Cultural Retro-fusion
The population of Chinese artists has recently exploded. China supports about 20 art schools, with approximately 30,000 Chinese artists graduating per year. Socially, “to be an artist in China is a kind of privilege,” said artist Shengtian Zheng, who noted that artistry in China is “quite different” from that of Western society. But this fervor of activity and heightened status evolved alongside a tumultuous past. “If we want to understand Chinese art now, we should know Chinese art from 30 years ago,” Zheng said. He was joined on a …
