Gatekeepers, Poachers and Pests in the Globalized Contemporary Art World System

Abstract

This article examines the rise in the global value of contemporary Chinese art since the 1980s, setting this development in the context of a wider theorization of globalization processes. This contextualization involves a historical analysis of the institutional and market dominance of Western art organizations, discourses and socio-economic power in the world. Identified as ‘gatekeepers’, the significance of these agencies – such as the auctioneers Sotheby's, the museums Tate, London, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York – is assessed in a consideration of the rise of artworks by Ai Weiwei, Chin Yifei and Xiogang. The article also considers the relevance to the global rise of Chinese art of volatility in the behaviour of the Chinese government in allowing an arts infrastructure to develop and the significance of late Cold War politics practised by the remaining world superpowers.

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