Phil Zheng Cai


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Systemetic Critique - Open Kitchen

  • Other Curatorial Projects


Tone Check: The Skins of Korean Contemporary Painting
At-Will Adaptation: The Exhibition, A Residency-then-Exhibition
At-Will Adaptation: The Residency, A Residency-then-Exhibition
(In)directions: Queerness in Chinese Contemporary Photography
Alienation ?



  • Writings


Hot Coffee conversation, Anh Nguyen, Felisa Nguyen, and Huyen Tran
A Mirrored Interview
The Estate of Joshua Caleb Weibley at CHART Gallery asks if we still want to play
Hyeejin Bae: Eye Candy
Nomad Photography
queerness, chinese, contemporary, photography, (in)directions
Cynthia Gutiérrez at Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil
Wu Chi-Tsung solo exhibition at Katina Museum of Art
Xiong Wei: Becoming the Masses Amongst Elites
What has to be NFT’d?
Jean-Luc Moulène Solo Exhibition at Miguel Aubrey Gallery
Yoan Capote Solo Exhibition at Jack Shainman Gallery
Take a Step: Phil Zheng Cai on the Opening of M+ Museum
Tan Siyuan - No Stopping the Wanting to Stop







This residency was held at Eli Klein Gallery from July 9, 2024 – September 7, 2025.





Link to the residency

Exhibition Review
Impulse Magazine: Are You Alone Right Now - Sterling Corum


Artists: Quan Wenfei (b. 1992, lives and works in New York), Yang Shuai (b. 1998, lives and works in New York), and Echo Youyi Yan (b. 2000, lives and works in New York). 


“At-will,” a term commonly associated with employment status, endows equal rights for the employer to fire and the employees to quit at any time. However, this concept often conceals the inherent power imbalances between the "masters” and “servants". On a societal level, we are supposedly empowered with an absolute liberty in thoughts and action. In reality, however, we are not truly liberal thinkers nor free actors; we are constantly adapting against our will. AI aids social media algorithms more effectively, curtailing original thought. Certain political factions demand absolute loyalty and suppress all other opposing viewpoints. We are becoming smarter in acting senselessly. As Herbert Marcuse poignantly pointed out, “The total mobilization of all media for defense of the established reality has coordinated the means of expression to the point where communication of transcending contents becomes technically impossible.” 

Artists are the first to recognize this struggle, as contemporary art themes have shifted from a 'human-nature' dichotomy in the 2010s to a 'subjectively human - objectively human' focus, which identifies forced adaptation as a more pressing threat in the 2020s. As recent graduates, Quan Wenfei, Yang Shuai, and Echo Youyi Yan are at the forefront of this battle, working at the intersection of anthropology, sociology, and behavioral studies.































Images courtesy of the artists and Eli Klein Gallery.