China

Shanghaianalysis

Shanghai's art scene bursted back to life for massive art week

More than 100 events accompanied two major fairs, with a vibrant and chaotic energy befitting China's financial capital

Musée Rodin to open outpost in Shanghai

The new venue will be run and funded by the private collector Wu Jing, whose Rodin works, ordered from Paris, will be on show

Artistsanalysis

A new wave: why Chinese artists and gallerists are increasingly heading to Japan

Tokyo’s rich, international art scene and accessible residency are among the factors encouraging China‘s cultural workers to move to the island country

We must survive: Yokohama Triennale entwines stories of darkness and resistance

“Even though we are confronted with situations of hopelessness, resilience is our kind of hope,” say Chinese curators Carol Yinghua Lu and Liu Ding

Beijinganalysis

At Gallery Weekend, Beijing's art scene is better co-ordinated but losing its character

The event's eight edition was held as artist villages are demolished and cultural figures flee the city

Galleries ousted from Shanghai’s West Bund area as property values in former industrial area boom

Big cultural venues will remain in riverside district, but group of buildings housing commercial galleries slated for demolition

The Week in Art podcast | Inigo Philbrick and art world fraud, Hong Kong’s new security law, a Maharaja’s sword

Is a return for the disgraced art dealer that unthinkable? Plus, how Article 23 might impact the art sector, and a closer look at a royal weapon coming on show in London

Guangdong Times Museum reopens after money issues

Chinese institution, which suspended exhibitions in October 2022, has been reinvigorated following fundraising auction

‘The pendulum keeps tightening’: what Hong Kong’s new security law could mean for the art world

Article 23 introduces 39 new kinds of security crimes and stipulates life sentences for sabotage, treason and insurrection

Hong Konganalysis

Those who stay: the Hong Kong artists fighting for a brighter future

Despite governmental intimidation of arts entities, the high cost of living and the lure of better opportunities abroad, many artists are choosing to remain in the city

Taiwan’s cultural sector seeks higher profile as country heads to polls

As three contenders battle it out to become president, artists plead for them to see there is more to Taiwan than semiconductors

Tariffs on art are worsening frayed China-US relations, deepening ongoing trade war

Insiders say import taxes are strangling much-needed cultural interchange

Art history meets Lego in two of Ai Weiwei’s latest works

Chinese artist recreates two famous historic paintings using the hundreds of thousands of Lego bricks

China closing or repurposing mosques in northern Muslim regions, Human Rights Watch finds

Move is part of a "systematic effort to curb the practice of Islam" in the country, says the organisation's acting director

Booksreview

The bumpy road to acceptance of China's LGBTQ+ artists is explored in a new anthology

Against a backdrop of growing censorship, a book charting the struggle of the community to gain mainstream recognition offers some hope

Blocked show on Genghis Khan finally opens in France

The exhibition in Nantes was postponed after interventions by Beijing authorities

Economic turmoil in China hits the country’s commercial galleries

Though the wealthiest collectors remain untroubled by recent jolts to the economy, many galleries and younger collectors are being hit hard

Art marketanalysis

Lacklustre results for highly anticipated auction from Long Museum collection in China—experts weigh in on why

Despite a slew of records set for Western art in Asia, including new highest prices for Modigliani and Mark Bradford, the Hong Kong sale made below its low estimate

Kwer'ata Re'esu: the astonishing story of Ethiopia's most treasured icon

Plus, the AI copyright debate in the US and the end of China’s museum boom

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Booksreview

A deep dive into the history of China’s art market

From the devastation of the Cultural Revolution to the transformation of the contemporary art scene

What's behind China's spate of museum closures and downsizings?

As the country's economy takes a nosedive, its institutions face fiscal freeze and covert control amid an increasingly chaotic and arbitrary government censorship regime

Diaryblog

Escape from the British Museum—tale of a teapot returning to China goes viral

Two social media influencers—Pancake Fruit and Summer Sister—are behind the series posted on Douyin

The Week in Art | Special 250th episode: what’s next for the visual arts?

We ask leading art world figures about their hopes and concerns, and discuss what the future has in store for museums, the art market and artists with our long-term contributors Cristina Ruiz, Georgina Adam and Louisa Buck

Sponsored byChristie's

Couple behind Shanghai's Long Museum to sell part of their collection at Sotheby's

Paintings by Modigliani and Kusama among the 50 works to be offered in Hong Kong—with more potentially coming to the block in New York

National Gallery London masterpieces show in Shanghai sets record for visitor numbers

Beating the most popular paid-for exhibition on home turf, it has been a big win for the museum—but ethical questions linger

British Museum accused of using translator’s work without permission

Vancouver-based Yilin Wang says the London institution included their translations of Chinese poet Qiu Jin’s poems in its latest show—but did not credit her

Pop-up museum commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre opens in New York

A similar institution in Hong Kong was forcibly shuttered in 2021 following the passage of the city’s restrictive security law

Beijinganalysis

'The economy is bad, the mood is worse': Gallery Weekend Beijing returns under renewed fears of censorship

This is the event's first edition since China lifted its Covid restrictions

Sotheby's veteran Kevin Ching joins Christie's as chairman of Asia

Ching will be based in Hong Kong and starts the new role on Wednesday

Pillar of Shame sculpture seized by police in Hong Kong

Work commemorating Tiananmen Square tragedy is confiscated as part of "incitement to subversion" case