Crossing Borders in the 1920s-1940s: Xu Beihong’s Art, Network, and Transnational Memories

Description

This paper investigates how overseas travel facilitates cultural and intellectual exchange through the personal networks, exhibitions, and artistic practices of celebrated Chinese painter and educator Xu Beihong (1895-1953). During his lifetime, Xu crossed numerous international borders. Xu studied art in the early 1920s at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris before going on to work as an educator in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Chongqing. In the course of his travels to Singapore and India in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Xu grew new networks, organized exhibitions, and produced fresh works of art. This paper specifically focuses on Xu Beihong as a key agent in Sino-French and Sino-Indian artistic exchange, in order to examine the influence of cross-cultural interaction on the transformation of Chinese art, as well as his own cultural identity and legacy.

Period	12 Apr 2023
Event title	Association for Art History Annual Conference 2023
Event type	Conference
Location	London, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International