Chinese Contemporary Art 10 Things You Should Know
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Chinese Contemporary Art 10 things you should know By Melissa Chiu Director, Asia Society Museum Nearly ten years ago when I first began researching Chinese contemporary art, I presented a research paper, which eventually became my PhD dissertation, to my professor. She greeted it with interest but expressed serious reservations about its future, asking how I could undertake research in an area that was not yet defined by scholarship. It was true, when I first visited China in 1992 there were few books on the subject and the major international exhibitions of Chinese art had not yet happened. Yet, I persisted, first writing essays for art magazines and then conducting the research that led to my degree. Today, of course, not a week goes by without a major article on the rise of Chinese art here in the United States. The auction records have bestowed value on art works few artists would ever have dreamed of when the works were created. Collectors, curators, and dealers have a new interest in Chinese contemporary art. The following ten points provide a brief introduction to the main issues in Chinese contemporary art today, especially in regards to its reception here in the United States. I. Chinese contemporary art has a twenty-five-year history. Contrary to reports that Chinese contemporary art is only a few years old—based in part on the establishment of the secondary auction market nearly two years ago—it has at least a twenty-five year history. It all began when Deng Xiaoping declared his Open Door Policy in 1979, allowing for greater economic, social, and ultimately, cultural freedoms. For artists this meant access to information about foreign art movements for the first time. The 1980s were characterized by a frenetic experimentation in different art forms and styles as far ranging as Post-Impressionism and Dada-inspired performance. Across the country, artists banded together to form artist groups and to show their work in unconventional public spaces. This decade and the period came to an end with the China/Avant-Garde exhibition at the National Art Gallery I2| The International Aslan Art Fair Rong Rong East Village Beijing No. 70 1994 Black and White Photograph 16 x 23 inches Courtesy of Chambers Fine Art in Beijing, months before the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, 1989. Following this, government pressure was placed on art schools and museums to prevent artists from showing their work in public spaces. Artists continued to make and show their work in the private space of their studios and homes, giving rise to “apartment art," or small-scale showings of performance and installation art. Some artists settled on the outskirts of Beijing and created an artist community called East Village, named after New York's East Village. The first international exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art held in Hong Kong, Berlin, and Sydney gave rise to many more exhibitions and to the international recognition of Chinese artists throughout the 1990s. Political Pop and Cynical Realism were artistic styles that attracted great attention. Although the 1990s can be characterized by official attempts to quell contemporary artists and their work, in 2000 a palpable change occurred. This year marked the first internationally-focussed Shanghai Biennale heralding the return of some key artists and curators working in the diaspora, and an official exhibition in Germany which saw the Chinese government select experimental art practices for national representation. This policy change culminated in the China pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2005, curated by overseas artist Cai Guo-Qiang, and included leading experimental artists living in China. Today the Chinese art scene has expanded to include cities beyond Beijing and artists are working in many diverse media. 2. Political Pop and Cynical Realism are among the many styles or practices in China today. Certainly some of the best-known Chinese artists today—Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Fang Lijun, and Yue Minjun—produce paintings in two recognizable styles: Political Pop and Cynical Realism. Their works first found a voice in the early 1990s in international exhibitions and are now some of the most valuable pieces in the marketplace. The lure of these paintings, especially The International Asian Art Fair | 13 Zhang Xiaogang Bloodline Family 2004-2005 Oil on canvas 280 x 400 cm Private collection Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor for Western collectors, is the artist's use of corporate logos and uncertain self-portraits in their works, evidence of a cultural and social transition from a communist ideology to a consumer- oriented society. The works have a place in Chinese art history but they represent just one segment of the artistic community. To see these four artists as the sum total of Chinese contemporary art would be incorrect and limited, much like saying that contemporary art in the United States was Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol. While influential figures and by far some of China's most successful artists, they are not the only artists to produce meaningful works in a Chinese context. 