Monographs & Art Books / Q

Wang Quingsong may be China's answer to David LaChappelle or Pierre et Gilles. His grand, staged photographs have been featured in exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, San Diego Musuem of Art and the Contemporary Art Center, Montreal.

Qingsong's recent tableau photographs are allegories based on masterpieces--both Eastern and Western. Qingsong's modern re-productions are replete with all the kitsch and irony of today's Chinese society, in which the old world frequently mingles with the new--with varied results.

Wang Qingsong (b.1966), the enfant terrible of contemporary Chinese art photography, stages grand, kitschy tableaux that call to mind traditional Chinese scrolls, allegorical Renaissance paintings, Socialist public sculptures and more.

Sexy, ironic and always over the top, the photographs critique China's new consumer culture, its growing materialism and wastefulness, while simultaneously revelling in its newfound decadence. Many of Qingsong's best works are amusing self-portraits, in which the artist positions himself in such a way as to force the viewer to question the direction in which our collective culture is turning.

Featuring the most prominent names in contemporary Chinese photography, these pocket-sized monographs explore the extraordinary diversity of the genre and showcase a creative, liberated, and unique artistic perspective. The collections present an obscure tableau of modern Chinese society, from magnificent landscapes and never-before-seen industrial compounds to the desires of China’s new youth and its growing sociopolitical challenges. The imagery from some of the most exciting artists working today—including “the invisible man” photos of Liu Bolin and the world-famous coal miner portraits of Song Chao—is prefaced with a concise essay that explains the background and inspiration of each featured photographer.

The most complete monograph of the works of Wang Qingsong, China’s most acclaimed photographer. His overscaled photographs, requiring hundreds of models and weeks of labor to build, his gigantic stages are redefining the scale of photography. His works are like still narratives of China’s mutation over the last few decades. Combining a pop and kitsch aesthetic with humor, Wang Qingsong tackles the main issues challenging his country and the world today. Wang Qingsong is a reference in Chinese contemporary art.