Robert Zhao Renhui will be part of the 2025 Aichi Triennale, titled A Time Between Ashes and Roses.
The sixth edition of the Aichi Triennale is conceived under the artistic direction of Hoor Al Qasimi (President and Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, and President of the International Biennial Association). Inspired by the 1970 poem by Adonis, A Time Between Ashes and Roses asks: “How can withered trees blossom?” Framing ecological crisis and renewal via geological rather than purely political timelines, the theme explores the space “in between” destruction and rebirth. It invites artists to imagine futures beyond national or territorial norms, unsettle assumed hierarchies, and foreground environmental justice through layered complexity.
Born in 1983 and based in Singapore, Zhao is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans installation, photography, video, and sculpture. Through his practice, he explores the complex entanglements between nature and culture, and the multiplicity of beings and knowledge that shape our shared world.
This marks another important institutional participation, following previous exhibitions at the Gwangju Biennale and the Venice Biennale.
The Triennale will take place from September 13 to November 30, 2025.
Photo courtesy the artist.
July 16, 2025
