Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

Known for their technically complex yet ethereal works, WangShui blends poetics and cybernetics in multilayered paintings, installations, and video. Titled after the Greek word poíēsis, meaning “to bring something into being,” this exhibition expands upon WangShui’s artistic research into alternative modes of collaboration and unexpected ways of “integrating different agents.” poiesis highlights the most recent development of WangShui’s singular art practice, questioning the idea of human consciousness as the sole wellspring of creative activity while interrogating the logic of perception and the politics of (in)visibility.

It revolves around a new commission on the fourth floor of the museum that consists of eight aluminum floor paintings which change position throughout the duration of the show. The choreography is driven by an invisible algorithm that processes real-time ultrasonic frequencies collected in the museum.

On the fifth floor, WangShui presents a new series of “machine paintings” that depict otherworldly figures and encounters. Their process usually involves collaboratively generating images with artificial intelligence (AI), which is further abstracted in this exhibition. Here, the artist presents a mix of paintings made with AI and others made without, engaging equally with various other elements such as atmospheric conditions and historical research.

In collaboration with the design studio The Roll, WangShui has created an immersive architectural intervention that spans the fourth and fifth floors. This dream-like chamber is constructed with multi-layered, semi-translucent fabric that refracts both interior and exterior light, evoking a sense of liminality. WangShui’s work exalts the “unseen,” the “unknown,” and the “unsensible,” emphasizing the shifting, formless, and inexplicable. By inviting viewers to contemplate the intermediate space that separates form and non form, poiesis presents limits of perception and turns liminality into a site of resistance.

常驻纽约的艺术家王水以技术复杂且飘渺的作品而闻名，在多层次的绘画、装置和视频中揉入诗意与控制论。作为艺术家的第一个美术馆个展，王水为上海外滩美术馆准备了一场安静的且令人着迷的观看经验。展览英文标题取自希腊语ποίησις（poíēsis），意为“无中生有，创造”。中文标题《生生》取自诗经，展览力图呈现王水和其他智能之间替代性合作模式的探索，这位非二元性别艺术家将该模式称为“融合多方动因”（integrating diverse agents）。展览探询感知的逻辑与（不）可见性的政治，并且问道：创造力的源泉是否唯有人类意志？

位于四楼的形态不断变换的装置是本次展览的中心，也是一件全新委托创作，它把在美术馆内实时采集的超声波频率由算法转换成指令来重新组合八张铝板画的摆放方式。它们在地面上形成各种构图，创造出图像、光线和空间之间迷人的相互作用。这挑战了以强调固定的、持久的图像而闻名的西方绘画史。相比之下，王水的创作随着时间、光线和观众的动态变化，图像同时出现也同时消失。

在五楼的展厅呈现了一系列新的 “机器画作”，描绘了异世界的形象和场景。王水的创作过程通常涉及与人工智能（AI）合作生成图像，而在这个展览中进一步抽象化。在这里，艺术家呈现了一系列使用 AI 生成的画作和一系列不使用AI生成的画作，并平等地调入其他多样元素，诸如气候条件与历史研究。

与设计事务所The Roll合作，王水为观者构建了介入建筑的沉浸式体验，将四、五两层楼转化成如梦似幻的跨层房间。环绕于四壁的特殊双层半透明面料能够折射自然光和室内光，呈现出随光线时时变幻, 唤起一种间隙性的感觉。王水的作品赞美“看不见的”、“未知的”和“不可感知的”，强调变化、无形和难以解释的事物。通过邀请观众思考分隔形式和非形式的中间地带，《生生》呈现了感知的限制，将阈限变成了一种抵抗的场所。