Wang’s staged photographs provide surreal glimpses of the intersection between his imperfect recall of the past, his dreams and imaginings, and what we think of as ‘reality’. Like a cinema director, he uses ‘actors’, sets and lighting to construct melancholy family scenarios. His models are generally instructed to keep their eyes closed, adding a further layer of mystery. Wang Ningde’s ambiguous photographic narratives blur past and present; The central figure in many of these photographs, a man in a shabby Mao suit, is an unreliable narrator, not entirely to be trusted.
Wang Ningde was born in the Liaoning Province (China) in 1972. He graduated from the photography department of the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in 1995. He currently lives and works in Beijing.
Born in Liao Ning province in 1972.
Graduated from Photography Department, Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in 1995.
Currently lives and works in Beijing.
COLLECTIONS
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles
White Rabbit Collection, Sydney
Chongqing Art Museum, Chongqing
Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan
CAFA Art Museum, Beijing
Lishui Photography Museum, Lishui
The Red Mansion Foundation, London
Franks-Suss Collection, London
Dr. Uli Sigg Collection, Switzerland
Burger Collection, Hong Kong
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018
Form of Light, Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York, USA
2017
No Name, PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco, Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, San Francisco, USA
2016
No Name, PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai, Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
2015
Form of Light, Paramount Pictures Studios, Los Angeles, USA
2014
Form of Light 1, M97 Gallery, Shanghai, China
Form of Light 2, M97 Project Space, Shanghai, China
2011
Some Days (1999-2009), M97 Gallery, Shanghai, China
2010
Some Days, Galerie Paris-Beijing, Paris, France
The Photographs of Wang Ningde, Zen Foto Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Let There Be Light, Xindong Cheng Space For Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
2007
Photographs of Wang Ningde, SF Camerawork, San Francisco, USA, Sponsored by Andy Warhol Foundation
2006
The Photographs of Wang Ningde, The Red Mansion Foundation, London, UK
Some Days, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, USA
Beyond the Realm of the Soul, Dimensions Art Center, Beijing, China
2005
Between the History and Fantasy, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang, China
1999
Walking Towards an Even Darker Place, Libreria Borges, Guangzhou, China
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
A Fairy Tale in Red Times: Works from the White Rabbit Collection, The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
2017
Beyond the Sphere of Reproduction: Contemporary Photography from China and Germany, Whitebox Art Center, Beijing, China
Beyond the Sphere of Reproduction: Contemporary Photography from China and Germany, Städtische Galerie, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany
Fourth Documentary Exhibition of Fine Arts: Stress Field, Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, China
Working on History: Contemporary Chinese Photography and the Cultural Revolution, Museum für Fotografie, Berlin, Germany
Light Color Boundaries, Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
2014
Flux realities : a showcase of chinese contemporary photography, 4th Singapore International photography festival, Singapore
2012
A History of Chinese Contemporary Photography, Galerie Paris-Beijing, Brussels, Belgium
2009
Beijing – Havana, New Contemporary Chinese art Revolution, Cuba Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba
2008
Exquisite Corpse: China Surreal, m97 Gallery, Shanghai, China
Retrospection LianZhou 2005-2007: Retrospective Exhibition, Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Tomo Art Centre, Beijing, China
Beijing-Athens Contemporary Art from China, Technopolis of the City of Athens, Greece
China Avant-Garde, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Out of Place, Robischon Gallery, Denver, USA
Homesickness-Memory and Virtual Reality, T. Space, Beijing, China
2007
Aqua Art Miami, Limn gallery, Miami, FL, USA
Biennale Photoquai, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France
City_Net Asia 2007, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
Distance Estimated by Eyes, Photography of Eight Chinese”, Guanshanyue Gallery, Shenzhen, China
The New Wind from China, Gwangju, South Korea
Labyrinth Art and Knowledge Space, Beijing, China
Toshihiro Yashiro & Wang Ningde, Keumsan Gallery, Beijing, China
Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Guangdong, China
Contemporary Chinese Photography, China square, New York, USA
Unexpected Out of Control, KU Art Center Inaugural Exhibition, Beijing, China
2006
Inner Scopes Contemporary Chinese Photography as Conscious Practices, Shanghai Gallery of Art, Shanghai, China
Coloring, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
2005
Reviewing the City, Guangzhou Photo Biennial Reviewing, Guangzhou, China
Roma Photo Festival, Roma, Italy
Making A New Relationship, Dimensions Art Center, Beijing, China
Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Guangdong, China
2004
Illusion, Aura Gallery, Shanghai, China
Stance of Open, Art Museum of Guangdong, China
Other where 2004, National Photography Exposition of San Francisco, USA
All under Heaven, Antwerp, Belgium
Between Reality & Memory, New School University, New York, USA
Banality People, the Centre Library of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Techniques of the Visible, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Elsewhere, Chongqing Art Museum, Chongqing, China
Where are you heading? Mother China, Tokyo Ginza Guardian Garden Salon, Tokyo, Japan
2003
An Interesting and Singular Wal, French Center of Photograph, Paris, France
A Strange Heaven, the Prague Czech Republic Galerie, Rdolfinum
From China, ARHUS Artist Mansion, Denmark
2002
Pingyao International Photo Festival, Pingyao, China
The City that Can Not Be Seen, Xing Guang Photo Gallery, Shanghai, China
No Problem, Aura Gallery, Shanghai, China
2000
The Younger Generation and the New World, Guangzhou Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
1999
Walking Towards a Darker Plac”, Yuedong Gallery, Guangdong Province, China