Publications

PUBLICATION
Outside In

Chinese × American × Contemporary Art

Jerome Silbergeld with Cary Y. Liu and Dora C.Y. Ching, et al.
Outside In book cover
Published in 2009 by Princeton University Art Museum and the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art, Princeton University, in association with Yale University Press
Hardcover  |  ISBN 9780300122084
304 pp.  |  10.75 × 9  |  234 color illus. and 10 halftones

The art world is currently enthralled with contemporary Chinese art. This thought−provoking book argues, however, that American audiences have only been exposed to a narrow range of what is available−with the majority of exposure having been given to “avant−garde,” “experimental,” or politically charged art. Outside In discusses contemporary Chinese art in a far wider range of styles and subject matter and substantially expands on our understanding of this work.

The book features six artists−Arnold Chang, Michael Cherney, Zhi Lin, Liu Dan, Vannessa Tran, and Zhang Hongtu−all of whom are American citizens yet are widely diverse in age and experience as well as geographical and ethnic origins. In addition to extensive personal interviews and artists’ statements, there are essays that challenge the categorization of art into such focused genres as “Chinese,” “contemporary,” and “American,” and reexamine the factors that shape the development of “Chinese art” in America.