Surveying eighty of the most influential contemporary Chinese artists, Richard Vine offers a comprehensive, critical, and thoroughly informed assessment of one of the most dynamic art scenes in the world today. The rapid economic and cultural transformation of China during the past fifteen years has created an art scene of unparalleled energy and global impact. Throwing off restrictions on subject matter, embracing a new freedom to experiment, but also preserving and expressing Chinese identity on a monumental scale, this new art has enjoyed an astonishing surge of commercial and critical success. Featuring chapters organized by medium, including painting, sculpture and installation, photography, and performance, the book focuses on the most outstanding contemporary Chinese artists and their most important works. With a preface placing the art in the context of the whirlwind changes in the country's social and political environment, and a concluding critical appraisal, this book offers an authoritative and exciting introduction to art of the new China. AUTHOR: Richard Vine, managing editor of Art in America, is recognized as one of the leading authorities on contemporary Asian art. << 170 colour illustrations.