Journal
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- Alice Ho
- Bowen Yang
- Celsivincys Kumar
- darren jorgensen
- Debbie Gilchrist
- Eloise Viney
- Harry Price
- James Enderby
- Jemma Yovacic
- Jessica Cottam
- Jiayang Qin
- Jinx Zhou
- Johan Sulaiman
- Kiara Player
- Kye Fisher
- Lucy Leech
- Lévi McLean
- Maddie Sarich
- Peter Kidson
- Rachel Ciesla
- Sam Beard
- Sam Beard
- Sara Fong
- Tami Xiang
- Valentina Sartori
Qi Zhilong in his studio, 2024. Photo by Kye Fisher
Li Xianting remarked of his role as an editor and a critic as follows:
“I just wanted to draw people’s attention towards a certain issue. I wanted to stir debate and stoke discourse”
Guan Kan 观看 attempts to stand in this tradition, and uphold Mr Li’s dedication to critical investigation on Contemporary Chinese Art. Below you will find a series of essays, criticism, interviews with artists, art theory and art writing, aimed at analyzing the history and future of art.
Scholarly debate and analysis is welcomed by the journal as well as negotiating intercultural differences which may arise.
To join this discussion, please get in contact with Guan Kan 观看
Mist, The Wall, and Empire: at the Threshold of Zhang Xiaotao’s Art
In Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, there is a tunnel flaunting a burgeoning stratum of graffiti art and hinting at a passageway to an enigmatic, inner domain. We came to a halt before this aperture in the bowels of China’s ‘World Class Art Destination.’ Every turn had been uncharted territory, and a moment’s deliberation coursed through our group, a current of hesitation, as we pondered whether to take up the gaping lure and witness what lay in the chamber of these foreign shadows. Air seeping from the tunnel was thick with the acrid bite of fresh spray paint, and beneath the cloak of night we boldly ventured across the threshold.
Zhang Linhai: Self-expression and social commentary through childhood memories
Light seeps through the windows, illuminating the walls of the studio space; Zhang’s artworks dominate the wall space, houseplants sit in every corner, and paints cover the workbenches—a truly ethereal setting—Zhang Linhai’s studio.
The revival of calligraphy in Zhang Qiang and Tong Yang-Tze
Chinese Calligraphy has been a prestigious and significant aspect of Chinese art and culture for much of China’s vast history.
Reflection of Changing Chinese Society in Qi Zhilong’s Art
Qi Zhilong is a Chinese artist most well known for his work during the Political Pop movement in the 1990s. With a self-admitted ‘obsession’ (Supangkat, 2009) with the exploration of women and beauty, Qi paints mainly female subjects which he uses as a metaphor for individuality and femininity.
Art Escaping Reality: Zhang Linhai’s reflections upon past and present experiences of China through contemporary art
Art has been a means by which Chinese creators have been able to respond to social and political states and changes throughout the contemporary era, though not with great success, due to government shutdown and censorship.
The impact of the Cultural Revolutions on Chinese contemporary art
Since the 1940s, China has been on a unique course of historical development. This essay will analyse Zhang Linhai’s artworks at different times over the course of this development, and through his life’s experience of it.