Meeting of creative minds

New Yorker Terence Koh's installation, composed of 19 cupboards embedded with mirrors and burned miniature sculptures, attempts to explain life and death.  

A contemporary art exhibition at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art allows viewers to see how young American and Chinese artists think alike in a globalized world.

On show are a dozen vanguard works of various genres and mediums, chosen from American Chinese businessman Richard Chang's private collection.

The featured artists include Yang Fudong, Cao Fei, Liu Wei, Li Hui and Li Songsong from Beijing, and Terence Koh, Ryan McGinley, Matthew Day Jackson and Barnaby Furnas from New York.

"The theme of the exhibition is convergence: artistic, cultural, conceptual and creative," says exhibition curator Jerome Sans.

Although the physical distance between Beijing and New York hasn't changed, the conceptual distance has narrowed considerably over the past decade.

The two cities separated by vast oceans, great continents and 13 time zones "have achieved a new-found parity in the quality and quantity of galleries, museums, exhibitions, artists and artwork", he says.

"These young artists have abundant curiosity, and use a vast range of materials and methods to explore and to make sense of the world," he adds.