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
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Identifier
FIT Repository ID: etd_000855
pqdiss: 28314317
ISBN: 9798557099660
Related Materials
Also available from ProQuest
Type
Text
Thesis
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