AVATARS AND ANTIHEROES

Chinese contemporary art is currently enjoying a worldwide boom fetching record-breaking prices at auction houses around the globe. The country's rapid transition from Communism to consumerism and the dizzying changes brought about by urbanization globalization and new technologies have created a fascinating explosion of art overwhelmingly concerned with the search for self-identity in a society that from Confucius to Mao has traditionally disregarded individualism for the collective good.Avatars and Antiheroes reflects the schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward. From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun whose grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old to the pop-culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei whose digital avatars live in a world without borders this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years.Stunning full-color plates of the work of Chinas leading painters photographers sculptors performance artists video artists and even a fireworks artist are complemented by insightful commentary from Beijing-based art specialist Claudia Albertini who personally interviewed many of the artists featured.

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