The Aesthetics of Export in Chinese Art Outside China
What is it about?
Drawing attention to the previously underacknowledged political, social, and affective aspects of the term 'export', this article offers a new reading of foundational works by leading contemporary Chinese artists Huang Yong Ping (1954-2019), resident in Paris from 1989 until his death; Ni Haifeng (b. 1964), resident in Amsterdam since 1994; and Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957), resident in Tokyo from 1986-1995, then subsequently in New York. The article also highlights a concern shared by these artists with the persistence of colonial legacies in contemporary global capital, the connections uniting past and present modes of production and consumption, and the essentialising impulses of chinoiserie, Pan-Asianism, and related cultural trends. The combined study of these themes introduces a renewed focus on contexts of display and interpretation, and material, subjective, and affective dimensions of meaning, to our understanding of these canonical works.
Why is it important?
This article counters the prevailing and frequently disparaging economic and diplomatic associations of the term ‘export’ in scholarly and other discussions of contemporary Chinese art, especially those artists who live and work outside China.