Terms of Encounter: The ’85 New Wave and France, Magiciens de la Terre and Chine Demain pour Hier

This article focuses on the encounters and exchanges between French and Chinese artists, art critics and curators from 1985–90 and their impact on the development of two important presentations of the ’85 New Wave movement in France: Magiciens de la Terre (1989) and Chine Demain pour Hier (1990). Drawing on interviews with French and Chinese artists, critics and curators, it argues how the politics of intercultural encounters influenced the curatorial frameworks of both these exhibitions. Such politics ranged from the conditions of artistic exchanges between France and China initiated under French cultural policies to issues of linguistic and cultural translation.