Chinese Art

Coverage of Chinese art and collecting, spanning historic porcelain, contemporary practices and conversations about cultural heritage. Interviews, exhibitions and auction reports consider how artists and collectors engage with materials, history and changing forms of expression.

From Digital Experimentation to Energetic Expression: The Expanding Practice of Peiyu Lin

Peiyu Lin artwork with a central pink brain-like flower, mirrored green stems and yellow swirls on black.

The boundaries between art, technology, and human perception have never been more fluid. In recent years, artists have been working at the intersection of digital media, interactivity, and immersive storytelling. Figures like Refik Anadol and teamLab collective have redefined what visual experience can be. Their work suggests that art is no longer static; it is responsive, data-driven, and often deeply emotional. Within this expanding landscape, a new generation of creators is pushing these ideas further, blending technical experimentation with personal intuition. Among them, Peiyu Lin stands out for her ability to move fluidly between disciplines while maintaining a strong, intentional artistic voice.

From Badong to Chongming: Multi-Site Ethnography as Method and the Making of Sonic and Visual Tapestries — A Review of Pepper Indulging (Neo Gao)

Still from Neo Gao’s Pepper Indulging (2024), layering a face with peppercorns near the lips over a gateway and townscape.

In Pepper Indulging — Alluvial Voice, Neo Jiapu Gao turns a vast geopolitical story into something intimate and quietly unsettling. By spending two days and one night with the Zhang family—first-generation migrants relocated after the Three Gorges Project—Gao captures moments that feel almost ordinary: harvesting peppercorns, tending a garden, preparing for sleep. Yet beneath these scenes runs a deeper current of displacement, language barriers, and lingering memory. Through layered imagery, shifting dialects, and the persistent presence of a Sichuan pepper plant carried from their former home, Gao reveals how migration reshapes not only landscapes but the textures of everyday life. What begins as a portrait of a single family slowly unfolds into a meditation on what it means to be uprooted—and what fragments of home can survive the journey.

Ma Weidu: Scholar of the Past, Craftsman of the Present – An Interview on Collecting, Cultural Practice and Responsibilities of Our Time

Ma Weidu in a white stand-collar jacket against a blue backdrop.

At a moment when cultural institutions worldwide struggle to define their purpose, Ma Weidu stands as a rare figure—part scholar, part craftsman—quietly reshaping what it means to care for the past. From founding China’s first private museum to rescuing stray cats who became unlikely cultural icons, his journey reveals how one person’s integrity can transform an entire heritage landscape. His story is not only about collecting antiquities, but about restoring warmth, responsibility, and meaning to a rapidly changing world—an invitation to step inside a life where culture becomes a way of being.

Art Shopping Paris: Between Skin and Structure – Reframing the Contemporary Gaze

Touch Me by Jiayi Yu, showing overlapping pale hands against a dark background.

Beneath the Louvre’s iconic pyramid, a hidden world of contemporary expression pulses with color, tension, and introspection. From heart-shaped imprints to purple pools of desire, a new generation of artists is transforming the Carrousel du Louvre into a sensory battleground—where memory, identity, and illusion collide. What unfolds isn’t just an art fair, but a visceral dialogue between cultures, mediums, and moments suspended in glass, shadow, and skin. Dive into the installations redefining how we see and feel in a world constantly shifting beneath our feet.

Rare Chinese ‘Dragon’ Vase Fetches Over €1.1 Million in Paris

Chinese famille rose dragon vase on a white plinth in front of enlarged red and pink dragon motifs.

What appeared to be an ordinary hallway decoration in a central London home turned out to be an extraordinary treasure—an incredibly rare Chinese Famille rose ‘dragon’ vase. Recently rediscovered by Bonhams experts, the vase shocked the art world when it sold for €1,161,600 at auction in Paris, soaring past its estimate. With a fascinating history linked to an early 20th-century collector and a surprising connection to an identical twin vase sold in Hong Kong, this remarkable story is a testament to the enduring allure of hidden Asian masterpieces.

Sacrificed to Survive: The Artistic Saga of Aixinjueluo Yuting, Descendant of Imperial China’s Last Dynasty

Yuting Aisin-Gioro in a white shirt and glasses, standing before a painting of horses.

In a journey marked by both devastating loss and profound artistic triumph, Aisin Gioro Yuting’s story is one of survival, resilience, and the unbreakable bond between art and heritage. From watching his family’s priceless treasures destroyed during the Cultural Revolution to rising as a celebrated artist in Hong Kong and Canada, Yuting’s life embodies the power of memory and the enduring spirit of creation. His artwork, particularly his iconic horse paintings, serves not only as a tribute to his ancestry but as a timeless connection to the cultural legacy of China’s imperial past. Discover how Yuting’s remarkable path—from the ashes of destruction to the heights of artistic mastery—continues to inspire and shape the future of his family’s legacy.

Unveiling the Human Condition: Jason Zhenyu Gu’s Art at Aisin Gioro Fine Art Gallery

Detail of Fragmented, Jason Gu’s mosaic on wood depicting stylized human figures.

Jason Gu, known by his Chinese name Zhenyu Gu, was born in Qingyang, Gansu Province, China. His path to becoming an artist is a story of perseverance, passion, and unwavering determination. Coming from a working-class family, Gu’s journey into the world of art was anything but easy. Despite his early fascination with painting, financial constraints hindered his ability to receive formal training. However, his parents, recognizing his talent and drive, made significant sacrifices, using their savings to enroll him in a small local art studio. It was within this modest environment that Gu began to lay the foundations of his artistic vision.

Does Mark Zuckerberg’s Statue of His Wife Alienate the Asian Community?

Priscilla Chan beside a sculpture of herself by Daniel Arsham, commissioned by Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Meta, is no stranger to public scrutiny. His latest public endeavor, a statue of his wife Priscilla Chan, has sparked a wave of discussion that transcends mere artistic critique. The 7-foot-tall sculpture, unveiled on Zuckerberg’s Instagram account to his 14.6 million followers, has been met with a mixture of bewilderment and criticism, particularly from within the Asian community. The choice of design and execution has led to concerns that the artwork unintentionally reinforces harmful stereotypes, portraying Chan in a manner that aligns more closely with an alien being than with the classical beauty and reverence traditionally associated with statues of loved ones.