Beijing Dangdai Art Fair 2026 will take place from May 21 to 24 at Hall 11 of the National Agricultural Exhibition Center, with May 21–22 as VIP Preview Days and May 23–24 as Public Days. Under the theme “LAND TRACE,” this year’s edition reawakens local experiences and embodied perceptions from the perspectives of geo-culture and historical geography across multiple contexts, further delineating the detailed landscape of contemporary art at a moment of value reshaping.

We will be releasing a series of posters centered on works featured at the Fair. These works not only offer possible interpretations of and responses to “LAND TRACE,” but also serve as preview highlights of key artworks and participating institutions. The poster shared in this edition features a work from BONIAN SPACE — a unique original gelatin silver print from the 1930s by Republican-era photographer Luo Bonian.

About the Artwork

Luo Bonian
Lake Taihu in Spring
Gelatin silver print
Unique
the 1930s
20 × 14.8 cm
©Courtesy of the artist and BONIAN SPACE 

Created and produced in the 1930s, the artwork “Lake Taihu in Spring” captures the scenic beauty of the lake through Mr. Luo’s lens. He personally inscribed the title on the photograph and applied his artist’s seal.

About the Artist

Portrait of Artist
©Courtesy of the artist and BONIAN SPACE

LUO Bonian (1911–2002), his given name was Jun and his courtesy name was Bonian. He used the artistic name Wang Suxue. Born in early 1911 in a family of county officials in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. From a young age, he received education in traditional Chinese culture as well as Western finance. After graduation, he became an employee at the Bank of China while also beginning his artistic journey in photography. In 1934, he published his renowned work Drawing Water from a Well which pioneered the field of nude photography in China. Luo Bonian’s works integrate both Chinese and Western techniques, with most of his pieces reflecting traditional Chinese aesthetic values. He is considered one of the representative photography artists of the Republic of China era. His landscape, portrait, and still-life photography captured precious moments of Chinese society during that specific period. Through his lens, one can see scenic landscapes, pedestrians and flying birds, as well as many still-life compositions and experimental works in the new artistic trend. His collage photography is regarded as a precursor to contemporary photography in China. His notable works include: Drawing Water from a Well, The West Lake in Spring, and Heavy Loads and Distant Journeys, which are featured in significant photography journals and collections from the Republic of China period, such as Fei Ying, Chinese Photography Magazine and Special Feature: Art Photography. His works are held in the permanent collections of major museums and art institutions, such as The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA; Tate Modern, London, UK; The Art Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China; Taikang Art Museum, Beijing, China; Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing, China; Photography Museum of Lishui, Zhejiang, China; and Dali Photography Museum, Yunnan, China.

Exhibitions include: Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography (upcoming), Tate Modern, London, UK, 2026; Glinting Light: An exploration of LUO Bonian’s Photography, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing, China, 2025; Professional Amateur and Emerging Modenity: Luo Bonian and His Contemporaries 1930-1940s, Taikang Space, Beijing, China, 2021; 1949: The Artistic Choices, Taikang Space, Beijing, China, 2019; 180 Years of Photography in China, Yinchuan Contemporary Art Museum, Yinchuan, China, 2019; Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China: Archive and Collections: Photography in China and the Establishment of CAA Art Museum’s Department of Photography, Hangzhou, China, 2019; The 2nd “Lang Jingshan Cup” China New Pictorial Photography Biennial, Huai’an International Photography Museum, Huai’an, China, 2018; Shape Of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, Tate Modern, London, UK, 2018; Literati Photography: Lyrical and Epic, Zhejiang Provincial Exhibition Center, Hangzhou, China, 2017; Shanghai Aura: Exploring Photographic Modernity in Early 20th Century China, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China, 2017; Chinese Photography: Twentieth Century and Beyond, Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Beijing, China, 2015; Fellowship Film Festival, with inscriptions from Yu Dafu, Shanghai, China, 1930.