After three years of preparation, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art (Suzhou MoCA) officially opened to the public on Aug 30, adding a new cultural landmark to the historic city of Suzhou.
Located on the right bank of Jinji Lake and designed by Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the museum also launched its four-month inaugural art season, themed "Suzhou in Beautiful MoCAment", which will run through Dec 31.
The art season is divided into two phases. The first phase features four exhibitions: "Picasso and the World of His Influence", "Gèn: A Journey Through Art's Transcendence", "Codes & Canopies: Art Beyond the Algorithmic Age", and "BIG: MATERIALISM".
Wang Wei, mayor of Suzhou, congratulated the museum on its opening and said he hoped it would serve as an open and innovative platform for cultural exchange and dialogue.
Bjarke Ingels, founder and partner of BIG, said Suzhou brings together the old and the new. Drawing inspiration from the city's classical gardens, his design seeks to reinterpret their architectural language in a contemporary setting, creating what he described as a "garden within a garden" with pavilions and terraces arranged in a picturesque composition.
One of the highlights of the inaugural season is "Picasso and the World of His Influence", which takes Pablo Picasso's Vollard Suite, one of the most influential print series in modern art history, as its starting point.
The exhibition goes beyond Picasso's own work to explore his influence on artists from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including David Hockney, Zao Wou-Ki and George Condo. Through their works, it traces the continuing influence of Picasso on modern and contemporary art.
Created between 1930 and 1937, The Vollard Suite is widely regarded as a landmark achievement in 20th-century printmaking. It has also been described as Picasso's "autobiography on paper".
Emmanuel Guigon, former director of the Picasso Museum Barcelona, said the exhibition provides an opportunity for dialogue between Chinese and Western art and offers new perspectives on Picasso's artistic legacy.
In addition to the exhibitions, the inaugural art season will feature nearly 100 public education programs and a series of art projects and collaborations across the city, extending the museum experience beyond its walls.
As Suzhou celebrates its designation as the 2026 Culture City of East Asia, the opening of Suzhou MoCA is expected to further promote cultural exchange and boost the city's contemporary cultural development.
