The 2nd Hohhot International Sculpture Art Exhibition: Using Sculpture to Bridge China and the World
This year's theme is Telling China's Story Through the Art of Sculpture. The inaugural exhibition in October 2023 took the Silk Road as its cultural thread, creating a platform for dialogue. The current edition continues that mission, once again attracting artists from 20 countries. According to the organizers, the museum itself is a work of art — a sunken building transformed from an abandoned foundation pit, reflecting the Eastern aesthetic of 'turning decay into magic.' It has quickly become a new landmark for the city.
Since opening in 2023, the museum has hosted two international exhibitions and seven themed shows, welcoming more than 820,000 visitors. Together with the Inner Mongolia Museum, the Inner Mongolia Art Museum, and the Grassland Silk Road Park, it forms a 5.6-kilometer 'cultural axis', which is a key showcase of Hohhot's cultural vitality.
The exhibition features 95 sculptures in bronze, stone, metal, and other materials, spanning styles from realism to abstraction, and enticing visitors to linger.
Yang Xiaowen, a Hohhot resident with a taste for geometric and abstract works, said, 'Compared with past years, this year's pieces feel fresher and resonate more with my personal aesthetic.' His 8-year-old daughter, Yang Mu, pointed to a work titled Strawberry Bunny and exclaimed, 'It cleverly combines a strawberry and a rabbit. I love it.'
Cristian Biasci, Director of the Sculpture Department at the Florence Academy of Art, noted that in today's increasingly virtual world, public sculpture is more vital than ever as an artistic language that reconnects us with real human relationships. He sees the Hohhot exhibition as a living example of how sculpture can be integrated into public spaces.
'This is an aesthetic dialogue across time and space between Chinese and international artists,' said Jing Yumin, Vice Chairman of the China Urban Sculptors Association. 'These works are not only frozen moments of artistic expression but also fluid exchanges of thought, reflecting the idea of 'harmonious coexistence and shared beauty.'' He hopes the sculptures will be both a delightful surprise for local residents and a window for the world to better understand China, and for China to engage with the world.
The exhibition runs from August 2025 to January 2026, with sculpture salons, art markets, and other events planned throughout the period.
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