Photo: Courtesy of Gravity Art Museum

Contemporary art is currently in a "semi-manual era," in which artists are no longer bound by traditional handicraft techniques. Now they actively use new technological tools such as mechanical devices and digital software for their creations. An ongoing exhibition at Beijing's Gravity Art Museum, titled Semi-Manual Era, aims to explore this development. 

Running until September 22, the exhibition focuses on the field of painting, attempting to explore the impact of modern technology on contemporary painting. Curated by different artists, the exhibition is divided into five thematic units, presenting the characteristics of contemporary painting and reasons and meanings behind these explorations from five different perspectives and directions. 

In this semi-manual era, some artists have even abandoned traditional techniques altogether, choosing to tame new machines and explore unique forms of artistic expression. This mode of creation not only changes the artists' way of thinking and the effects of their works, but also expands the boundaries of artistic language, introduced the museum.

The Gravity Art Museum is located in the Shijingshan district, Beijing. The site of the museum originally was the Beijing Heavy Electric Machinery Plant, built in 1958. It has been reconstructed while preserving its original structure.