General, Organic, And Biological Chemistry

H.Stephen Stoker

Jennifer Tillinger

Blue Kingfisher

The aggressively smiling faces of the noted Chinese Cynical Realist, Yue Minjun, are instantly recognizable to anyone even remotely interested in the burgeoning contemporary Chinese art scene--his work has set astronomical records at Sotheby's and Christies since it was first introduced, and has been reported upon in magazines ranging from Variety to the Economist. One of China's leading artists, the 44-year-old Beijing-based painter's works are instantly recognizable by the artist's trademark laughing figures--actually the artist himself in various guises. The idiotic laughing figures always have more teeth than one could possibly want, like empty fashion models advertising the latest whitening toothpaste. In this way, Yue transforms himself into an icon for the spiritual emptiness of the contemporary world: While Yue's trademark smile appears superficial, mindless and even ridiculous, it is also deeply revealing and compelling, combining basic elements of propaganda posters from the Cultural Revolution with those of modern advertising.

Yue Minjun: Works 2004-2006: Reproduction Icons

Arts & Photography

Boi, Feng

Smith, Karen

History & Criticism

Liu Xiaodong: Painting From Life

Li, Pi

WEIWEI, Ai

Contemporary Art in Shanghai offers a series of in-depth and illustrated conversations with seven contemporary Chinese artists, all of whom live and work in and around the city of Shanghai: Yu Youhan, Liang Shaoji, Ding Yi, Yang Fudong, Song Tao, Ji Weiyu and Zhang Ding.

Contemporary Art in Shanghai: Conversations with Seven Chinese Artists

Any discussion of Japanese contemporary art inevitably leads to the pop-culture fantasies of Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara and the other artists of the Superflat movement. But Japan as a whole has changed dramatically after stumbling through a series of economic, social and ecological crises since the collapse of its "bubble" economy in the early 1990s. How did Murakami, Nara and Superflat become the dominant artistic vision of the Japan of today? What lies behind their imagery of a childish and decadent society unable to face up to reality? Written by a sociologist with an eye for sharp observation and clear reportage, Before and After Superflat offers the first comprehensive history in English of the Japanese art world from 1990 up to the tsunami of March 2011, and its struggle to find a voice amidst Japan's economic decline and China's economic ascent.

Before and After Superflat: A Short History of Japanese Contemporary Art 1990-2011

Adrian Favell

This volume records the making of Chinese artist Zhan Wang’s work “My Personal Universe.” To create this installation, a massive boulder was exploded in mid-air, while being filmed from multiple angles. These films were projected on the walls of a room in which were suspended stainless steel replicas of rock fragments.

Zhan Wang: My Personal Universe

Woo, Michelle

In 1993, 10 contemporary Chinese artists debuted at the 45th Venice Biennale. The reception was lukewarm: people wanted to know if and when the Chinese avant-garde would cut through certain quaint notions of oriental mystique and evolve a distinct identity. Today, contemporary Chinese art is everywhere, and the innovations of the artists in this volume are now recognized as primary catalysts for the contemporary scene. Nine Lives: The Birth of Avant-Garde Art in New China, first published in 2005 and now available in a revised edition, focuses on the stories of nine individuals who set it all in motion--Wang Guangyi, Geng Jianyi, Fang Lijun, Gu Dexin, Li Shan, Zhang Xiaogang, Xu Bing, Zhang Peili and Wang Jianwei. Now in its second edition, this insightful study is standard reading for anyone interested in contemporary Chinese art. Every chapter is fully illustrated with images chronicling the artists' youth, their mature work, the effects of international acclaim and the impact of the commercial art world.

Nine Lives: The Birth of Avant-Garde Art in New China: Updated Edition

Deseos Sin Limites/ Desires Without Limits: Las Obras Recientes De Zhang Xiaotao/ the Recent Works of Zhang Xiaotao

Pozuelo, Abel

A documentation of Andy Warhol's 1982 visit to China, this volume offers a unique glimpse of the international pop star by Christopher Makos, his personal photographer. With the advantage of hindsight, this volume becomes complexly ironic--in China in the 80s, almost no one knew who Warhol was. Just a few decades later, in 2006, Warhol's 1972 "Mao" sold for $17.4 million to a Hong Kong real estate tycoon. And Chinese artists have, for years, been incorporating Western pop iconography into their work. Photographer Christopher Makos became known in the 1970s for his candid shots of Warhol. Henry Geldzahler, the former Curator of Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has written: "It is a great asset in Chris Makos' photographs that they reveal new and unfamiliar faces of the legendary pop figure..."

Andy Warhol in China: The Photographs of Christopher Makos

Individual Artists

Shen Ling: Eroticism and Love

Zhaohui, Zhang

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Books by Blue Kingfisher