Hou Hanru is an independent curator and a critic. Born in 1963 in Guangzhou, China, he lives in Paris since 1990 and travels and works around the world as a curator and a lecturer. Hou Hanru trained at the Central Institute of Fine Arts in Beijing. He is an advisor at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, Netherlands and a visiting professor at HISK, Hoger Instituut voor Shone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium.

Hou Hanru recently curated "Beyond: An Extraordinary Space of Experimentation for Modernization, the 2nd Guangzhou Triennale" (China, 2005), "Go Inside", the 3rd Tirana Biennale (Tirana, Albania, 2005) and "Out of Sight" organized by De Appel Foundation (Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2005).

He has curated or co-curated major exhibitions such as "Nuit Blanche" (Paris, 2004), "Beijing Morphing" (EW/NS, Are-en-Rêve, Bordeaux, France, 2004), "Arte all'Arte 8" (San Gimignano, etc., Italy, 2003), "Z.O.U - Zone Of Urgency " (the 50th Venice Biennale, 2003), "P_A_U_S_E, the 4th Gwangju Biennale", (Gwangju, Korea, 2002), "Small Is OK" (Fri-Art, Fribourg, Switzerland, 2002), "Asian Party, Global Game" (ARCO, Madrid, 2001), "Paris Pour Escale" (Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, 2001), "My Home is yours, Your home is mine" (Samsung Museum, Seoul, 2001), "Shanghai Biennale" (Shanghai, 2000), "Leaving The Island" (Busan, Korea, 2000), The French Pavilion (Venice Biennale, 1999), "Cities on The Move" (Secession, Vienna and other 6 venues in Europe, USA and Asia, 1997 - 2000), "Hong Kong, etc." (Johannesburg Biennale, 1997), "Parisien(ne)s" (Camden Arts Centre, London, 1997) and "Out of the Centre - Chinese contemporary art" ( Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland, 1994).

Hou Hanru is the author of "On The Mid-Ground", (ed. Yu Hsiao-Hwei, Time Zone 8, Hong Kong. 2002) and "Of Non-Being, Frank Tam's Art and Thoughts" (Annie Wong Foundation,Vancouver-Hong Kong, 1999). He has written for numerous catalogues and books such as "Beyond: An Extraordinary Space of Experimentation for Modernization, the 2nd Guangzhou Triennale" (Guangzhou, 2005), "D-Lab 1" ( the 2nd Guangzhou Triennale, Guangzhou, 2005), "Save and Sorry, --Bert Theis" (Bruxelles, 2005), "Fabricated Paradise" (Le Parvis, Ibos, 2004), "Ozawa Tsuyoshi, answer yes or no" (Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2004), "The Fifth System, Public Art in the age of 'Post-Planning"(Shenzhen, 2003), "Content" (Rem Koolhass, OMA/AMO, Taschen, 2003) "Dreams and Conflicts, the 50th Venice Biennale" (Venice, 2003), "Vitamin P" (Phaidon, London/New York, 2002), "Pause, Gwangju Biennale 2002" (Gwangju, Korea, 2002), "Chen Zhen, Metaphors of the Body" ( EMET, Athens, Greece, 2002), "Asianvibe" (EACC, Castellon, Spain, 2002), "Paris pour Escale" (

Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, 2000), "The Mind on the Edge (of the New Centres)" (Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, 2000), "Shanghai Spirit, Shanghai Biennale 2000" (Shanghai Art Museum, 2000),"Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen" (Bauhaus, Weimar, Germany, 2000) "Beyond the Future, The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art" (Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1999), "Big Tail Elephants (Daweixiang)" (Kunsthalle, Bern, Switzerland, 1998), "Cream, Art in Contemporary Culture" (Phaidon Press, London, 1998), "Uncertain Pleasure", Art Beatus Gallery, Vancouver, (1997) "Heart of Darkness" Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands, "Silent Energy"(MOMA, Oxford, 1993) and "Small, Medium, Large, Lifesize" (Museo Pecci, Prato, Italy, 1992), etc.

Hou Hanru continues to contribute to journals on contemporary art, such as Art Monthly, Third Text, Art and Asia Pacific, Atlantica, Time Asia, Texte Zur Kunst, Atlantica, Omnibus, Technikart, Kanal Europe, Neue Bildendekunst, Artists, Gallery, Domus, Jiangsu Art Monthly, Trans, Art in India, Tema Celeste, Frieze, Area, Urban China, Area and Flash Art International for which he works as its French correspondent.

Hou Hanru has been a member of the Advisory Committee of De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam, of the Global Advisory Committee of Walker Art Center, Minneapolis,USA and ICI (Independent Curators International) Exhibition Committee, New York and an advisor of Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Japan. He has served in international juries such as Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, international competition for young sculptors, 2005, Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards, Bangkok, 2004 , DAAD, Berlin 2003, Rencontre de la photographie, Arles, 2003, France, Hasselblad Award, ( Götergorg, Sweden, 2003), Artissima, (Torino, 2002), Evens Foundation Prize for Public Art (Paris, 2002, director), Philip Morris Art Awards (Japan, 2002), Echigo-Tsumari Triennale (Japan, 2001-2003), International Media Art Award 2000, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, Baloise Art Prize, Basel Art Fair, Basel, 2000, Chinese Contemporary Art Awards (Beijing, 2000, 2002, 2004), the Hugo Boss Prize 1998, The Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York. He has been invited to numerous institutions in China, France, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Hong Kong, Canada, Spain, USA, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Korea and Portugal for lectures and conferences.