Publisher's Synopsis
Focusing on three Shanghai-based Chinese contemporary artists - Shen Fan, Ding Yi and their teacher Yu Youhan - this bright yellow exhibition catalog documents a landmark show in Germany. Asking what exactly is Chinese about Chinese contemporary art, the exhibition answers the question with reference to millienia-old Chinese traditions and their interplay with Western modernism. All three artists make non-figurative work, but Yu Youhan, shaped by the repressive Cultural Revolution, had to pursue his art in secret, at great risk, with the goal of freeing Chinese art from the propagandistic style of social realism. Yu pushed the door open for his students, whose work reflects the dramatic changes in China since Tiananmen Square. With reproductions and many photos of the exhibition itself.
