History and community in contemporary Chinese art

This article draws attention to ways in which contemporary Chinese art is linked discursively to history and community. Drawing on the notion that history lies suspended, including in the common discourse on contemporary Chinese art, the article examines the role of politics and aesthetics, and the aesthetic regime in Chinese art. Moving the discussion from art of the revolution to the multiple revolutions in contemporary Chinese art, the article points at important developments in combined socio-artistic projects in China focused on drawing attention to the links between art, cultural revolution and communal history. It also presents ways in which such links might be critically examined. The combined study of these socio-artistic projects and the prevailing aesthetic regime in China is intended as way of opening up a new perspective on the avant-garde in Chinese art today.