Journal

Qi Zhilong in his studio, 2024. Photo by Kye Fisher

Li Xianting remarked of his role as an editor and a critic as follows:

“I just wanted to draw people’s attention towards a certain issue. I wanted to stir debate and stoke discourse”

Guan Kan 观看 attempts to stand in this tradition, and uphold Mr Li’s dedication to critical investigation on Contemporary Chinese Art. Below you will find a series of essays, criticism, interviews with artists, art theory and art writing, aimed at analyzing the history and future of art.

Scholarly debate and analysis is welcomed by the journal as well as negotiating intercultural differences which may arise.

To join this discussion, please get in contact with Guan Kan 观看

How (Not) to Read Playboy: Interview with Guo Jian, John McDonald</span> and Maggie Wu

Kye Fisher 25/4/25 Kye Fisher 25/4/25

How (Not) to Read Playboy: Interview with Guo Jian, John McDonald and Maggie Wu

Guo Jian: Nothing About Erotic But Playboy is a stunning array of works from acclaimed artist Guo Jian, spanning a 25-year period while tracking his personal and artistic development. Defying stylistic definition, Guo Jian presents viewers with a collision of artistic references. Nevertheless one cannot help but recognize the presence of memory and biography protruding from his canvases. These are all themes that Rochfort Gallery Director, Maggie Wu, curator of the exhibition John McDonald and Guo Jian himself attest to, in their own way, throughout this interview, and underlie this exhibition.

Guo Jian: Nothing About Erotic But Playboy runs from the 16^th of April to the 7^th of June 2025 at Rochfort Gallery

Darren Jorgensen and Tami Xiang 8/4/25 Darren Jorgensen and Tami Xiang 8/4/25

Accelerationism and Positive Thinking after Beijing Realism

Two years after the close of the Beijing Realism Exhibition, the storm of furious writing it cased still leaves many questions unanswered. The co-curators of the exhibition and co-authors of this paper, Darren Jorgensen and Tami Xiang, attempt to shed new light on Beijing Realism as a reaction to economic conditions

Kye Fisher 2/1/25 Kye Fisher 2/1/25

Laughing To Death With David Williams: An Interview on White Rabbit Gallery’s ‘XSWL’

Who is excited for a New Year Guan Kan 观看 release! We know you are, so we have lined up a special interview with the White Rabbit Gallery curator David Williams and our editor Kye Fisher on Williams exciting new show XSWL. “Xiào sì wŏle" ( 笑死我了) means "laughing to death" and is equivalent to the English "LOL”. But here we have taken a different perspective on 'XSWĽ to ask the question: what are the darker themes that 'fun and games' hides?" - David Williams

Jiayang Qin 30/10/24 Jiayang Qin 30/10/24

The Loneliness of Can’t Being Alone: Lassnig and her Dual-Shadow Body

A Chinese art critic, writing about an Austrian artist, being displayed in Beijing, for an Australian journal - what could be better! Jiayang Qin has plumbs the dwells into the duality of the body in Maria Lassnig's oeuvre recently exhibited at UCCA in Beijing. Sharply theoretical and deeply poetic, Jiayang makes a critical intervention, not only into art historical research but also philosophy of the body.