Contemporary Chinese Artists’ Books: New Artistic Voices in a Time of Transition

This article considers several examples of Chinese artists’ books from Beijing’s recent Diamond Leaves exhibition, as well as other works by Chinese artist Xu Bing, whose oeuvre includes a discernable focus on the book and text in tandem. The emerging expression of contemporary book arts in China offers disparate views of artists’ books as social transcripts, as a compelling form of communication media, and as cultural capital in an era of transition. The author focuses on the physical, handmade Chinese artist’s book as a documentation of human experience rich in social significance.