Topic Archives: Political

CHINESE ART AND POLITICS China wants its own version of  Hollywood. An intriguing article in the Toronto Star examines China’s growing recognition that media and culture can be a powerful tool to spread political, social and economic ideologies beyond its borders much … Continue reading →

CENTRAL ASIAN ART CURATOR Every industry has its gatekeepers, and the art world is no exception. In the complex world of identifying and valuing cultural and artistic significance, it is the curator who filters through the ‘noise’ to uncover the … Continue reading →

HONG KONG ART Chilai Howard Cheng, an ambitious young artist in his early twenties, draws attention to his video exhibition Stiffen Water at Para/Site Central, Hanart TZ Gallery in Hong Kong (5 Sep – 30 Oct). A fresh graduate of School … Continue reading →

CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART Father of contemporary Chinese art, Huang Rui is a Beijing artist who dares to think and act differently in a society that demands conformity. Prominent founder of the historically momentous 1979 Stars Group as well as the famous … Continue reading →

CHINESE ANIMAL INSTALLATION ART REVIEW Zhang Huan is known for his performance acts of physical and psychological endurance. This time, however, he left that act up to a couple of pigs. Zhang Huan’s first show at White Cube Zhang’s first exhibition … Continue reading →

CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART AND PROPAGANDA POSTERS In a BBC clip made for the 60th anniversary of Communism in China, one of our readers Dr Katie Hill of the University of Westminster in London, traces the development of the visual image in China … Continue reading →

CONTEMPORARY IRANIAN ART For a revealing insight into contemporary art and its relationship with political and gender issues in Iran today, don’t miss this intriguing interview with Parastou Forouhar in which she describes how she challenges viewers to take a … Continue reading →

IRANIAN ART SURVEY 56 contemporary Iranian artists are presented in the attention-grabbing and timely Iran Inside Out exhibition at Chelsea Art Museum in New York (June 26 – Sep 5 2009). Surprisingly – or perhpas not – only 35 artists in the show reside inside Iran … Continue reading →

THAI CONTEMPORARY ART IN HONG KONG Is national identity still relevant within our globalized world, which is more interdependent than ever before? Where do we get our identity, and what does baby powder have to do with it? Art Radar … Continue reading →

IRAQ ART REVIEW Around 80 per cent of Iraq’s artists now live elsewhere but many are still driven to explore events in their former homeland, as is shown in Creativity vs Destruction, a group exhibition of Iraqi art in Edinburgh, … Continue reading →

IRANIAN CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION US New York’s Chelsea Art Museum is holding its “groundbreaking” exhibition Iran Inside Out (26 June to 5 September 2009) which features 35 artists living and working in Iran alongside 21 others living in the diaspora. We are promised a ”multifarious portrait of … Continue reading →

TAIWANESE ARTISTS VENICE BIENNALE Though they span architecture, film and photography, the four Taiwanese artists featured in the 53rd Venice Biennale exhibition ‘Foreign Affairs’ share a common focus. Each looks at the unequal treatment of the disadvantaged in the midst of globalisation, and has taken action through distinctive, … Continue reading →

HONG KONG ART AUCTION The Spring 2009 sale of contemporary Asian art saw Sotheby’s present a collection of 8 Hong Kong artists. This is the first time that any auction house has offered a series dedicated to Hong Kong art … Continue reading →

MYANMAR ART Asian Art News reports that some Burmese artists are bravely stepping outside the restrictions of censors and the pressures of the tourist market to create a new kind of art. Three commercial Thai galleries are supporting them: Suvannabhumi … Continue reading →

PALESTINIAN VIDEO ART ‘Soup Over Bethlehem’ (2006) by Larissa Sansour, depicts an ordinary Palestinian family, Sansour’s own, around a dinner table on a rooftop overlooking the West Bank city of Bethlehem. In this entrancing 9 minute (save it for the … Continue reading →

CAMBODIAN CONTEMPORARY ART This post features introductory profiles of 5 Cambodian contemporary artists born in the 1960s and 1970s in the 14 artist historic group show curated by Cambodia-based curator Erin Gleeson, Forever Until Now which aims to document the development … Continue reading →

CAMBODIAN ART SHOW In a unique documentary and historic show, Cambodian-based curator Erin Gleeson brings the works of  14 Cambodian modern and contemporary artists  to 10 Chancery Lane Gallery in Hong Kong. This post is the first in a three part series. … Continue reading →

INDONESIAN CONTEMPORARY ART HISTORY This long – save it for lunch-time! -  informative reportage piece written in 2008 is about the history of Indonesian contemporary art up to and including the 2008 art boom. Michael Vatikiotis employs anecdotes, artist interviews … Continue reading →

    SAATCHI MIDDLE EAST ART SHOW Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East, Saatchi Gallery, London to 6 May 2009 Advertising mogul and art patron Saatchi is a master at generating extensive high profile media coverage for his shows giving us an uncommon opportunity to synthesise … Continue reading →

TURKISH ART AUCTION Sotheby’s is holding its inaugural sale of Turkish art on 4 March 2009 in London. Check out the art and see 5 Turkish contemporary artists talking about their paintings, photographs and sculptures in the sale. Themes of … Continue reading →

MIDDLE EAST SOUTH ASIA ART Two influential art enterprises, Green Cardamom and Middle Eastern gallery The Third Line co-present Lines of Control, a fascinating series of exhibitions in Dubai, Karachi and London comprising both seminal and new works by 18 … Continue reading →

FEMALE IRANIAN ART The Masques of Shahrazad to 9-14 March 2009 at Candlestar GalleryEvolution and Revolution of three generations of Iranian women artists An exhibition featuring work by 28 Iranian women artists runs at The Mall Galleries, London, 9 – … Continue reading →

    PAKISTANI CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW REVIEW Indian contemporary art is hotter than ever, but globalization is also giving a lift to artists from neighboring Pakistan says the New York Times in its review of a show featuring three female artists … Continue reading →

AZERBAIJAN ART       After its first appearance with its own pavilion at Venice Biennale in 2007, Azerbaijan continues its efforts to build its cultural profile abroad says Nafas art magazine. In 2008 two group shows were held in Germany: … Continue reading →

CENTRAL ASIAN ART The strong presence of Central Asian artists at recent art fairs and exhibits in New York is helping to underscore the fact that the region has joined the mainstream of the international art market reports Eurasianet. A … Continue reading →