The Ground We Touch: A Living Archive of Kongjian Yu’s Landscapes

Vast agricultural lands are shaped by simple tools. In the work of Kongjian Yu and his practice, Turenscape, these gestures—humble yet transformative—reconnect people with the ground beneath their feet and the waters that shape it. This exhibition reimagines the gallery as an interior landscape, inviting visitors to bend down, look closely, and move through space as one might traverse a field, and to touch the ground as one might tend the land.

At the heart of Turenscape’s philosophy is the ancient Chinese notion of Tu-Ren—land and people—as a unified whole. The land is not inert matter but the center of life, imbued with spirit, memory, and renewal. People, entrusted with its care, are called to work in harmony with natural and social processes to restore ecological balance and cultural meaning.

Eighty-eight modular cubes form a living archive, presenting decades of Kongjian Yu’s design, advocacy, and ecological vision. Projects span rivers, wetlands, campuses, cities, and residences, rooted in strategies that combine traditional wisdom with modern technology, follow seasonal rhythms, and propose alternatives to gray infrastructure and climate engineering. A digital display presents over thirty years of Kongjian Yu’s fieldwork photography—ongoing sources of inspiration that redefine beauty and urban form through resilience, productivity, and authenticity.

The exhibition embodies Kongjian Yu’s sensibility, which engages the body in perception and action. It offers a space to encounter the interconnectedness of nature, humanity, and the unseen forces that shape both, inviting visitors to imagine shared futures built from the ground we touch.

This exhibit is open now through January 16, 2026.