Zhen Yi Gallery (Paris) invites emerging and mid-career artists to submit works for the second edition of the group exhibition The Body as a Threshold. Following the successful first edition presented in November 2025, this new exhibition will continue the curatorial exploration of the body as a site of passage — a place where sensation, perception, and environment meet.

The first edition of The Body as a Threshold brought together 13 international artists and attracted a wide audience during the vernissage in Paris.  Installation views and photos from the opening reception are included among the images attached to this announcement.

Rather than treating the body as a fixed subject, the exhibition approaches it as a threshold: a point of contact where inner and outer worlds intersect, where personal experience encounters social, technological, or environmental forces.

For this second edition, we aim to expand the conversation around the body as a threshold, welcoming artists to propose new perspectives and interpretations that extend the theme in unexpected directions.

We warmly welcome artists who participated in the first edition to apply again, as well as new artists interested in contributing to the next stage of this evolving curatorial project.

Artists are invited to respond through installation, sculpture, video, performance, photography, painting,  drawing or digital practices, particularly works that consider the body in relation to space, perception, and states of transition.

Sound-based, light-based, and movement-based works are also encouraged, especially those that invite viewers to sense or inhabit experiences of transformation.

About the Exhibition

The Body as a Threshold (Edition II) will take place at Zhen Yi Gallery,  at 17 rue Chapon, 75003 Paris, in the vibrant Marais district, with expected footfall from both local art audiences and international visitors.

The exhibition continues the gallery’s curatorial focus on states of transformation and perception, following the international group show Scentless Depths, which explored water as rhythm, resonance, and invisible presence.

Who Can Apply

We welcome international and local submissions from emerging and mid-career artists working in all media.

About the Organisers

Zhen Yi Gallery — founded in 2025 by curator Evgeniya Makarshina (IESA graduate).

The gallery is dedicated to creating international opportunities for emerging artists and is developing a cross-border programme, with a future exhibition planned in Shanghai, China.

The gallery develops curatorial projects exploring perception, identity transformations, and the relationship between the body, environment, and contemporary conditions. 

The founder actively networks within the international art community, having 500 professional connections on LinkedIn.

What We Offer

• Exhibition in Paris
• Curatorial guidance and installation support
• Promotion on the gallery’s social media platforms
• Each participating artist will be featured  on the gallery's instagram with a post  introducing their artwork 
• Artists may be featured on the gallery's website if they wish
• Publications in international media — the UK-based The Urgency of Art (yishunart.com)
• Certificates of participation
• Recommendation letters 
• Networking and cross-cultural exchange
• 0% commission on artwork sales
  
  

Audience and Visibility

The gallery is located in the Marais district of Paris,  one of the city’s main contemporary art destinations.

Visitor Attendance

The exhibition opening (vernissage) typically attracts approximately 40–60 visitors, including artists, curators, collectors, and members of the public.

Visitor Profile

The gallery audience includes artists, curators, collectors, art enthusiasts, and international visitors exploring the Marais gallery district.

Submission Terms

Exhibition contribution (only if selected): £170 / €200

This contribution supports exhibition production, installation, and gallery space expenses.

Delivery and return of artworks to/from Paris are the responsibility of the artist.

Deadline: 27 March, 2026

ZHEN YI Gallery

@zhen_yi_gallery