3. The gallery/dealer system is a new development with a history of at least fifteen years. One of the first galleries established in China was Red Gate Gallery in Beijing fifteen years ago, followed five years later by ShanghART in Shanghai. Both galleries sold mostly to expatriates, often foreign-service personnel looking for mementos of their stay in China. Both galleries began their life in exclusive hotels where they had ready access to a clientele and a certain degree of security, since it was illegal for foreigners to conduct business as sole proprietors, they had to be a joint venture. Today, neither of the galleries is located in hotels. Red Gate Gallery moved to a historic building, the Dongbianmen, while ShanghART is located in the gallery district known by its address, Mo Gan Shan Lu. The proliferation of galleries in China is one indication of the growth of the art industry. Mo Gan Shan Lu is one of numerous gallery districts including 798 and the Liquor Factory in Beijing and Tank Loft in Chongqing. Within these districts foreign galleries have begun to make their mark; examples include London-based Chinese Contemporary, Italian-based Galleria Continua, and Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, all at 798 and Arario at the Liquor Factory. Other galleries have sought local partnerships such as Ml The International Asian Art Fair Wang Guangyi Great Castigation Series: Coca Cola 1993 Oil on canvas 200 x 200 cm The Farber Collec tion, New York Max Protetch Gallery and Beijing Commune, as well as Jack Tilton’s residency space in Tongxian County. Many other galleries are run by Chinese dealers who sell to a growing number of local collectors. The Shanghai Gallery of Art at Three on the Bund in Shanghai is one of the best examples of this. In general, Chinese artists do not have exclusive arrangements with galleries but prefer to consign their works and deal directly from their studio. There are however a handful of artists, mostly of a younger generation, who see the benefits of exclusive gallery representation. More Chinese artists are also finding representation in overseas galleries, especially in New York. In recent months we have seen Chinese artists hold solo exhibitions at galleries such as Lomband-Freid Projects, Sperone Westwater; Sara Meltzer Gallery, and Marion Goodman Gallery, while some galleries show Chinese artists almost exclusively including Goedhuis Contemporary, Chambers Fine Art, and Ethan Cohen Fine Arts. 4. Government censorship of experimental art is not a major concern for Chinese artists working today. Following June 4, 1989 there was a great deal of pressure placed upon artists, art schools, and museums to stop the creation, exhibition, and promotion of experimental practices that had found such popularity throughout the 1980s. Censorship for Chinese artists meant that they were not able to exhibit their work at the National Art Museum of China and other state-run museums, and they could be arrested and jailed for a short period if their work attracted the attention of the police. This was especially important to performance artists for whom nudity was an integral part of their practice. Artists such a Ma Liuming found himself in this position after his neighbours reported him to the authorities. Throughout the 1990s there were noteworthy occasions of exhibitions being staged and promptly closed by the authorities. The International Aslan Art Fair | 15 Xu Bing Excuse me sir, can you tell me how to get to the Asia Society? 2001 Mixed media, computer monitors Commissioned by the Asia Society Museum Photograph by Frank Oudeman Such activity was inconsistent and largely dependent on when and where the exhibition was held. What developed were brief exhibitions, sometimes lasting for hours or a few days, in private homes and studios. At this time, censorship was less about the subject matter since few works were overtly political and more about the fact that it was an unsanctioned event. These sporadic incidents of censorship have been the subject of much discussion on Chinese art and were the preoccupation of critics, curators, and artists throughout the 1990s. Today such occurrences are far fewer and experimental contemporary art can be seen in major museums including the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, Shanghai Art Museum in Shanghai, and Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou. 5. The diasporic communities of Chinese artists who left in the late 1980s and 1990s have played an important and increasingly influential role in China. For a time the Chinese art world was divided into those living in the West and those who remained behind in Mainland China. Artists who had chosen to leave for exhibition or residency opportunities found ways to stay in their adopted countries such as the United States, Australia, and France.