The society's pursuit of the "new" has become fanatical, as a result, the art world is difficult to settle. With the emergence of "post-90s" artists, the "post-80s" group has a taste of "old success", and the backbone of Chinese contemporary art is inevitably experiencing generational changes. This undoubtedly aroused continuous attention to the recent situation of the "post-80s" artists who have not yet entered the age of confidence. From the other end of the timeline, 2008 can almost be regarded as a landmark state of China since the 21st century.

This exhibition is based on these two objective time points, selecting and presenting 41 pieces of "post-08" works (time of creation from 2008 to 2015) by 26 "post-80s" artists (born from 1980 to 1988) from the Long Museum collection. This will provide an opportunity for retrospection and examination of Chinese contemporary art.

The first part of the exhibition "Transcendental Daily Life", through the works of Gao Lei, Xia Yu, Wang Daishan, Li Qing, Li Pengpeng, Shang Chengxiang, and Liu Chao, shows the artist's transcendental fantasy and transformation of daily life. The plane imprisoned in the latitude and longitude coordinate system, the nut shells scattered on the desk, the lonely back figure at twilight, the exotic scenery on the edge of the window, the broken stairs leading to nothingness, the broken walls…Between reality and illusion, details and scenes, the artists bring a sense of mystery and strangeness to the familiar objects, thereby expanding the extension of individual life. This may be the 80s artists’ response to their faded positions in the growth of the "post".

In the second part, "Secondary Subject", works by Zhao Yao, Li Shurui, Huang Shichang, and Hu Cheng are on display. Compared with the previous part, the work more or less surpassed the reference to reality, highlighting the freedom of vision. The geometric figures drawn from the thinking game, the illusion of light and color stayed on the retina after the space disappears, or the vague graffiti, is the artist’s experimental expression. "What to paint is not important"-the choice of abstract painting language is a strategic weakening of the subject, and perhaps it may be another kind of ingenious emphasis, but it undoubtedly reaffirms the pure power of art.

In the third part "The Skeleton of Ideas", the paintings and installations of Zhai Sui, He Xiangyu and Li Mingran all use skeletons as the common theme. In the work, the hand is pressed down on the book with the contemplative skull, the skeleton is carved out of jade, and the giant skull is forged from stainless steel. The use of multiple and bold materials fully releases and conveys the artist's concept. Life and death are the eternal motifs of intellectual pursuit, and each generation will give its own interpretation.

The fourth part "Variations of Tradition", through the works of Liu Bing, Liu Tianlian and Peng Si, presents the undivided connection between tradition and innovation. The primitivism of Rousseau and Frida thrived in Liu Bing’s dense forest. Abstract art and conceptual art recreated Liu Tianlian’s paintings of flowers and birds. The spirit of European classical masters and ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting quietly merged in Pence's white horse. So far, the artists fully embrace the "contemporary anxiety".

The fifth part, "The Monologue of Fairy Tales", exhibited works from Gao Yu, Yan Shilin, Chen Fei, Li Binbin, Sun Ying, Jin Nd, Hao Lang, He Juan, and Li Xinyu. "Cartoon" once became one of the most eye-catching labels of "post-80s" artists. This craze approached its peak in 2008 and then gradually cooled down. Although the fairy tales are colorful and lively, viewers are also beginning to wonder about the individual monologues behind them. They can be used to satirize the past and present, the cynical, and can also express the thoughts of a teenager, the dream of a girl... All of these are lingering in the never disappearing childhood of the "post-80s".