Sheng Qi, National hero, 2008. Bronze - 188 x 82 x 50 cm. Collection of the Artist.

PARIS.- In Imperial China, only the emperor could wear the colour yellow. Today, the generation of artists working to renew all forms of artistic expression have symbolically appropriated the imperial colour, as if to make the obvious point that they represent their country’s future. In another register, as the China Daily News recently declared in an article about a forum being held in Beijing, “If China is entering an age of wealth and gold, then that will mean opportunities for all.” Rarely has the world witnessed such a metamorphosis that has enabled contemporary art, which was still prohibited towards the end of the Mao era, to develop so dramatically that the country is now seen as one of the major international art hubs. The history of this unpredictable “cultural revolution” began with the emergence of small movements of bold young artists such as those of the Stars group in 1979 and the East Village group in the 1990s, and also the North Art Group, which brought to light many artists who have since become famous. Pictorial trends such as Cynical Realism and Political Pop figured prominently in the rise of Chinese contemporary art.

China Gold presents 35 artists chosen by curator Alona Kagan. They add up to a panorama of the multiple tendencies that have arisen in recent years. In their work these artists address the many paradoxes that characterise Chinese society, where phenomenal economic growth has been made possible by the massive exodus of peasants from the countryside to cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing, which are becoming the megacities of the new century.

These artists are the heirs to a tradition that reaches back thousands of years. At the same time they strive to translate into their work the extraordinary sociological kaleidoscope that is China in the twenty-first century, using the many media made available by contemporary art. Videos, photographs, filmed happenings and installations thus cohabit with more traditional paintings and sculptures. Chinese contemporary art faces huge challenges: the aesthetic future of a world that is becoming radically transformed; finding ways to express the collective and individual experiences generated by the modern world and, finally, introducing themes alien to the Chinese tradition, such as the naked body, while continuing to draw on such specificities of Chinese culture as calligraphy and painting on silk.

While some of the artists in this exhibition are internationally known, visitors will also find equally fascinating work by authors whose talents have yet to be discovered. They complete this survey of the extraordinary artistic landscape flourishing in the Middle Kingdom today.

Cui Xiuwen, Ange n°4, 2006 - Tirage couleur argentique 155 x 290 cm (8 exemplaires). Collection of the Artist.