China Contemporary
Architecture, Art, Visual Culture

Design: Thonik, Illustrated (colour and b/w), Paperback, sewn, 400 pages, Size: 23 x 17 cm
Dutch/English edition, ISBN 90-5662-500-4 / 978-90-5662-500-9, € 35.00

In association with the Netherlands Architecture Institute, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Netherlands Photomuseum

Exhibition in summer 2006 at above mentioned musea

A new world is emerging in China, with urbanization and the wholesale globalization of daily life moving at unprecedented speed.

The frequently heard comment that the 21st century will be China's compels us, as it were, to analyse and reflect on what is happening there. Cultural life is one of the many areas in the modern People's Republic where radical changes are taking place under the influence of globalization. Within the dynamics of an economy that is growing at breakneck speed, unique forms of contemporary art, architecture and forms of urban culture related to visual culture are emerging in China. These forms are intriguing because of their hybrid nature, drawing from a mix of Chinese tradition, 50 years of Communism, western capitalism and its Asian variant.

This first interdisciplinary overview of the country's contemporary arts, architecture, urban planning and visual culture - including television, photography, newspapers, games, and blogs - offers the work of some 20 Chinese artists considering these issues, and various projects by 15 Chinese architectural firms.