Focus: East Asia – China (Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou) [Updated!]

Shao Yinong and Mu Chen “Spring and Autumn – 1990 100 Chinese Note (Four leaders)” (2004-2010) Silk, silk thread. Courtesy of the artists and 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong. Photo: Singapore Art Museum

Chinese contemporary art is rising in quality and quantity, becoming a protagonist on the international artistic stage, according to Italian art critic Achille Bonito Oliva. China made a remarkable transformation during the past three decades, with changes expressed most strongly and dramatically in visual arts.

Zhang Huang “Hero No.1” (2009) cowskin, steel, wool and polystyrene foam. Courtesy of the artist an d Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

Once the 1978 Constitution was promulgated under the Deng Xiaoping era, The People’s Republic of China opened its doors to the world and chinese artists eagerly followed Western styles and techniques which led to avant-garde movements harnessing social and political reform. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre however, this trend has mollified not only because of the governmentâ€™s restrictions on cultural change, but also, according to some critics, because artistic affairs were shifting from public interests to money driven ideologies.

Yu Youhan “Untitled (Mao/Marilyn)” (2005); oil on canvas, Sigg Collection; Zhang Xiaogang, “Bloodline: Big Family No.3” (1995) oil on canvas

Rapid economic growth in the 90s motivated many artists to work on subject matters such as the temptations of a rich and famous lifestyle, consumerism, leisure industries and gaps in the social classes. This produced such styles as Political Pop and Cynical Realism, in the wake of a crisis in both communist and capitalist ideologies. Phenomenal leaps in online and mobile technology participated in making the art world in the noughties a truly global market, and Chinaâ€™s booming market has especially changed the art world landscape. Many artists in China question nonetheless the new craze and its values tied within this socio-economical shift. Although strong censorship pervades in the countryâ€™s governmental policy, many art professionals continue to reexamine and revaluate essential life principles that go beyond those of the Chinese establishment.

Yan Fudong “Fifth Night” (2010) seven channel HD video projection. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery.

As a taster of Chinaâ€™s rich production in visual arts, M-KOS listed below a selection of museums, galleries and alternative spaces operating in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.