In this collection profiling the work of eighty of the most influential artists in China today, art critic Richard Vine offers a comprehensive, critical and highly illustrated assessment of China s emerging role as a force in the contemporary art world. Over the past decade the contemporary Chinese art scene has come to the forefront of the international art world. The surge of commercial and critical success can be traced to a number of social and cultural factors, including a loosening of restrictions on subject matter, a new freedom to experiment, and a desire to preserve and express Chinese identity on a global scale. Organized by medium, including painting, sculpture and installation, photography, performance art, and new media, each chapter in the book focuses on artists and their most important works. Thoughtful and illuminating appraisals of the artworks take into consideration the whirlwind changes in the country s social and political identities. The book also offers...