Digital art and relations between France and China on show in Shanghai

In art as in life, computers are transforming the way we see the world as artists explore cutting-edge digital techniques and technologies to create fresh works. An exhibition in Shanghai presented by the K11 Art Foundation goes beyond a glimpse of the possibilities of the digital art form, and shows that Chinese digital artists are today on par with their Western peers.

Curated by David Rosenberg, "Metamorphosis of the Virtual" presents five French and five Chinese artists whose works demonstrate more similarities than differences. "Digital art may have started a little bit later in China, but the artists have taken this new medium and used it to create a multisensory physical, spiritual and emotional experience for viewers," he says.

The exhibition's title was borrowed from an essay by the philosopher and writer Christine Buci-Glucksmann, reflecting on the work of Norwegian multimedia artist Pia Myrvold whose digital architecture and landscapes often feature primitive cell-like forms combined with music.

K11's Hong Kong-based chairman and founder Adrian Cheng Chi-kong says Myrvold's distinctive work on show at the 2011 Venice Biennale inspired him to mark the 50th anniversary of Franco-Sino diplomatic relations with an exhibition of works by pioneering French and Chinese digital artists.

"The digital art world may currently be a very small, almost niche community but I think it will become a bigger part of contemporary art, especially in China," says Cheng, who was recently invited to sit on the Tate Modern's Asia-Pacific acquisitions committee.

The show presents a diverse range of digital media such as video, photography, 3-D technology and sculpture divided into five sections: flux, life forms, cityscape, morphogenetic and avatar. Standout pieces include interactive new media and independent game producer Zheng Da's Virtual Portrait - Invasion Project, featuring an electric video installation.