Dr Geoff Raby AO in conversation with artists Dr Guan Wei and Guo Jian

With an introduction by Professor John Dewar AO, Vice-Chancellor and President of La Trobe University

The Geoff Raby Collection of Chinese Art comprises 174 works in diverse media. The inaugural exhibition of the collection includes two major works by artist Guo Jian and nine sculptures and paintings – including two from the mid-1980s – spanning 30 years by artist Guan Wei. Join us for a conversation between Geoff Raby, Guan Wei and Guo Jian as they remember life and art in Beijing before and after the terrible events in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

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Australian economist and diplomat Dr Geoff Raby AO was first posted to the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1986, when he became interested in contemporary art. He was Australia’s ambassador to China from 2007 to 2011. In 2019 he donated the Geoff Raby Collection of Chinese Art to La Trobe University, his alma mater. Raby is a frequent public speaker and regularly publishes opinion pieces and interviews in Australian newspapers.

Chinese Australian artist Dr Guan Wei lives and works in Beijing and Sydney. He emigrated to Sydney in 1990. His work is held in numerous public collections and has been included in many international survey exhibitions during a career spanning more than four decades. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Creative Arts by Western Sydney University in 2021. Guan Wei is represented by ARC ONE Gallery, Melbourne, and Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney.

Guo Jian is a Chinese Australian artist based in Sydney. He has exhibited regularly internationally since the 1990s. As an art student in Beijing, he took part in the protests which led to the Tiananmen Square massacre. He emigrated to Australia in 1992. Guo Jian is represented by ARC ONE Gallery, Melbourne.

La Trobe Asia is pleased to support this exhibition and affiliated events presented in partnership by the La Trobe Art Institute and the Bendigo Art Gallery

Image caption:

Guo Jian, The cast and the crew, 2009, synthetic polymer paint on canvas. La Trobe University, Geoff Raby Collection of Chinese Art. Donated by Dr Geoff Raby AO through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2019. © Guo Jian. Courtesy the artist and ARC ONE Gallery. Photo: Jia De