A Fairy Tale in Red Times

A Fairy Tale in Red Times: Works from the White Rabbit Collection presents works by 26 Chinese artists, an exciting collaboration between the NGV and arts patron and philanthropist Judith Neilson AM on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the White Rabbit Gallery.

Neilson’s White Rabbit Collection is currently the largest private collection of contemporary Chinese art internationally, containing more than 2500 works by more than 700 artists. More than an art collection, it is a social document that reveals dramatic generational change in Chinese society, culture and contemporary art in the twenty-first century. Since 2009 exhibitions of works from the collection at White Rabbit Gallery have become an accessible point of first contact with contemporary art from China for Australian residents and international visitors alike.

The NGV celebrates Judith Neilson’s visionary endeavour with this selection of works from artists based in mainland China and Taiwan. A Fairy Tale in Red Times reveals the creative energy, technical virtuosity and conceptual richness of artists from two generations: the first post-Mao generation that enthralled Neilson in the early days of building the collection, and the exciting innovations and global reach of a younger generation for whom the Cultural Revolution is ancient history.