Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- Four months before the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 , a woman fired a gun in China 's National Art Gallery -- all in the name of art . Xiao Lu fired two shots at her installation on the opening day of the `` China/Avant-Garde Art Exhibition '' in Beijing . Chinese authorities quickly responded . The show was temporarily closed . The artist and her boyfriend were apprehended but later released . Among the stunned onlookers was Beijing-based gallerist and Pekin Fine Arts founder Meg Maggio . `` The army and the armed police came in and we had to leave , but we did n't really understand what was going on , '' she recalls . Twenty-four years on , the authorities ' reservations over performance art has not recovered . Wang Chunchen , a leading curator at China 's Central Academy of Fine Arts , says there is an unwritten rule against performance art in state-owned exhibitions . `` Performance art has become very sensitive , '' says Wang . `` ( But ) we need to have a general tolerance to this kind of expression . We need to build an open cultural policy . '' Wang is tasked with building that policy as the curator of the China Pavilion at this year 's Venice Biennale . `` This year , the Ministry of Culture wants to show a good Chinese image . They are in charge of the Chinese Pavilion . They liked my proposal . '' The theme of Wang 's proposal is `` transfiguration , '' emphasizing a change in Chinese contemporary art in both practice and definition . His curated selection includes works of painting , video , mixed media and an installation by a non-artist -- a house , once torn down in Beijing , pieced back together and made anew for the Biennale . Wang says the Chinese Ministry of Culture gave him enough space to curate the China Pavilion , but with conditions : `` They gave me enough freedom , but they did give me some suggestions . For example , 'if this painting is too religious , let 's not put it in . ' '' To be an officially recognized contemporary artist in China , you must stay on script and veer away from the politically taboo . Sensitive topics like the Tiananmen crackdown and the Falun Gong can not be touched as subject matter . Erotic subjects must not be depicted explicitly . `` And you can not paint any leader directly ( as ) a deformed figure , '' adds Wang . `` Besides that , anything you can try . You can experiment . '' Given such strict guidelines in a land known for censorship and government control , is there room for authenticity in Chinese contemporary art ? For Chinese activist/artist Ai Weiwei , the answer is surely no . In a recent op-ed for British newspaper the Guardian , Ai says outright that `` China 's art world does not exist . '' `` In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights , anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence , '' he writes . Despite a travel ban imposed on him by Beijing , Ai Weiwei 's work will be at the Venice Biennale -- but representing Germany . But to gallerists like Meg Maggio or Christie 's International Chairman of Asian Arts Jonathan Stone there is indeed a vibrant contemporary art scene in China -- not just despite the restrictions -- but because of them . `` It 's the sand in the oyster which creates the pearl , '' says Stone . `` And I think that 's something which is rather exciting . '' Maggio adds : `` There 's a certain level of struggle in contemporary art generally that makes things more exciting . A lot of Chinese artists would say if you 're an average middle class Western artist , life is too comfortable and things come easy to them : 'That 's not real contemporary art . ' '' The Venice Biennale opens on June 1 . Visitors to the China Pavilion can decide for themselves if Wang 's `` transfigurative '' show can manage to be both on script and on the cutting edge .
Chinese authorities are wary of performance art , partly due to an incident in 2008 . An artist fired two shots at her boyfriend ; she and her boyfriend were briefly detained . Wang Chunchen is curating the Chinese Pavilion at this year 's Venice Biennale . Taboo subjects must be avoided he says , like violent and overly explicit scenes .