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Tuesday 12 May 2009

Contemporary Chinese Art

Okay, so contemporary Chinese Art has been on the rise for the greater part of a decade, so I'm not announcing anything new, but there is really something special about contemporary Chinese art. I find it subjective yet at the same time universal, it begs for your attention and offers an insight into one of the most fascinating countries in the world. Only to have come out of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, to become a major world player in both consumption and production, epitomising globalisation, moving from agrarian to urban all in a few decades is amazing. Think about how long it look for the shift from agriculture to industrialisation in the UK?

I feel inspired when I see some of these images, through the cultural, social and political aspects of the work, which I find awe-inspiring.

We were recently one of the media partners for Art Beijing, and today I received the catalogue (I must say that it's more of a book, a beautiful collection of artworks from the galleries), and coupled with my reading of Young Chinese Artists, published on Prestel (Ed Noe and Steiner), I feel like there is so much at stake here. In the arts world, we're in the middle of a major shift here. In find contemporary Chinese art challenging and provoking, and I like that.

If you haven't guessed, I'm currently working on a piece for the June/July issue of Aesthetica, on a pioneering young artist, called, Chen Ke. Her work is sombre, dark, lonely, and incredibly intriguing.

Check out the issue from the end of the month.

So, out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Chinese contemporary art, how does it compare to other work being produced today?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello! Thank you so much for sharing this one. You have such an awesome post! I'll be looking forward for your other posts as well. Keep it up! This blog could really help me out with my business. Anyway, all of the designs are really one-of-a-kind and it really is worth its price. This is definitely going to be a hit for Asian art lovers. Wow! This is cool. Chinese ritual bronzes from the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties come from a period of over a thousand years from c. 1500, and have exerted a continuing influence over Chinese art. They are cast with complex patterned and zoomorphic decoration, but avoid the human figure, unlike the huge figures only recently discovered at Sanxingdui. The spectacular Terracotta Army was assembled for the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China from 221–210 BCE, as a grand imperial version of the figures long placed in tombs to enable the deceased to enjoy the same lifestyle in the afterlife as when alive, replacing actual sacrifices of very early periods. Smaller figures in pottery or wood were placed in tombs for many centuries afterwards, reaching a peak of quality in the Tang Dynasty. Another important collection hails from the estate of Charles Rose Thompson in Westfield, New Jersey. Thompson’s father, Henry Rose Thompson, an importer of Asian art and antiques and co-founder of Bollentin and Thompson Oriental Rugs, acquired the artifacts during several round-the-world trips prior to and after World War I between 1900 and 1920. The items were then left to his son, Charles Rose Thompson, who was also part owner of Bollentin and Thomposn Oriental Rugs. A graduate of Princeton University, Charles lent the extraordinary collection to the Princeton University Art Museum, however the collection has remained in his family’s possession since his death in 1975. Chinese art Boston

Unknown said...

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a Chinese antique collector will be able to read the names of the people who had owned the piece prior to the purchaser. Many Americans view these red marks as merely a part of the painting. The Chinese Government has tried to assist the collector of true Chinese Antiques by requiring their Department of Antiquities to provide a governmental Chop on the bottom of a Chinese Antique. Kaminski Auctions was proud to present these paintings are part of the Asian art collection of Wen Tsan Yu and most contained a dedication as well as his personal seal. Included in this collection of Asian art was his exquisitely painted fans, perhaps best recognized being a 20th century fan of paper leaf and featuring painting by Wang Yun (1888-1934) on reverse with calligraphy by Zhu Nuzhen.

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