Hong Kong Art is the first comprehensive survey of contemporary art from Hong Kong presented within the changing social and political context of the territory’s 1997 handover from British to Chinese sovereignty. Tracing a distinctive and increasingly vibrant art scene from the late 1960s through the present, David Clarke discusses a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installations, as well as other kinds of visual production such as architecture, fashion, graphic design, and graffiti.

Clarke shows how a sense of local identity emerged in Hong Kong as the transition approached and found expression in the often politicized art produced. Given the recent international exposure of mainland Chinese contemporary art, this book considers the uniqueness of the art of China’s most cosmopolitan city. With a modern visual culture that was flourishing even when the People’s Republic was still closed to the outside world, Hong Kong has established itself as an exemplary site for both local and transnational elements to formulate into brilliant and groundbreaking art.

The author writes about individual artists and art works with a detail that will appeal to artists, curators, and art historians, as well as to postcolonial scholars, cultural studies scholars, and others.

Review

“This is an exciting look at the visual perspectives from many groundbreaking voices of Hong Kong’s contemporary art scene. It showcases a wide range of (multi)media, including photography, video, painting, architecture, installation, and sculpture. Clarke even delves into fashion and graffiti, tracing Hong Kong art as it reflects social moods and politics from the ’60s to the Handover.”

--Giant Robot

“Hong Kong Art persuasively illustrates the distinctiveness of Hong Kong art and its relation to Chinese culture. It is a worthwhile point from which to initiate discussion on a body of art that provokes multiple perspectives. . . . [A]ccompanied by a lengthy bibliography that may be the most comprehensive English-language bibliography of Hong Kong visual art to date.”

--Joan Kee, CAA Reviews

"[P]rovocative. . . . The book is accompanied by a lengthy bibliography that may be the most comprehensive English-language bibliography of Hong Kong visual art to date. . . . [F]ascinating insights. . . . Hong Kong Art persuasively illustrates the distinctiveness of Hong Kong art and its relation to Chinese culture. It is a worthwhile point from which to initiate discussion on a body of art that provokes multiple perspectives."

--Joan Kee, CAA Reviews

"[A] lucid narrative, substantial research, and an awareness of art history writing. . . ."

--Ka-Fai Yau, Journal of Aesthetic Education

"[A] welcome addition to the literature on contemporary art in China."

--Jason C. Kuo, China Review International