On the Future Ruins

Sometimes a work is ephemeral, dependent on infrastructure the artist doesn't control, or takes form only at certain moments, alone in the studio. In such cases, what remains in circulation is often the documentation of the work, and it makes its own argument about what the work was. When artists document their work, they often leave in it their perspective and their reading, one that others might find hard to reach. In this workshop, we will look at various practices where documentation is not only the record of the past, but the work's messenger to the future.

Furen Dai is an artist whose work explores the origins of language and how categorization structures and systems function within a broader social and political context. Anchored in sculpture, her practice challenges these very notions and expands across film, publishing, drawing, fresco painting, and photography, exploring material, display, lighting, architecture, and text. She is the co-founder of Institute of Contemporary Art New York, an artist-led organization dedicated to publishing and the advancement of artists' books.

Recent exhibitions include Homesession, Broodthaers Society of America, the New England Triennial, Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, the National Art Center, Tokyo, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. Dai has received fellowships at MacDowell, the Center for Art and Urbanistics, Berlin, International Studio and Curatorial Programs, and Art OMI.

Dai holds an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and a BA in Russian Language and Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Currently a lecturer at Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, Dai will be co-curating the 5th Lagos Biennial in 2026. Previously, she served as Director of Programs and Collections at Asia Art Archive in America.