“Tales of Our Time” brings together a diverse group of younger artists to offer a broader view of the next wave in Chinese contemporary art. The artists examine conditions in contemporary China through approaches that often blur the distinction between fact and fiction. Employing media from ink painting to animatronics, they conceive of China more as a concept than as an identity, eschewing easy associations and symbols.

“Can’t Help Myself” is an industrial robot that scoops up a bloodlike substance, by the artist team of Sun Yuan & Peng Yu. “When we first heard, we thought it was pretty cool, we thought it was pretty awesome, but we did not know how it was going to get realized,” Ms. Weng said, noting that the museum had concerns about safety and potential damage. GMS designed the base frame to span to existing floor beams. The frame is engineered to combat resist fatigue caused by the robot’s repetitive motions.

The exhibition is organized under the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative, a $10 million grant devoted to researching and commissioning works for the permanent collection.

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