Published on the occasion of the North American premiere of Mahjong, a landmark exhibition of contemporary Chinese art from the world-renowned collection of the Swiss businessman and diplomat Uli Sigg, this catalogue accesses recent Chinese history through the lens of its art and the keen eye of an observant collector. More than 90 artists are featured in this fully illustrated publication, including Ai Weiwei, Huang Yan, Liu Wei, Wang Du, Weng Fen, Xu Bing, Yue Min Jun, Zhang Huan and Zhang Xiaogang. Along with the exhibition's themes of urbanization, globalization and alienation, China's underground tradition and its current cultural renaissance are addressed in essays by leading Chinese art historians Julia F. Andrews and Kuiyi Shen. Film critic James Quandt elaborates these issues in an essay on internationally acclaimed film director Jia Zhangke.
