Curatorial work and part of the exhibition design for the architecture section of the grand exhibition “Montage: From Dialectics to Dynamics”

On April 9, 2026, the large-scale thematic exhibition “Montage: From Dialectics to Dynamics – Architecture, Film, Photography, Poetry, Painting, Theater, Design, Music and Beyond” officially opened at the China Design Museum, China Academy of Art. The exhibition is hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Russian Academy of Arts, and co-organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Film Administration, the Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the China Academy of Art. The exhibition will run until September 1, 2026. This exhibition aims to break the entrenched notion that “montage equals film editing,” re understanding montage as a pivotal intellectual force that reshaped twentieth century modern visual culture, and as an epistemological tool that transcends disciplines, cultures, and eras. At the same time, the exhibition also presents the contributions of traditional Chinese arts and culture to the development of montage theory. Departing from the traditional linear exhibition model, the exhibition adopts a film-set-style narrative to construct an immersive path of intellectual exploration. Through six core sections, it poses the question “What exactly is montage?” layer by layer, guiding visitors on a journey through montage thought from history to the present.

- PILLS is responsible for the curatorial and part of the exhibition design work for the architecture section: “Montage Ideals and Spatial Poetics.” The curatorial approach of the architecture section understands “montage” as a methodology that transcends media and disciplines: it originates from the “assembly” at the level of construction, and also concerns the generation of meaning; it is both the physical splicing of space and the re choreographing of events, perception, and social relations. The exhibition re examines its potential within the contexts of space, architecture, and the city through the lens of “Montage Ideals and Spatial Poetics.” The exhibition design is centered on “Montage as a Cosmology,” drawing on the logic of a film set. Plan One, “Planet of Though” (Unrealized), used exhibition walls to divide the ribbon like space into “film strips,” placing “planet” installations with track mounted viewfinders, allowing visitors to generate rational montage experiences through active editing. The final plan, “The Film Set,” transforms the exhibition walls into continuous film strips, using modular pocket spaces to form temporal slices. Each space becomes a staging framework, where lighting, props, and exhibits together constitute constantly shifting temporal slices, immersing visitors in a continuously unfolding spatial narrative.

- Exhibition Title: Montage: From Dialectics to Dynamics – Architecture, Film, Photography, Poetry, Painting, Theater, Design, Music and Beyond Opening: April 9, 2026, 14:00 Exhibition Dates: April 10 – September 1, 2026 Venue: China Design Museum, China Academy of Art (Xiangshan Campus, Hangzhou) Section Curator and Lead Designer: Zigeng Wang Curatorial Team: Canqi Mu, Shengyuan Zhang, Yiran Zhao, Jingyi Liu Spatial Concept Design Concept Directors: Zigeng Wang, Chunyan Zhang, Yuchun Feng Design Team: Canqi Mu, Xinni Xia, Zixu Xu, Jinyu Wei, Haiqi Wei, Manying Wang, Zi Ye, Chenyao Liu, Jingyi Huo, Jiaxun Zhang, Shilin Liu Hosts: China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Russian Academy of Arts Co-hosts: Zhejiang Provincial Film Administration, Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles, China Academy of Art Supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Curatorial Institution: China Design Museum, China Academy of Art Co-organizers: Beijing Jingju Theater Company, Zhejiang Huamao Art Education Museum, Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art, Rodchenko‑Stepanova Archive (Russia), Eisenstein Center (Russia), Stroganov Academy (Russia), Italian New Art Wave Foundation International Lending Institutions: MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Arts (Rome, Italy), Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA), Fondation Le Corbusier (France), OMA Archive (Netherlands), Bernard Tschumi Archive (USA)