Cao Fei, immersive city of the near future in Basel
Published on 08/19/2026 at 12:15 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Cao Fei anchors the summer program at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart with the expansive exhibition Testimonies to the Near Future. As the museum states in its official materials, the show runs from May 30 to October 11, 2026 and fills the entire Gegenwart building with ten immersive environments.
The Basel exhibition in detail
The exhibition Cao Fei. Testimonies to the Near Future is presented as the artist's first solo show in Switzerland and her largest survey in Europe to date, transforming Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart into a city-like total work of art. Kunstmuseum Basel exhibition page Across four floors, visitors move through ten installations that link videos, sound and sculptural elements into a continuous urban narrative.
The museum's press information emphasizes that the installation structure turns everyday motifs such as skate ramps, factory zones and apartment interiors into speculative spaces where avatars, robots and parallel realities coexist. This spatial approach allows three decades of Cao Fei's work, from the 1990s up to 2025, to appear as one unfolding city rather than a chronological display.
Museum & collection perspective
From a museum perspective, the Basel show underscores how institutions now treat Cao Fei as a central voice in contemporary digital and moving-image art. The survey presents major works that have entered public collections, including installations held by MoMA in New York and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. It also reflects Kunstmuseum Basel's strategy of using its Gegenwart site for immersive, technologically informed practices.
The exhibition schedule published via Switzerland's national tourism portal lists daily opening hours for Cao Fei. Testimonies to the Near Future throughout August 2026, confirming that the show is active this week and will remain accessible to visitors until October 11, 2026. MySwitzerland event listing This cements the Basel presentation as one of the key institutional platforms for her work in the current European museum landscape.
All news and background on Cao Fei
For further reporting, perspectives and market data on Cao Fei, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional exhibition, collection and auction coverage.
The work core in Basel
In Basel, Cao Fei focuses on themes that have long defined her practice: urban transformation in China, the rise of networked virtual worlds and the entanglement of labor and leisure in factory towns and digital platforms. Works from series such as RMB City, Asia One and La Town appear in reconfigured environments where viewers walk through spaces staged as fragments of a speculative metropolis.
The exhibition design uses architectural interventions like ramps, elevated walkways and darkened chambers to frame video projections and interactive elements. These structures respond to the physical layout of Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart, turning the former industrial building into a multi-level stage on which different eras of the artist's production coexist, echoing the layered temporalities of near-future fiction and post-socialist urban change.
Where the artist stands now
Cao Fei is currently presented in the survey exhibition Testimonies to the Near Future at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart in Basel, on view from May 30 to October 11, 2026.
Key facts on Cao Fei
- Artist: Cao Fei
- Medium / Genre: Digital media, video installation and photography
- Born: 1978, Guangzhou, China
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice primarily between Beijing and international project sites
- Active since: Late 1990s, with early recognition at international biennials in the 2000s
- Key work groups: RMB City, Whose Utopia, La Town, Asia One
- Current/last exhibition: Cao Fei. Testimonies to the Near Future, Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart, May 30 - October 11, 2026
- Major collections: MoMA (New York), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), Tate (London), New Museum (New York)
- Awards: Various international recognitions including jury and audience awards at film and media festivals
- Next date: Survey exhibition Testimonies to the Near Future at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart in Basel, on view until October 11, 2026
Frequently asked questions about Cao Fei
Where can I see Cao Fei's work in August 2026?
In August 2026, Cao Fei's work is on view in the survey exhibition Testimonies to the Near Future at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart, with daily opening hours listed through October 11, 2026.
What is the focus of Cao Fei's exhibition in Basel?
The Basel exhibition treats the museum as a city-like environment, presenting ten immersive installations that explore urban change, virtual worlds, labor and technological futures across roughly thirty years of Cao Fei's practice.
Why is the Basel show significant for Cao Fei's museum presence?
It is described as her first solo exhibition in Switzerland and the largest survey of her work in Europe to date, signaling her consolidated position within major public collections and the European museum circuit.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
