As Seen 2
Notable Artworks by Chinese Artists
by Karen Smith
Post Wave Publishing Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd.
No. 137, Chaonei Avenue
Beijing 100010 P. R. China
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“There are many interesting and original artists in China. For reasons of the lack of museums and institutional support, lack of galleries and sponsorship, artists are engaged in fragmented dialogue with an audience that has restricted access to their work.”
China’s art world has come a long way since Beijing-based critic Karen Smith made this observation almost two decades ago, in 1994. Today, the broadening space for culture and art in Chinese society has created an environment that accommodates many more interesting and original artists than was possible in 1995. The most marked development, however, is the process by which the former “lack” is being reversed: today, no one speaks of a lack of museums, of galleries and art spaces, or of the funding that artists seem able to tap into to realize ambitious, monumental art works and projects. Slower to develop has been the soft power, specifically institutional systems where the art of “now” unfolds within a broader cultural or historic context.
That said, China’s art institutions, in their various and somewhat unconventional forms, are, today, changing the way art is seen in the PRC. For artists, curators and art professionals they provide a dynamic platform, even if that space is still protean in nature. For the public, they offer an unprecedented volume of art, in exhibitions large and small and of extraordinary variety and quality.
It is no longer true to describe audience access to contemporary art as restricted, and yet the artist-audience dialogue remains fragmented. Where institutional support is in its infancy, the access to information about individual artists and their works in the context of either the local or the international art scene has yet to shake off its fragmentary, restricted nature. Bridging that gap was the inspiration for As Seen, a periodic survey of the art of China’s most influential and promising young artists, as shown in all forms of exhibition spaces across the PRC. Conceived and compiled by Karen Smith, a recognised expert in the field of China’s contemporary art, As Seen explores the direction of China’s contemporary art scene through the diverse range of art presented in public institutions, private museums and commercial galleries.
“Published simultaneously in English and Chinese language versions, this volume goes a long way toward creating a common frame of reference for recent developments in Chinese art, both inside and beyond China,” comments Philip Tinari, director of the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing.
With particular focus on the achievements of young artists, As Seen follows a process Smith describes as “documenting art within a specific time frame, attempting to record the mood of a moment, the values and fascinations that drive the work.” The process of identifying and analyzing the work of artists who may or may not be making history addresses itself to the ubiquitous sense of urgency that permeates our time: the pressing desire to see and appreciate art, as much as for contemporary artists to produce. Future critical perspectives may see some of the artists featured in As Seen written into obscurity, but at this time, they are of significant influence upon the current direction in which contemporary art is moving.
As Seen 2 features the avant-garde pioneers Gu Dexin, Geng Jianyi, Chen Zhen and Xu Bing, other internationally acclaimed figures such as Liu Wei, Yang Fudong, Li Songsong and Cao Fei, and a group of emerging artists who work is only now becoming familiar to audiences in China and abroad such as Li Ran, Li Shurui, Hu Yun, Heman Chong and Pak Sheung Chuen.
Since arriving in 1992, Smith has witnessed and chronicled the evolution of China’s art world. As an overview of artists who are actively contributing to one of the world’s most exciting art scenes, As Seen is a reliable entry point for anyone interested in current artistic practice in contemporary China.
Book details
As Seen 2, released April 1, 2013, Post Wave Books, Beijing (an imprint of Beijing World Publishing Press Corp.) and UCCA, Beijing
As Seen 2011, published May 2012, Beijing World Publishing Press Corp.
Size: 240 x 172 mm
Pages: 220
Illustrations: full colour throughout
ISBN: 978-7-5100-5833-2
Retail Price: 88 Yuan (Chinese language) / 150 Yuan (US25) (English language)
Distributed in North America by DAP
