Artists in China

The contemporary art scene in China has exploded in the past few years. Art districts have formed in marginal neighborhoods in Beijing and Shanghai and become crowded with artists, galleries, museums, and art spaces forming a cultural milieu not seen before in China. This artistic resurgence has even reached the smaller cities of Yangjiang and Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong. Artists in China travels a path through the sphere of art in China and shows just how much variety can fall under the label of Chinese contemporary. Rather than simply reproduce a catalogue of artworks, this book presents portraits of more than fifty artists at work in their studios and homes (often these are one in the same) giving a sense not only the art they make, but of the context in which they make it. From the major painters whose works now command staggering sums at auction to a younger experimental generation born in the 1970s and 1980s, this collection of images made by photographer Mario Ciampi documents a crucial moment in the development of contemporary Chinese art. Essays by journalist Philip Tinari place the activity of each artist within the context of today’s art world.