In the early 1990s, it was Fei Dawei, a Chinese art critic and curator, who introduced contemporary artists such as Cai Guoqiang and Huang Yongping to the Foundation Cartier. Fei was of the three curators alongside Chandes and Grazia Quaroni, director of Collections, at the Foundation Cartier.

Cai and Huang, both important artists in China's contemporary art scene, were artists in residence at the institution and had created artworks for the Foundation Cartier's collection. Fei later recommended emerging Chinese artists to be featured at the new exhibition at PSA.

"I hope these new artists Hu Liu, Gao Shan and Li Yongbin, will turn out to be successful and claim their position in the contemporary art scene just like Cai and Huang did," he says.

The Foundation Cartier has continued to push the boundaries of contemporary art over the past few years, presenting unique exhibitions about mathematics, philosophy and even animals. These seemingly unconventional themes have attracted new visitors to the Foundation Cartier, Chandes says.

"Some came to see a particular artist's work while others came for the subject, such as the animal, the ecology and environment. All of these issues are important and relevant in today's world, and we have managed to present them in an artistic way that is different from what you would see at, for example, a science and technology museum," says Chandes.