Chinese Contemporary Art, The Obsession Unveiled: Installment 2

The world loves Chinese art right now. Besides all the Internet attention, Sotheby’s recently sold an entire Chinese contemporary art collection for much higher priced bids than anticipated. Every single Chinese piece (contemporary and traditional) exhibited was snatched up by insatiable art collectors from the mainland and abroad. Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonham’s have all experienced similar trends for the past two years, seeing Chinese investors, above all, buying Chinese pieces rapaciously. The Economist published a piece on this trend, saying that “dealers have come to believe that anything Chinese will sell in this market, as long as there is nothing wrong with it.” There are two interesting things to note here: first, the burgeoning Western mania over anything Chinese, as evidenced in copious talk of Chinese art in blogs, art magazines and newspapers and the trends in purchasing; second, the majority of traditional art is being bought by Chinese mainlanders, something that wasn’t monetarily and politically possible during Mao’s regime.

Chinese dealers and collectors have quickly recognized how much porcelain, jade and cloisonné is still in private French collections, “much of it unknown and uncatalogued.” These objects were probably acquired between the first and second Opium wars, in 1860, when the Anglo-French Allied Forces looted the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, a complex of palaces and gardens built in the 18th and 19th century that contained a sizable amount of the nation’s artistic and cultural treasures.

The Jing Daily, an English and Chinese daily news source focusing on the business of luxury and culture in China, wrote a piece earlier this year about why the Chinese may be so reluctant to buy anything but their own works. Essentially, Chinese buying is being driven by two motives: investment and patriotism. According to the article, Chinese investors put a particular emphasis on asset diversification, where investors put a sizable chunk of money into physical assets, such as real estate, gold, antiques, and traditional and contemporary Chinese art. Besides investment reasons, the newly powerful Chinese elite buy Chinese traditional and contemporary art to display their patriotism, which according to Jing Daily, brings status—patriotism because dealers and collectors are systematically buying and reclaiming Chinese pieces to bring them back to the mainland instead of buying trendier alternatives and status because of the display of patriotism after acquiring a fortune (that is, doing the right thing with one’s money). The two are inextricably tied in this case because the “repatriation” of paintings (both contemporary or traditional) or antiques to “Chinese soil [is] both a patriotic act and a status symbol. Though their investment value doesn’t hurt either, enthusiastic bidding at auction for Chinese works of art that have spent decades—even centuries—abroad is something we’re just not seeing from any other buyers at the moment.”

All the Art in China- Installment 1

Li Shan

(image from artspeakchina.org)

This week, I’ll be posting a series of installments concerning Chinese contemporary art, its recent history, and why collectors find Chinese contemporary art not only attractive but worth spending immoderate amounts of money on. Many disillusioned types criticize this new obsession, which is both Western and Eastern, as simply a glorified “rush for riches” fueled by the allure of exoticism. Its origins however, prove that the new Chinese art movement and its following are more complex and unusual than anything we’ve seen before. 

Chinese contemporary art has been edging its way into our Western consciences—especially in the past 10 or so years. The inundation of Chinese contemporary art into museums, galleries and personal collections, recognizable from its bright colors and prolific Mao imagery, floods our markets and attentions due to the Chinese government loosening cultural policies. Although China keeps a close eye on the art being produced within its borders, its artists have recently reemerged as respectable commentators on contemporary happenings—a major advance from the Cultural Revolution, when they were punished along with many intellectuals by being sent to work in the countryside.  Little has been published in the way of edifying Chinese art criticism for English-speaking audiences until very recently, but Artspeakchina, an English-language wiki site, now contains well over 300 articles and a “multi-media timeline of historical and arts events since 1949,” according to ArtDaily, and is growing quickly. Its predecessor, Chinese-art.com, founded by Robert Bernell, also showcases innovative art from China. Like Artspeakchina, Chinese-art has an open-forum wiki setup where Chinese art experts can edit articles, but its medium is that of an online magazine. Chinese-art.com can only be viewed outside of China, as the Chinese government considers it too controversial. 

It was in reading about Artspeakchina that I became interested in writing a more in-depth article examining why Chinese art befuddles anthropologists, economists and historians as much as art critics. This topic may seem somewhat esoteric and not necessarily GMOA-pertinent, but it has affected the entire world art market and perplexed, intrigued and piqued museums, galleries, scholars and individuals. This intense global discussion began when China overtook France in art sales, ending that country’s century-long art-market reign. An article in The Economist pointed out that, “When the global art market shrunk by more than a third to €31.3 billion ($43.5 billion), compared with €48.1 billion at its peak two years earlier, the Chinese art market bucked the trend”. But the economic surprise resulting from the Chinese art boom isn’t nearly as interesting as the movement’s genesis.

Tomorrow I’ll post a short history of the movement and its immediate political and artistic predecessor.Stay tuned!

Liu Xiao Dong 

(image from www.schoeni.com)

 

Lu Hao

(image from artnet.com)

Xu Bing

(image from artspeakchina.org)