Jose, R.2015-02-132015-02-1320099781876509934http://hdl.handle.net/2440/89246Contemporary Chinese art has become a dominant presence in contemporary art internationally in a relatively short time and plays an important role in global images of China, but little research has been done into the early development of this phenomenon in the 1980s, which this piece investigates from the personal perspective of a witness and participant. Drawing on archives that have not been available before, and personal information, along with newly situated readings of the work of key artists, this research reconfigures the conventional understanding of the contemporary Chinese art phenomenon by locating its specific and politicised historical context and trajectory. This approach has since been pursued by other leading art institutions, including the Ullens Contemporary Art Foundation, BeijingenCreative work0030015537155572