In celebration of its fifth anniversary, B Contemporary Art Gallery presents the 10th edition of its hallmark “Contemporary Series” under the evocative title “Not a Painting, Yet a Painting”. This theme reflects two key ideas that shaped the curatorial direction of the exhibition.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift in Mongolia’s contemporary art scene, where painting—traditionally regarded as the cornerstone of visual art—has gradually receded from focus. This development is not merely a curatorial trend but a reflection of broader changes in how art is created and understood in the modern age. The act of painting itself has evolved, influenced by the digital era and technological advancements. No longer limited to canvas, brushes, or conventional rectangular formats, today’s artists are exploring visual expression through materials and methods that often defy categorization. As a result, traditional definitions of what constitutes a painting have become increasingly fluid.
The works featured in “Not a Painting, Yet a Painting” demonstrate the wide-ranging choices available to contemporary artists. Many of them integrate both organic and synthetic elements, drawing on everything from felt, rope, wood, clay, and animal-based materials to magazine pages, industrial panels, fabric, and synthetic textures. These materials are not merely used but transformed—stitched, welded, glued, burned, layered, or even obscured entirely—producing compositions that forgo imagery, symmetry, or traditional craftsmanship in favor of raw experimentation and expressive potential.
A second driving force behind the exhibition is the desire to distinguish this installment from earlier iterations of the series through a refreshed visual tone and curatorial rhythm. As contemporary exhibition design increasingly emphasizes not just individual works but the overall spatial composition—where concept, form, color, and scale are harmonized to create a unified sensory experience—B Contemporary Art Gallery sought to develop an environment where the display itself becomes part of the artistic expression. For this reason, the exhibition intentionally avoids large-scale installations or video works that dominate a space, instead opting to present smaller, experimental pieces arranged thoughtfully across the gallery’s walls. This decision allows for greater diversity of form and approach, offering a broad panorama of how artists today engage with material, concept, and structure.
While many creators carry such experimental ideas within them, few have the opportunity or inclination to develop these ideas into fully realized concepts that define their artistic identity. Some use them as side notes in their creative process, but only a small number of artists manage to refine these impulses into the central focus of their practice. In this way, the exhibition pays tribute to the artist’s ability to sense possibility in what others may overlook—a notion beautifully captured by art historian Ernst Gombrich, who once wrote that truly creative individuals are those who can see the beginning of many possibilities in what seems ordinary to others.
At its core, contemporary art resists not only tradition but also confinement to form, repetition, and predictability. It thrives on anti-, neo-, and post-concepts that challenge and subvert expectations. The works chosen for this exhibition can be seen as “anti-paintings” in dialogue with the philosophy of “anti-art”—a defiance of rigid artistic labels.
Ultimately, “Not a Painting, Yet a Painting” weaves together a rich tapestry of expressions drawn from the personal visions of 20 artists. Their works pulse with glimpses of inner reflection, emotional tension, longing, memory, social consciousness, and the instinctive drive to heal or disrupt. The exhibition is an invitation to experience this interplay of thoughts, senses, and forms—where each piece is less a static object and more a living trace of something ongoing and unresolved.
The exhibition will be open until July 27 at B Contemporary Art Gallery in Ulaanbaatar City. Visitors are warmly invited to explore this thought-provoking journey into the evolving language of painting—and beyond.
