关键词: 中国当代艺术, 美国研究, 天书, 游牧, 徐冰, 海外研究

Abstract:

The observation and knowledge production of Chinese contemporary art in the United States offers insights into how foreign observers have shaped the image of Chinese contemporary artists in the 1990s, revealing the underlying conflicts, contradictions, and origins of cultural and identity issues. The author first examines contemporary artists’ identity changes in globalization through theoretical terms such as “nomadic” and “diaspora”, attempting to identify the qualities of the Chinese artistic spirit reflected in the Chinese contemporary art community. The study then focuses on artists like Xu Bing, a “nomadic artist”, exploring the impact of global capital and cross-cultural environments on their work. It traces the creative trajectory and critical debates surrounding Xu’s works, from Tian Shu to Gui Da Qiang, especially his 1991 solo exhibition in the U.S. and the critical discourse surrounding the “Three Installations of Xu Bing”. This analysis clarifies the multiple meanings presented by his works in the museum space and explores the diversified characteristics of “Chineseness” and “contemporaneity”.

Key words: Chinese contemporary art, American studies, Tian Shu, nomadic, Xu Bing, overseas research