IX Florence Biennale 2013 will be held at Fortezza da Basso from November 30 to December 9. For the first time ever, Chinese curators have been invited to take charge of the “Chinese Section” so as to present Chinese contemporary art to the world and facilitate communication and exchange between China and Italy.

This year’s theme is “Ethics as the DNA of Art” and aims to promote the search for a new paradigm of art for the digital century. The 2013 exhibition is designed to explore the decline of ethical-aesthetic-poetic tension in contemporary art, to stimulate a neo-humanistic nouvelle frontier, which configures and reinterprets the basis values of Humanism through the elevation of the artistic culture of our present time.

Wu Hongbin, a Chinese artist scholar, curator, and postdoctoral fellow of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was appointed by the sponsor to be the curator on behalf of China. Zhang Siyong and Ma Su were appointed as directors.

After the evaluation and discussion from the curators and the International Selection Committee, 12 artists have been invited to exhibit their works at the “Chinese Section” on behalf of Chinese artists and are expected to express their insights into the idea, “Ethics as the DNA of Art” through different artistic forms like ink paintings, oil paintings, and conceptual photographs.

It is hoped that through the ten-day exhibition, the international audience will get a glimpse of contemporary China. The 12 artists include Xu Song, Li Xiaoxuan, Lei Ziren, He Wenjue, Wang Jieyin, Wei Qingji, Lv Shanchuan, Zhu Yamei, Han Xiao, Wang Fei, Qian Zhongping, and Bai Lingfei.