The Rediscovery of Sanyu: The Development of Sanyu's Market from the 1980s to Today
An-Ru Chu
Art Market Studies
About this Item
- Title
- The Rediscovery of Sanyu: The Development of Sanyu's Market from the 1980s to Today
- Contributor Names
-
Chu, An-Ru (Author)
-
Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Art Market Studies (Degree granting institution)
-
Degen, Natasha (Thesis advisor)
- Date
- 2020
- Degree Information
- M.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York 2020.
- Department: Art Market Studies.
- Advisors: Degen, Natasha. Committee members: Paul Melton; Joanne Arbuckle.
- Abstract
- This thesis scrutinizes the rediscovery of the Chinese artist Sanyu (or Chang Yu, 常玉, 1895-1966) by examining major factors that have prompted the radical increase in value of Sanyu's market from the late 1980s to the present. In 2019 and 2020, six paintings by Sanyu fetched over USD 20 million in auction sales. While the news media renewed its interest in Sanyu's market, its development remains poorly understood from an academic perspective. To investigate Sanyu's rediscovery comprehensively, this study incorporates bibliographic research, data analysis, and interviews. Chapter 1 explores Sanyu's biography, particularly in terms of the post-May-Fourth zeitgeist and his characteristics as a dandy. While the historical background and Sanyu's personal history were inextricably linked to the recontextualization of Sanyu, Charles Baudelaire and Michel Foucault's theories on dandyism and modernity shed light on Sanyu's role as a Chinese modernist. Chapter 2 traces the early stages of Sanyu's rediscovery in Taiwan from the 1980s to 2001. It takes into account of Taiwan's art market boom in the 1990s and illustrates efforts by Taiwanese art critics, art dealers, auctioneers, and curators to reconstitute Sanyu's stature. The progression suggests that Sanyu's market is far from an overnight success. Chapter 3 demonstrates multiple driving forces for the significant growth of Sanyu's market between 2002 and 2020. Along with the purchasing power from mainland Chinese collectors, other influential factors include Hong Kong's transformation as Asia's art hub, the publication of Sanyu Catalogue Raisonné, exhibitions in Paris, Barcelona, Taipei, Hong Kong, and mainland China that featured Sanyu's works and the consistent participation of Taiwanese collectors.
- Subject
- Art, Chinese--Taiwan--20th century
- Art, Chinese--20th century
- Art--Marketing
- Art--Collectors and collecting
- Modernism (Art)
- Dandies
- Taiwan
- Chang, Yu, 1901-1966
- Rights
- In Copyright
- The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
- This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
- Identifier
- FIT Repository ID: etd_000855
- pqdiss: 28314317
- ISBN: 9798557099660
- Language
- eng
- Publisher
- Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Citation
Chu, A. (2020). The Rediscovery of Sanyu: The Development of Sanyu's Market from the 1980s to Today [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/3856
Chu, An-Ru. The Rediscovery of Sanyu: The Development of Sanyu's Market from the 1980s to Today. 2020. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Digital Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/3856
Chu, An-Ru. "The Rediscovery of Sanyu: The Development of Sanyu's Market from the 1980s to Today." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2020. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/3856