-
About Art Radar
Did you know that Art Radar is the only editorially independent online news source writing about contemporary art across Asia?
We conduct original research and scan global news sources to bring you the taste-changing, news-making and up-and-coming in Asian contemporary art.
Flash Reward: January/February 2012
Win your very own copy of Museums & Galleries: Displaying Korea’s Past and Future. This new guide has an entire chapter dedicated to the country’s top art institutions.
Click here to find out how to get your hands on a copy!
Don't miss out... You only have until Wednesday 29 February 2012 to leave a comment on the post, or on our Facebook page or Twitter account.
Write for Art Radar
Art Radar Certificate in Art Journalism and Writing 101: learn the ins and outs of writing about contemporary art.
Missed the deadline for our first intake for 2012? No problem! We accept applications throughout the year. Follow the link below to express your interest.
Topic Archives: Political
A look back at 1980s China-US art relationship – The Washington Post
Posted on Monday, February 6th, 2012
In an article published in The Washington Post in December 2011, Meredith Palmer talks about one of the first surveys of historical and American abstract paintings to head to China.
Southeast Asian photography: Langgeng Art Foundation holds rare group showing
Posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
The Langgeng Art Foundation has brought together works by Southeast Asia’s top photographers in a rare exhibition that is running until 21 January 2012.
Tibetan art installation brings homeland to exiles
Posted on Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Tenzing Rigdol, a Tibetan contemporary artist, transported 20,000 kilograms of Tibetan soil to Dharamsala, India, for Our Land, Our People, a site-specific installation piece.
Shirin Neshat’s inspiration from home – TED video
Posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
In a TED Talks video posted in May 2011, Shirin Neshat tells the audience how, as an artist in exile, she was inspired by her home country and people there.
Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam’s first UK retrospective – picture feast
Posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
The first UK retrospective of works by internationally renowned Bangladeshi photographer and social activist Shahidul Alam is on at London’s Wilmotte Gallery until December 2011.
Cao Fei’s unsung factory heroes explained – art:21 video
Posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Chinese artist Cao Fei discusses the anti-hero characteristics she gave factory workers from the Pearl River Delta region in China in a recent theatrical work.
12th Istanbul Biennial: women artists and emerging regions stand out
Posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
The 12th Istanbul Biennial was an unconventional show, but the work by women artists and artists from emerging regions such as the Middle East stand out as strong points.
Palestinian artists use documentary tactics to sustain and subvert – ArtAsiaPacific
Posted on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
An article published in the Issue 74 of ArtAsiaPacific explores the adoption of documentary-based techniques by contemporary Palestinian artists.
Graduate artist Liu Xinyi’s playfully political Chinese Art Centre installation
Posted on Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Young Chinese artist Liu Xinyi’s commentary on international politics, an installation made up of exercise grippers, is on display at the Chinese Art Centre in Manchester.
Singapore needs to address issues of freedom, says urban artist Trase One – The Canvas interview
Posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Interviewed by The Canvas, Singaporean graffiti artist Trase One is not afraid of the controversy that could be caused by his politically motivated works.
Political art at Sharjah Biennial in revolutionary times – ARTINFO.com
Posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
In a recent ARTINFO article, writer Daniel Kunitz explores the political dimensions of the Sharjah Biennial, an event that came to pass at such a conspicuous time.
Asian pavilions at the 54th Venice Biennale – first critic response
Posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
ART HK 11 is over and as art world attention moves back to Europe, we take a look at what pavilions from the Asian region are offering viewers at the 54th Venice Biennale.
Taiwanese digital photographer Wu Tien-chang’s figures are limbless and costumed
Posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
Formerly an oil painter, Taiwanese-born Wu Tien-chang’s fascination with reincarnation, karma and national identity has lead him to create unsettling “digital paintings.”
Video artist Chen Chieh Jen’s diary for Taiwan society – Studio Banana TV interview
Posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Most people in countries around the world move silently through their lives. Taiwanese video artist Chen Chieh Jen attempts to gives a voice to those less-represented.
Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann mixes batik and photography in “Boogeyman” exhibition
Posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
“Boogeyman” is Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann’s attempt to document and explore the notion of the Orang Besar, a Southeast Asian term used to describe those members of the socio-political and economic elite in the area. In this exhibition, the artist uses a mix of batik and photography techniques to develop elaborate works which provoke a strong emotive response. Continue reading
Comic art of Popok Tri Wahyudito portrays scenes of transport calamity
Posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
GALLERY SHOWS COMIC ART DRAWING INDONESIA In July this year, Valentine Willie Fine Art (VWFA) partnered with Kuala Lumpur’s The Annexe Gallery to bring “BERGERak” to Malaysia. In his first Malaysian solo, Indonesian artist Popok Tri Wahyudi, uses “Jogja comic … Continue reading
Writer Steven Pettifor talks about the old and the new in Thai contemporary art – Art Radar interview
Posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
THAI ART BOOK WRITER INTERVIEW Thailand has long had a small but very vibrant contemporary art scene. Compared with its recently-flourishing neighbours, however, contemporary Thai art hasn’t been getting much attention. Little has been written about it. Back in 2003, … Continue reading
Russian curators prosecuted for showcasing banned art: media round-up
Posted on Monday, August 2nd, 2010
RUSSIAN ART CURATORS BANNED ART LAW After a two-year trial, two Russian curators, Yury Samodurov and Andrei Yerofeyev, were declared guilty of “inciting religious hatred,” despite massive protest. Although they escaped the three-year prison sentence demanded by the prosecution, the judge … Continue reading
Unapologetically political Burmese artist Chaw Ei Thein discusses her country and her art: Asia Art Archive interview
Posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
MYANMAR ART BURMESE ART ASIA ART ARCHIVE ARTIST INTERVIEW After growing up under Myanmar‘s military junta, Burmese artist Chaw Ei Thein‘s works is unapologetically political. In a recent interview with Asia Art Archive the artist speaks about the connection between … Continue reading
Xu Zhen takes on Middle Eastern identities and cultures as the new artists’ collective alias Madeln at the Ikon Gallery, UK
Posted on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
MADEIN ARTIST COLLECTIVE CHINESE ART UK GALLERY SHOW “Seeing One’s Own Eyes“ is the first European exhibition by MadeIn, a new artists’ collective founded in 2009 in Shanghai by Xu Zhen (b. 1977, Shanghai), often heralded as one of the … Continue reading
Indian contemporary artist Reena Kallat: Art Radar exclusive interview
Posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
INTERVIEW INDIAN CONTEMPORARY ART Reena Kallat (1973) is one of the best-known Indian contemporary artists today. In this Art Radar Asia exclusive interview she discusses her influences, artists she admires, the contemporary art scene and the painstaking techniques used to create her … Continue reading
Is China shooting a cultural missile at Taiwanese art? Taipei Times examines
Posted on Friday, April 2nd, 2010
CHINA TAIWAN CULTURE CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS More on China’s use of cultural power to influence social change In January this year Art Radar Asia published a summary of an article printed in Canada’s Toronto Star regarding the Chinese government’s use of … Continue reading
Ai Weiwei is next artist in Unilever Series at Tate Modern
Posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010
Ai Weiwei is first artist from Asia Pacific to create installation in Tate’s Turbine Hall Prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will be the next artist in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall for the Unilever series (12 Oct 2010-25 Apr … Continue reading
This is Hong Kong: video art exhibition highlights differences between Hong Kong and the mainland
Posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
HONG KONG VIDEO ART MOVING IMAGE Hong Kong’s identity revealed through moving image Hong Kong: a Chinese city, a territory, a post-colonial state. Since China regained sovereignty of the area from Britain in 1997, Hong Kong has been struggling to … Continue reading
"The Empire Strikes Back – Indian art Today" at Saatchi Gallery: critics' review roundup
Posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
INDIAN CONTEMPORARY ART “The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today” opened on 28 January 2010 at Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London. It has received attention from critics interested in both the cultural implications of contemporary Indian art in British society … Continue reading



Flash Reward: Love South Korean contemporary art? Museum and gallery guide giveaway
MoMA collects numerous drawings by Hajra Waheed
Kazakhstani art festival ArtBatFest calls for public arts submissions
ART HK repositions ASIA ONE section for 2012, now “heart” of fair
Museums in the age of the mega-collector: Can public institutions compete? – WSJ Blogs
Meet us at ARCOmadrid 2012! Art Radar participant in Asian Maps IX
Art Radar’s 16 most-searched contemporary Asian artists, July to December 2011
Migrant Ecologies: Innovative Southeast Asian science-art collaboration
Indian art collective WALA wins FICA Public Art Grant 2011 with performance art
Qatar Cézanne purchase points to building of art “museum empire”?