolving relationships between identity, technology, nature, and the body. Often building imaginative spaces centered around corporeal forms, her creations reflect how Gen Z navigates the tension between body and soul, life and machine.
In Neon Dreamland, vibrant installations and immersive visual storytelling reveal Chen’s distinctive voice and forward-thinking spirit. The term “Neon Dream” evokes the saturated palette of digital painting and a surreal sense of wonder, conjuring dreamscapes where time is fragmented by distorted clock hands, and mechanical gears hum with a lifelike rhythm.
Her artworks offer more than escapism—they are sanctuaries, buffer zones amid hyper-connectivity, inviting reflection on what “real,” “companionship,” and “selfhood” mean in an increasingly mediated world.
Artist’s Statement: Dream, Time, and the Owl
“My inspiration often returns to the image of the owl,” says Yanran Chen. “In my imagination, owls are always surrounded by clocks, alarms, and gears—objects that seem to bend time. I love that strangeness, as if they can travel through dimensions, or even reverse time. Maybe this comes from my dreams, or maybe from deep unconscious connections I can’t name but can’t let go.”
Her dreamscapes offer a gateway between the real and surreal, a dialogue between Zhuangzi and the butterfly, between Kafka’s beetle and Proust’s drowsy reverie. In these layered metaphors, Chen builds rich worlds that reflect both whimsical and profound imaginings.
Her work also addresses one of today’s most pressing dilemmas: the fear of losing control over our own creations. Whether smartphones or AI, technological tools are quietly reshaping our lives—and with that comes a new existential anxiety: fear of the things we ourselves have made.
Exhibition Layout: From Studio Immersion to Sci-Fi Spectacle
The exhibition unfolds across two distinct zones. On the first floor, visitors are welcomed into a reimagined version of the artist’s personal studio. From large worktables to intimate details like paintbrushes and figurines, the space immerses guests in her creative process. Dozens of original paintings and sculptures form a surreal visual journey through Chen’s one-of-a-kind imagination.
Upstairs, the second floor features Chen’s “WaarWorld: Players Series,” a crossover collection of collectible sculptures and Q-version figures inspired by Liu Cixin’s debut sci-fi novel The Supernova Era. As a collaboration between sci-fi and street culture, WaarWorld made headlines with two appearances at ComplexCon, drawing widespread acclaim. Now presented in full for the first time in China, the series features cinematic-scale installations and unveils the universe behind this epic IP and its rich speculative world-building.
Star-Powered Collaboration: Yanran Chen × Yuan Hong
Curated by actor and cultural curator Yuan Hong, Neon Dreamland marks the second creative collaboration between the two. Their partnership began in 2023, when Yuan interviewed Chen for Art Knock, offering the public an intimate look at her artistic world. In 2025, they reunite in the physical space of an exhibition, pushing their dialogue to new depths. The result is a powerful fusion of star power and artistic vision, elevating the exhibition’s anticipation and impact.
A New Chapter for Tang Contemporary: “Art Focus”
Neon Dreamland is also the inaugural exhibition at Art Focus, the latest initiative from Tang Contemporary Art Center. Established in Bangkok in 1997, Tang Contemporary now operates eight spaces across Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul. Known for groundbreaking exhibitions and long-standing collaborations with both international and emerging artists, Tang is one of Asia’s most progressive galleries.
The collaboration between Art Focus and Chen Yanran reflects growing recognition of her unique voice and signals the shared aspiration of China’s new generation of artists: rooted in local experience, yet deeply engaged with global dialogues.
As the official opening exhibition of 798 Gallery Week, Neon Dreamland is a pillar of May’s “Beijing Art Season.” Launched by ART021 BEIJING, the Beijing Contemporary Art Expo, and Beijing Gallery Week, the citywide program introduces a new model of “curatorial alliances and cross-regional collaboration,” reimagining the urban art ecology.
Through a dynamic blend of contemporary art, experimental design, and street culture, Beijing Art Season is transforming the capital into a global art destination. This 10-day festival of creativity invites audiences into a rich dialogue of “breaking boundaries” and “symbiotic imagination.”
About the Artist: Yanran Chen
Chen Yanran’s practice is rooted in deep introspection and critical engagement with the world around her. Combining the aesthetics of Japanese manga and French experimental cinema, her finely detailed and slightly grotesque visual language explores themes of memory, embodiment, and transformation.
Beloved by the international fashion world for her unique artistic style, Chen has collaborated with GUCCI (Bamboo World), served as Germany’s Lighthouse Brand Ambassador in China, and partnered with trendsetting names like ROBBi, Balenciaga, Yamamoto, R13, and publications including Numéro, ARTnews, Modern Weekly, and LOHAS.
In 2023, she held her first solo show “NOWHERE” at SOMSOC Gallery in Tokyo. She went on to exhibit at the Budapest Art Fair, Art Amoy, and ART021 Shanghai, before founding her own studio ACCRO STUDIO—named after the French word for “endless”—symbolizing her ongoing exploration of art without limits. Her sci-fi toy IP “WaarWorld,” co-developed with Liu Cixin, debuted at ComplexCon twice and continues to gain global recognition.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition Title: Neon Dreamland
Curator: Yuan Hong
Artist: Yanran Chen
Venue: ART FOCUS, Tang Contemporary Art Center, 798 Art District, Beijing
Media Preview: May 21, 2025
VIP Preview: May 22, 2025
Public Exhibition: May 23 – July 6, 2025
Media ContactCompany Name: Tang Contemporary ArtContact Person: Julie WangEmail: Send EmailCountry: ChinaWebsite: https://www.tangcontemporary.com/
