Art Beyond the Kármán Line: Xu Bing breaks more boundaries at rocket launch aftershow

[Photo: Courtesy of Xu Bing Studio]

Xu Bing, a Chinese contemporary artist who watched his art-inspired rocket launch into space, has been showing Beijing residents a brand-new exhibition.

[Photo: Courtesy of Xu Bing Studio]

Xu gained international recognition for his "Tianshu" or "The Book from the Sky" art installation that he completed in the early 1990s. It features hand-printed books, ceiling scrolls, and a wall panel composed of 4,000 Chinese "characters." While at first glance they may look plausible even to native Chinese speakers, the pseudo-characters actually have no meaning and were invented by Xu.

[Photo: Courtesy of Xu Bing Studio]