Expecting New Wave of Art Criticism

Melissa Chiu
Museum Director and Vice President, Global Art Programs, Asia Society

2008 will surely be remembered as a year of extreme highs and lows for Asian contemporary art. The international biennale circuit thrived, with exhibitions in ten cities across the region, half of them banding together to form a grand tour called Art Compass. Individual artists also gained mainstream recognition, with Japanese Takashi Murakami? selection for Time magazines ?00 Most Influential People.?On the other hand, record art market highs for Chinese contemporary art in the beginning of the year were followed by lows, coinciding with the stock market crash.
This past year at Asia Society has seen us focus our attention on art from Iran, Vietnam and China. ?rt and China? Revolution?focused on the Maoist period of the 1950s through the 1970s, including the Cultural Revolution. As the first-ever comprehensive exhibition on this subject, curated by Zheng Shengtian and I, it provided much-needed scholarship on the influence of this period on today? visual artists. Another exhibition, ?rdeshir Mohassess: Art and Satire in Iran,?curated by Shirin Neshat and Nicky Nodjoumi, was a timely appraisal of this under-recognized artist living in exile in New York, staged just months before he passed away. Finally, our exhibition of Vietnamese artist Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba? work, curated by Miwako Tezuka, was one in an ongoing series of artist projects.
Next year, we have plans to show artists from Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, China and Japan. Our exhibition of art from Pakistan, curated by Salima Hashmi, will include nearly 15 artists who work across different media of sculpture, miniature painting, installation and video. This will be a revelation, showing how artists forge creativity from extreme conditions. Yang Fudong? five part film ?even Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest?will also be shown for the first time in the U.S., accompanied by a companion exhibition of works on the idea of the Seven Sages, a traditional motif from fifth century China. This is designed to connect tradition to contemporary arts practices. Other planned exhibitions feature the work of Rahraw Omarzad, Seifollah Samadian and Yoshihiro Suda.
Predictions are always difficult. In 2009, it is clear however that many individuals and organizations, including museums, will face difficult financial times. Some museums are already facing hardship here in the United States. Yet in this environment, we might also anticipate a return to the discussion of critical issues rather than fascination with the price or value of art work? preoccupation over the past two years. There is an urgent need, perhaps more than ever, for us to re-invest in the agency of art. It is my hope that today? conditions and the recent recognition of contemporary art in Asia produces a new crop of artists, curators and critics that take this on in the coming years.