Contemporary Chinese Art – A Critical History by Paul Gladston
This is one of the seminal works when it comes to books about the Chinese contemporary art world. It is mostly focused on helping investors to navigate the ideas and concepts which have shaped China’s recent generations of artist. Particularly featured are works by Ai Weiwei who is one of the most famous Chinese artists. It also gives treatment to artists from Taiwan and Hong Kong, which is outside the remit of many other books.
Contemporary Chinese Art by Wu Hung
This is really an encyclopaedia of everything that happened in the Chinese contemporary art world between the years of 1970 and 2000. It takes us through from the Cultural Revolution in the late 60s/early 70s all the way through to the point where the cultural boundaries between East and West are crumbling as globalization spreads. The book is wonderfully illustrated and provides both a compelling look at Chinese art, politics and society at intra- and inter-national levels.
Contemporary Chinese Art by Wu Hung
The primary selling point of this book is that it takes primary documents published in Chinese, documenting the incredible dynamism of post-Mao art in China, and translates them to English. This results in one of the most solid and original treatments of the space yet. The book is organised chronologically, featuring artists from both mainland China as well as Chinese artists living outside the mainland.
Deconstructing Contemporary Chinese Art by Paul Gladston
Deconstructing Contemporary Chinese Art is comprised of a set of articles and discussions which together form an adversarial network which seeks to find the true nature of Chinese contemporary art. The book is written by Paul Gladston, one of the pre-eminent scholars in the space. Gladston’s research is firmly rooted in his own experience as he lived in China between 2005 and 2010.
Ink Art – Past as Present in Contemporary China by Maxwell K Hearn
Ink is one of the primary media in Chinese art – not just contemporary but throughout the ages. In this book, Maxwell K Hearn researches the influence and uses the ink has exhibited in Chinese art since the 1970s. In this book, the author features many works which feature ink alongside other media. Those artworks include incredible pieces like Handscrolls by Liu Dan and Book from the Sky by Xu Bing.
Contemporary Chinese Art – Post-socialist, Post-traditional, Post-colonial by Jeanne Boden
This book seeks to position Chinese art in a post-socialist, post-traditional world. On top of that, the author Jeanne Boden attempts to position works in the post-colonial and globalized arena.