Contemporary Art in China – Exhibition by Rooney at the HongArt Museum Chongqing

November 2025 – February 2026 | On View at the HongArt Museum Chongqing

Chongqing is not a city one simply enters.
One immerses oneself in it.

Since November 2025, Rooney has been presenting her works at the HongArt Museum, where they remain on view until the end of February 2026.
The exhibition is part of an international group exhibition of contemporary art in China – a dialogue between cultures, languages, and visual worlds.

During the opening and the days that followed, Rooney was personally present in Chongqing. From the moment of arrival, it became clear that this metropolis follows its own rules. Layers stack upon one another, streets disappear into fog, lights trace lines through the night. Proximity and distance coexist. Within this vibrant density, the artist encountered her works in a new context.

The works traveled far: from Bad Wimpfen via Hamburg to Chongqing. And they did not arrive as strangers. Quite the opposite.
Many visitors described a sense of resonance – even, or especially, because no words were required.

Abstract Painting as a Space of Experience

Rooney’s works move within the tension between calm and energy, between organic form and inner motion. During the opening and the time immediately afterward, it became particularly evident how universal abstract painting can function as a visual language.
The paintings do not speak about something – they invite the viewer to enter. To allow closeness. Play. Silence. Movement.

It was striking to observe how long visitors lingered in front of individual works. How they approached, stepped back, and moved closer again. Some photographed details; others briefly closed their eyes – as if drawing the rhythm of the paintings inward.

Chongqing – A City That Becomes Part of the Exhibition

During this time, Chongqing itself became part of the exhibition.
The fog that swallows high-rises in the evening.
The Yangtze River, calm and powerful at once.
The density, the heat, the openness of the people.

All of this was reflected in the museum spaces. The works appeared different from how they are perceived in Europe – not louder, not quieter, but embedded in a broader energetic context. As if they had found an additional field of resonance here.

Afterglow – An International Artistic Experience

This exhibition is more than a geographical change of location. It is an open process unfolding over several months.
The impressions from being on site – encounters, conversations, and glances during the opening and the days that followed – continue to resonate.

Chongqing remains.
Within the artist.
And within the painting that will continue to grow from it.