The Spirit of Individualism: Shanghai Avant-Garde Art in the 1980s

Acknowledgements
Praise for The Spirit of Individualism
Contents
About the Author
List of Figures
1 Introduction
	The Term Avant-Garde Art
	Scope and Approach
2 The Spirit of Individualism in the Chinese Modern and Contemporary Art Context
	New Culture Movement
	The Modernist Art Movement
	Early Modernisation in Shanghai’s Cultural Industry and Art Education
	Changes in the Modern and Contemporary Sphere
	Conclusion
3 National Discourse, Local Voice: Contemporary Chinese Art of the 1980s
4 The Matrix of Art Institutions and Organisations and Unofficial Art Exhibitions in Shanghai in the 1980s
	The Matrix of Art Institutions and Organisations
	The Critical Early Unofficial Art Exhibitions in Shanghai in the 1980s
		Twelve Persons Painting Exhibition
		Experimental Painting Exhibition: The Stage 1983
		Concave-Convex Exhibition
		The 1980s Art Exhibition and the M Conceptual Art Performance
	Key International Exhibitions in Shanghai in the Late 1970s and Early 1980s
		Exhibition of French Rural Landscape Paintings from the 19th Century
		American Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
	Conclusion
5 The Shanghai Art Museum—Bureaucratic System and Individual Influence (1979–1989)
	Political and Bureaucratic Structures in the 1980s
	Initiatives of Individuals in the 1980s
	Shanghai Art Museum: Key Exhibitions in the 1980s
	Shanghai Art Museum’s New Building Completion Exhibition
	The Last Supper Exhibition
	Shanghai Biennale
	Conclusion
6 Zhang Jianjun: Experimenting in the Search for Eternal Elements
	The Modernist Influence
	Exploration and Experimentation
	From Political Censorship to the First Prize Award
	Individualist Character and Interactions with Other Avant-Garde Artists
	International Influences and Interactions
	Conclusion
7 Li Shan: A Nonconformist Artist
	An Independent Mind
	The Influence of Modernism and the Pursuit of Freedom in Artistic Expression
	The Role in ’85 Art New Wave Movement: Events and Art Exhibitions
	Conclusion
8 Yu Youhan: A Lonely Traveller
	Connections of Early Twentieth-Century Modernist Art
	The “Higher Education” Experience and the Early Exploration of Modernist Art
	Influence and Friendship with Younger Artists
	Abstract Art and Daoism in the 1980s
	Political Pop and Personal History
	Conclusion
9 Chen Zhen, Cai Guoqiang, and Gu Wenda
	Chen Zhen
	Cai Guoqiang
	Gu Wenda
	Conclusion
10 Conclusion
Appendix
Two Diagrams on the Chinese Bureaucratic Structure of Cultural Organisations
Glossary
Artist and Other Associations and Groups
Art Education Institutions
Art Galleries and Museums
Art Movements
Exhibitions
Political Campaigns and Groups
Political Slogans
Publications and Media
Illustration Credits
Bibliography
Index