The Philosophy and Art of Wang Guangyi

Wang Guangyi is the most significant painter to have emerged out of the 1980s encounter between Western and Chinese postmodernisms. This volumes essays and interviews --adeptly traversing conventional boundaries of art criticism, philosophy, history, and political theorycomprise the most significant treatment in English of Guangyis ironic, intellectual, cool, subversive, and yet wildly popular art. And more generally, the book makes vivid how Chinese contemporary art, despite deploying seemingly similar aesthetic strategies to those found in the West, developed out of substantially sui generis concerns. -- Jonathan Gilmore, Associate Professor of Philosophy, City University of New York, USA By focusing on Wang Guangyi, a trendsetter in contemporary Chinese art since the mid-1980s, this original volume presents a variety of angles to rethink many key concepts and visual strategies in contemporary art across the East-West divide. In so doing it provides an unusually detailed and sensitive analysis of an important artist as well as a possible model for transregional and interdisciplinary studies on global contemporary art. -- Wu Hung, Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor, The University of Chicago, USA

Tiziana Andina is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Turin, Italy. Erica Onnis is a PhD student in theoretical philosophy at the University of Turin, Italy, where since 2015, she is a member of the Labont Center for Ontology.

List of Figures Notes on Contributors Introduction: Chinese Contemporary Art: Between Deconstruction and Construction, Tiziana Andina and Erica Onnis 1. Defining the Human and Humanizing the Divine Gratings, Barriers and Boundaries. Wang Guangyis Transcendental Painting, Luca Illetterati Wang Guangyi. Popular Study on Anthropology, Demetrio Paparoni 2. Duplicating the Scene Wang Guangyis Material Spirit: a Religion Embodied in Art, Tiziana Andina The Tears of Pictures. Duplication and Inflection in Wang Guangyis Oeuvre, Enrico Terrone 3. Bridging the Cultural Divide Through Pop On the Meanings of Propaganda, Erica Onnis A Critique of Wang Guangyis Great Criticism: Coca Cola, Xian Zhou 4. Words and Images: Two Instruments to Describe the World Wang Guangyi and the Culture of the Cover: on Contemporary Pop Art and Political Theology, Babette Babich The Globalist Dimension of Art. Wang Guangyi and Transculturalism, Davide Dal Sasso 5. Erasing the Emotions Grief and the Power of the Mind, Carola Barbero Thinking with Idols. A Conversation with Wang Guangyi, Andrew Cohen 6. The Circle of Life: Presenting and Representing Food. Food Art, A Hymn to Nature, Mary Bittner Wiseman Food in Wang Guangyis Art, Nicola Perullo 7. In Dialogue with Wang Guangyi Nothingness, God, the Soul and the World. A Conversation with Wang Guangyi, Demetrio Paparoni Dark Learning, Mysticism and Art. A Conversation with Wang Guangyi, Yan Shanchun Index