Tongji Philip Qian: Alloyed Commitments
September 12 - December 7, 2025
Reception
Friday, October 24th | 6-8PM
Tongji Qian was born in 1989 and grew up in Shanghai, China.
In the first grade, Qian’s teacher gave him his “British” name of “Phil.”
When he came to the United States to study and play Ultimate Frisbee at Carleton College, people referred to him as “Phil.”
Early on in my conversations with him, I asked, “Should I call you Phil or Tongji?”
He answered, “Phil.”
Over the years, he found that “Philip” was more formally “respected” in the U.S., so “Tongji Phil Qian” became “Tongji Philip Qian.” And yet, to most, he is still Phil.
For governments, lawyers, and doctors, though, he is “Tongji Qian.”
Tongji Philip Qian’s “Alloyed Commitments” explores notions of access, legibility, skill, and structure within and between the pieces on view.
The exhibition includes work with conservation-grade and found papers, handwriting, leather, t-shirts, wall painting, and video, among numerous other media.
Qian’s dog, Grappa, served as the camera operator for a two-channel video; his mother, Miki Meng, and his partner, Fan Ada Wang, were draftspersons for several drawings; Daylight saving time and the duration of lunch breaks each structured a series; and Qian engaged the sun in the selective (and ongoing) tanning of leather.
The artist’s presentation of the remnants of a store’s commercial/advertising campaign become the basis for a work that, in how it’s arranged in this exhibition, limits one’s ability to view a few other elements made entirely by Qian in the immediate vicinity.
Works are hung at eye-level as well as above and below.
A series is kept together, while others are shown piecemeal and/or in multiple locations.
What is “going on” in some works is “obvious” (to some and not to others). A few pieces are almost inscrutable, sometimes on purpose and otherwise by Qian going down a particular path.
In the artist's work, processes can share authorship, authorship can be highlighted and/or negated, and negation can be altered, celebrated, or overruled.
--Andrew Witkin, guest curator
About
Tongji Philip Qian is a multidisciplinary artist and the co-founder of TPQ Studio. His artistic practice extends the limit of artmaking through conceptual lenses such as speed, labor, internationalism, and immigration. Rooted in images and words, Qian’s research investigates knowledge production in contemporary art with a scholarly focus on movements such as Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, and Conceptual art. His recent projects include No-risk Hour (2019-), Neighborly Passport Keep Right Except To Pass (2023), Questionnairing Reality (2021), and Art Beside a Single Handshake (2020). Qian’s drawings and paintings are represented in several permanent collections, including the RISD Museum, Mecklenburgisches Künstlerhaus Schloss Plüschow, and the Yangdeng Art Museum, whereas his artist books are housed in a large number of public collections, such as Special Collections at Smith College, Special Collections at the Center for Curatorial Studies Library and Archives at Bard College, Booth Family Center for Special Collections at Georgetown University, Center for Book Arts in New York, and Asia Art Archive in America. Qian earned dual B.A. degrees in Art History and Mathematics from Carleton College, and an M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design.
In spring 2024, Qian inaugurated the State VIII Project (2024-2027), a quasi research-driven project space within his office studio at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. The initiative features a series of two-person exhibitions, having highlighted works by Sol LeWitt, McKinzie Trotta, Wang Langgou, Dasha Shishkin, Braden Bandel, Save the Chimps, Grappa, and Jonathan Monk. In conjunction with the exhibitions, Qian also founded the State VIII ProjectArtist and Writer Residency Program, a free-of-charge experience offering creative professionals uninterrupted time and space to consider their work.
Longtime Boston-based gallerist and artist, Andrew Witkin owns Krakow Witkin Gallery, has served as editor for the Sol LeWitt and Mel Bochner catalogues raisonné of prints and is currently working on ones for Kay Rosen and Sylvia Plimack Mangold. He met Tongji Philip Qian when Qian was a student at Rhode Island School of Design and they have had an ongoing dialogue ever since.
Alloyed Commitments is presented by Logan Center Exhibitions and curated by Andrew Witkin. This exhibition is made possible by the generous support from the Ng Family Visiting Artist Fund, the Revada Foundation, Today Clothing, and Friends of the Logan Center. Additional support provided by the Department of Visual Arts, the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts, Smart Museum of Art, and the Center for the Art of East Asia at the University of Chicago.