Constructed from the Contemporary Chinese Art Collection of Dr. Zhou Yan, Visual Resources Curator and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Kenyon College, these materials record a vibrant and important period in the development of contemporary Chinese art. The materials were initially gathered in preparation for the contemporary art section of China: 5000 Years, an exhibition held at Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1998. When the contemporary art section was canceled, all materials, including photographs, slides, video/audio cassette, and texts, collected from artists by Julia Brown, curator of the contemporary art section, and her assistant, Zhou Yan. The materials, given to Zhou Yan, document the art made or planned to be made in the 1990s, reflect the creation of art in China under the influence of globalization and urbanization. Using these materials as the core, the archive is an on-going project, where documents beyond this period have been added, highlighting Dr. Zhou’s continued research on contemporary Chinese art. Several undergraduate research assistants have digitized, cataloged, researched the collection, uploading it to Digital Kenyon. These include: Zoe Chrissos (’18), Iris Yuqi Chen (’18), Hannah Russ (’18), Dounia Sawaya (’19), May Chen (’20), Jenny Tie (’21), and Fiona Mu (’21).
Photo of Zhang Jianjun, “Fog Inside,” steel, water, ink, heater, 1992.
Zhou Yan Contemporary Chinese Art Archive on Digital Kenyon