Nelson Qin curates from his drive to discover and give voice to emerging artistic generations and to present their work with and from new perspectives. Challenging the predominance of the white cube exhibition space, Qin seeks to push beyond the limits of conventional static presentation models, experimenting with new approaches while developing a diverse portfolio of projects. His installations are designed to be neither didactic nor derivative, rather open ended and in many cases tacitly understood.
Nelson Qin的策展動力源於他對「發掘並為新銳藝術世代發聲」的持續追求，同時致力以全新的視角呈現他們的作品。他挑戰白盒子（white cube）展覽空間的主導地位，試圖突破傳統靜態展示模式的侷限，在推動多元項目實踐的同時，他還不斷探索與實驗新的策展方法。他的展陳並非以說教式或依附性的方式構建，而是保持開放性，讓作品更為隱性的方式被理解。
The installation view of “ArtEvol 2025: Voices from the Undefined”, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2025. Photograph by Jinming Liu, courtesy of London Art Collective.
The development of his curatorial vision can be found within his two recent exhibitions this year. ArtEvol 2025: Voices from the Undefined at the Saatchi Gallery, London was compiled as an extensive constellation of works by emerging artists drawn through an international works from a wide array of disciplines, cultural forms and identities. These pieces explored complex contemporary issues, challenging certain conventions. Many of these artists had been positioning themselves outside established systems, expressing themselves from what Qui describes as ‘undefined’ positions. Thoughtfully repositioning these experimental practices within an established London gallery, Qin set up a salon environment arranging 80 works of painting, sculpture, experimental moving image, ceramics, and hybrid installations. Artistic exploration and experimentation were vital to the concept of the exhibition. Qin’s curatorial impulse was to reveal an evolution of emergent artistic practices, diversely expressing the prospects of possibility that might exist within the sphere of uncertainty and unrelenting change in our contemporary world.
他不斷迭代的策展視野，在今年剛結束的兩場展覽得以顯現。於倫敦薩奇美術館舉行的《ArtEvol 2025: Voices from the Undefined》，匯聚了全球新銳藝術家作品，涵蓋多元的創作領域、文化形式與身份背景。這些作品探討了複雜的當代議題，並對既定的某些藝術慣例提出挑戰。許多藝術家游離於主流體制之外，從Qin所稱的「未被定義的位置」進行自我表述。他將這些實驗性的藝術實踐巧妙地置入具代表性的藝術機構中，以沙龍式的展陳方式呈現約80件作品，涵蓋繪畫、雕塑、實驗影像、陶瓷與混合裝置。藝術探索與實驗精神成為本次展覽的核心，而Qin的策展動機在於揭示新興藝術實踐的演變——在這個充滿不確定與持續變動的當代世界中，藝術家如何以多元方式展現新的可能性。
Reflecting on the intersection of art, nature, and contemporary experience, in another recent exhibition Qin brought together a body of work created by London-based A.R. Turner – giving the artist his first solo exhibition. For this presentation, Qin’s curatorial concept focused on living energy. Qin titled the exhibit: A.R. Turner: Energy reflecting the artist’s exploration of the sublime, fragile and vibrant energy of the natural world. The observations took place through the artist’s travels to landscapes as wide reaching as the Sonoran Desert, the Rocky Mountains, El Picacho del Diablo, and the Acropolis. Subsequently turning these encounters into textured, surreal oil paintings, the artist created imaginary landscapes from the memories of his actual journeys into sumptuous colours and textures, bright shades and deep-toned contours – all evincing fertile traces of the earth’s energy and life force. These images conjure thoughts of sustainability, environmental concerns, as well as regeneration and renewal.
Nelson Qin的策展實踐源於他對新銳藝術家的持續探索，他為其發聲、並以嶄新視角呈現其創作的渴望。在薩奇美術館的另一場展覽中，Nelson Qin呈現了藝術家A. R. Turner的個展，並將展覽命名為《A. R. Turner：Energy》，該主題反映了藝術家對自然界崇高而脆弱的能量探索。這位藝術家將這些采風中的偶遇變成了有質感的超現實油畫，從他實際旅程的記憶中創造出了想像的風景。策展人帶領觀眾穿越索諾蘭沙漠、洛磯山脈、皮卡喬山以及希臘雅典衛城等多地風景。那些華麗的色彩和紋理、明暗色調間的輪廓，都展現了大自然能量和生命力的肥沃痕跡。這些圖像喚起了人們對可持續性環境問題的深刻思考。
The installation view of “A. R. Turner: Energy”, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2025. Photograph by Jinming Liu, courtesy of London Art Collective.
Qin’s curation confirms his commitment to supporting new artistic voices, and the exploration of works that represent resilience, transformation, and renewal at this disconcerting moment. Throughout, Qin has highlighted a discourse by younger generations in response to the fragility and vulnerability found at various junctures while circumventing through a world where uncertainty and heaps of change are woven tighter and tighter throughout the fabric of contemporary existence. The tensions of these uncertain conditions continue to manifest within the artworks, and yet simultaneously the engagement with this current situation and a desire to explore more possibilities, and open-ended observations underscore many works by the emerging artists that Qin has chosen to nurture and provide agency.
Qin的策展方法彰顯了他對支持新興藝術聲音的堅持，以及對在這動盪時代中展現韌性、轉型與更新主題作品的探索。在整個過程中，Nelson Qin一直強調年輕一代藝術家的發聲，他們用自己的方式回應著不同時刻出現的脆弱性，並將這種張力延續至自己的藝術實踐中。當身處於不確定性與變革層疊交織的當代世界中，他們仍舊努力突破各種困境。這種對現況的投入、探索更多可能性與開放式的心態，成為Nelson Qin選擇培養並賦予新銳藝術家能量的主要原因。
Text by 撰文 x Lauren Dyer Amazeen
Published on 20th September 2025
