Xu Bing

(Chinese, born 1955)

Xu Bing is a contemporary Chinese installation artist and one of China’s best-known creative figures. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, he is celebrated for his “capacity to contribute importantly to society, particularly in printmaking and calligraphy.” Born in Chongqing, China in 1955, Xu grew up in Beijing where he studied printmaking at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. One of his best-known works, Book from the Sky (1987–1991), earned Xu international recognition in the 1980s. The work is a massive installation of hundreds of volumes and scrolls printed with 4,000 imagined Chinese characters, which were cut by hand into wood printing blocks. Describing his art practice, Xu has said: “I treat it in a wild way, not in a fixed way. This is good—you can bring something special, something new into contemporary art. If you can find a correct way to face your background, your tradition, maybe you can change that background in a good way.” Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the British Museum in London, among other major institutions. Xu currently lives and works in Beijing, China and New York, NY.

Related Categories

Asian Art, Contemporary Art, Drawings and Works on Paper

Related Artists

Gu Gan, Lui Shou-Kwan, Qin Feng, Wang Tiande, Yang Jiechang

Xu Bing Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Xu Bing (429 results)
Square word: New English calligraphy (2 works), 1994

Xu Bing

Square word: New English calligraphy (2 works), 1994

Sale Date: November 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Zen poetry I (set of 3), 2004

Xu Bing

Zen poetry I (set of 3), 2004

Sale Date: November 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Landscript - Revisit 4, 2003

Xu Bing

Landscript - Revisit 4, 2003

Sale Date: November 30, 2009

Auction Closed

New English calligraphy (Poem of Bei Dao) (+ , 2008

Xu Bing

New English calligraphy (Poem of Bei Dao) (+ , 2008

Sale Date: December 6, 2009

Auction Closed

New English calligraphy (Nursery rhymes..., 2003

Xu Bing

New English calligraphy (Nursery rhymes..., 2003

Sale Date: December 6, 2009

Auction Closed

New English calligraphy XB-029 (Nursery..., 2003

Xu Bing

New English calligraphy XB-029 (Nursery..., 2003

Sale Date: December 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled #2 (Small landscript), 2008

Xu Bing

Untitled #2 (Small landscript), 2008

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

New English calligraphy - Quotation from Mao , 2000

Xu Bing

New English calligraphy - Quotation from Mao , 2000

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

The foolish old man who tried to remove the...

Xu Bing

The foolish old man who tried to remove the...

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Landscript - Wood, rock and water no. 2, 2008

Xu Bing

Landscript - Wood, rock and water no. 2, 2008

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

New English calligraphy: Song of myself (4 works)

Xu Bing

New English calligraphy: Song of myself (4 works)

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Silkworm book, 1995

Xu Bing

Silkworm book, 1995

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Eight suns, 1985

Xu Bing

Eight suns, 1985

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

New English Calligraphy - Quotation from..., 2003

Xu Bing

New English Calligraphy - Quotation from..., 2003

Sale Date: June 24, 2009

Auction Closed

Landscape of northwest, 1982

Xu Bing

Landscape of northwest, 1982

Sale Date: May 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Stones, 1981

Xu Bing

Stones, 1981

Sale Date: May 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Bundant harvest/Watery town/Watery..., 1980

Xu Bing

Bundant harvest/Watery town/Watery..., 1980

Sale Date: May 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Square word calligraphy: After apple-picking , 2003

Xu Bing

Square word calligraphy: After apple-picking , 2003

Sale Date: April 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Book from the sky (set of 4 vols.), 1987–1991

Xu Bing

Book from the sky (set of 4 vols.), 1987–1991

Sale Date: April 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Long river no. 2 (+ Hillside fields; 2 works), 1986

Xu Bing

Long river no. 2 (+ Hillside fields; 2 works), 1986

Sale Date: December 1, 2008

Auction Closed

Landscript, 2004

Xu Bing

Landscript, 2004

Sale Date: December 1, 2008

Auction Closed

New English calligraphy: Quotation from..., 2003

Xu Bing

New English calligraphy: Quotation from..., 2003

Sale Date: December 4, 2008

Auction Closed

Heaven book, 1988

Xu Bing

Heaven book, 1988

Sale Date: December 14, 2008

Auction Closed

One world one dream

Xu Bing

One world one dream

Sale Date: October 28, 2008

Auction Closed

English (US)

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