Terracotta Warriors, Cai Guo-Qiang revealed as NGV’s 2019 Winter Masterpieces exhibition

The mighty Terracotta Warriors will come to Melbourne for NGV’s next Winter Masterpieces exhibition, alongside new works from one of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists.

The mighty Terracotta Warriors will be shown in Melbourne next year in the National Gallery of Victoria’s Winter Masterpieces exhibition.

The Qin Emperor’s Terracotta Warriors, discovered in 1974 in China’s Shaanxi province, are regarded as one of the greatest-ever archaeological discoveries.

Eight of the warriors will be on show in the exhibition, along with two life-size horses from the Imperial Army and two half-size replica bronze chariots, each drawn by four horses.

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Kneeling archer, Qin Dynasty 221–207 BCE earthenware, from Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, Xi'an (2812).

Cai Guo-Qiang. Picture: Wen-You Cai, Cai Studio

NGV director Tony Ellwood said the warriors would be presented alongside new works by one of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists, Cai Guo-Qiang.

“Thirty-six years ago, in 1982, the National Gallery of Victoria presented the first international exhibition of China’s ancient Terracotta Warriors only several years after their discovery,” Mr Ellwood said.

Cai Guo-Qiang’s The Bund Without Us 2014 gunpowder artwork ignition at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai. Picture: JJY Photo, courtesy Cai Studio.

“It’s a legacy we wanted to reclaim now.

“History will be made again in 2019, when the Qin Emperor’s Terracotta Army will return to the NGV for the 2019 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series — this time in a sophisticated dialogue with the work one of China’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Cai Guo-Qiang.’’

Chariot #1 (Qin dynasty replica) from Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, Xi'an.

The terracotta army, Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE), from Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum, Xi’an.

Of the parallel presentation, Cai said: “They are two rivers of time separated by two millennia, each creating a course at their own individual speed across a series of shared galleries.

Cai Guo-Qiang’s Black Ceremony 2011. Picture: Hiro Ihara, Cai Studio

Cai Guo-Qiang’s Untitled 2012. Picture: Cai Studio

“The ancient and the contemporary — two surges of energy that crisscross, pull, interact and complement each other, generating a powerful tension and contrast, each attracting and resisting the other.’’

In addition, Chinese museums are loaning 150 artefacts to be shown in the exhibition.

Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality and Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape. NGV International. May 24-October 13.