A Study on the Art Strategy of Wenda Gu

The purpose of this research is to find out what strategies Chinese artist Wenda Gu (1955~) used to build awareness in the international art world and China. In the early 1980s, the trend of modern Western philosophy and modern art flowed into China following the wave of China's reform and opening up. In addition, global interest in Chinese contemporary art is increasing. Amid this trend, the 85 New Wave, which called for the modernization of Chinese art, served as a turning point in history as a major event that revealed its presence in the global art world. In this study, Wenda Gu, a leading Chinese avant-garde writer, examined the significance of the 85 New Wave through analysis of his work as a person who participated in the 85 New Wave. The 85 New Wave is a kind of cultural movement in which young artists, including Wenda Gu, try to reform Chinese society and art through art, and this completely changed the trend of modern Chinese art. In order to investigate Wenda Gu art strategy, he first visualized China's turbulent political and economic situation, and then went to the U.S. to grasp the characteristics of the expansion of the art world and internationalization factors that enabled artists to succeed. It can be seen that he incorporated elements of traditional Chinese culture into his works and actively utilized elements of literati culture in his works. This study is meaningful because it aims to present another perspective on his work based on his attitude change using traditional Chinese cultural elements depending on his position in China and international art circles.