Despite the unusual speed with which contemporary art has developed in China over the last 25 years, a comprehensive independent archiving platform has yet to exist. Though these years have produced an abundance of art, and with it an abundance of documentary materials, many of the most important art publications and critical writings, especially those from the 1980s, are difficult to find. A lack of any systematic collection and organization of documentary information has meant that materials exist sporadically among individuals, primarily the artists and curators active in contemporary Chinese art in recent decades.

Asia Art Archive believes it is important to locate and preserve these materials to acknowledge the history of contemporary art in China and to facilitate future research and critical writing. As an organization dedicated to collecting and documenting materials relating to contemporary Asian art, AAA has undertaken the project Materials of the Future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art from 1980-1990.

Image: Collection Samples for Wu Shanzhuan from Materials of the Future archive