“By Virtue of Situated Compromise” at ASE Foundation brings together 19 artists/artist-duos from China and abroad with a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, and new commissioned works by Rafael Domenech.

On the occasion of celebrating the inauguration of ASE Art Space in Shanghai for more than a year, “By Virtue of Situated Compromise” is devised to re-address and redefine its compatible function as a library – upon which a gallery is built – by engaging a rather critical participatory approach with a collective action of the curator, the commissioned artist and the audience. Embedded in the curatorial process itself, the idea of community practice takes root in the public programmes of ASE Foundation, exploring clustering operations in the context of consensus-reaching paths that take into account non-cooperative behaviours.

The curator starts from the plurality of the title. “By Virtue of Situated Compromise” means to symbolise the dynamic of intermediation and the exercise of an eclectic method, echoing the conception of “crossbenching” proposed by German architect and writer Markus Miesen. Derived from the political term “crossbencher” which refers to the independent member in an organisation who does not belong to any particular faction, it is literally parallel to the notion of “taking measures adapted to local conditions” (yīn-dì-zhì-yí) as an idiom in Chinese. Thus the double implication of the first two characters in the Chinese subject “jí-xí” – to be seated and to improvise – resonates. The curator has deliberately chosen a path that challenges the traditional role of privatised space, centred around a stance that breaks down its architectural hierarchies and established norms, and favours an embracing gesture in collaboration with the commissioned artist and his site-specific installation The Affordance of the Oblique.

Henceforth, “By Virtue of Situated Compromise” indicates a more inclusive setting of aesthetic, design and decision-making mechanisms, calling out to the audience and advocating that either reading or viewing art in different contexts is a form of social learning. ASE Foundation looks forward to working with all of you to create multicultural values.

Commissioned Artist: Rafael Domenech

Participating Artists: Farah Atassi, Oliver Beer, Ulla von Brandenburg, Vivian Caccuri, Chen Dandizi, Laurent Grasso, Liang Hao, Liu Ren, Lu Yu, Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Eddie Martinez, Qiu Xiaofei, Maja Ruznic, Mungo Thomson, Inga Svala Thorsdottir & Wu Shanzhuan, Yang Fudong, Yu Hong, Zhang Mingxuan

Venue: ASE Foundation, Shanghai

Dates: 2023.10.26–2024.3.22