Visit:
The National Art Center, Tokyo
China has been much in the news recently for its rapid economic growth and also for hosting the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It is also becoming the subject of worldwide attention for its contemporary art.
Artistic expression that departed from socialist realism emerged in the late 1970s, after the country implemented its reform and opening-door policy. In 1979 artists known as the "Star Group" held an exhibition, blazing the trial for much freer forms of expression that put the artists' individuality front and center.
Starting in the mid-1980s, various avant-garde groups were formed simultaneously throughout the country in the huge groundswell known as the "'85 New Wave Movement." As the volume of information flowing in from the West increased, these new artists expressed social themes gripping China through not only painting and sculpture but also new forms, such as video performance and installation art. This period also saw the rise of artists like Cai Guoqiang and Huang Yong Ping, who relocated their activities overseas.
In the early 1990s a number of artists began to work in styles like "Political Pop" and "Cynical Realism," and China's contemporary art began gaining recognition abroad. Subsequently, more radical works of performance and video art started to emerge. Buoyed by waves of globalization since 2000, an active global art market, and expanding popularity of international exhibitions, contemporary Chinese art has become recognized as a cultural symbol of China's reforms.
"AVANT-GARDE CHINA: Twenty Years of Chinese Contemporary Art" takes a look at the progression of Chinese art over the past 20 years, starting from the 1980s. The exhibition focuses on representative works from artists deserving of particular attention and includes established artists as well as promising new talent.
This exhibition introduces many eye-opening examples of China's modern art world, a world that has developed through such new forms of expression as performance art and videos in addition to conventional mediums like painting and sculpture.