Concrete Horizons: Contemporary Art from China | 2004

Published 2004 by Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
32 pages
230mm x 230mm, softcover with colour illustrations
With essays by Sophie McIntyre and Zhang Zhao Hui
Edited by Sophie McIntyre. Duncan Campbell, Emily Cormack and Danae Mossman
Design by Chrometoaster
Printed by Printlink
ISBN 0-9751404-1-8

This catalogue was published in association with the exhibition Concrete Horizons: Contemporary Art from China, 2004. Curated by Sophie McIntyre.

'As society's visual observers, artists in China are searching for new ways in which to critically interact and engage with continually shifting and often conflicting urban realities. In this 'capitalist' consumer society, the 'self' rather than 'the state' has become the central focus of attention. As the 'public' is being displaced by the 'private', political and ideological anxieties have been overtaken by a preoccupation with status, wealth, and taste. Faced with mounting economic, social and environmental pressures, contemporary artists are turning away from the post-Cultural Revolutionary 'Political Pop' (zhengzhi popu) genre, to focus on more immediate issues arising from China's radical urban transformation.'

— Sophie McIntyre