Wang Youshen (b. 1964, Beijing) is an artist who lives and works in Beijing. Upon graduation from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1988, Wang became the art editor of Beijing Youth News (Beijing qingnianbao). Under his editorship, the newspaper covered in depth the development of Chinese contemporary art, as exemplified by the special issue on the ‘China/Avant-Garde Exhibition’ in 1989. (Please refer to the ‘China/Avant-Garde Exhibition’ collection page of this website.)

To celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the resumption of the publication of the Beijing Youth News after the Cultural Revolution, Wang Youshen organized and curated the exhibition ‘New Generation Art’ at the Chinese History Museum in Beijing in 1991. Highlighting the differences between experimental art created in the 1980s and after 1989, this exhibition is an important reference point in the history of Chinese contemporary art.

Wang’s collection of documentary materials, a selection of which is presented here, offers a glimpse into the early artistic activities in Beijing—experimental photography, film and exhibitions of new media. The catalogue of the 1985 Rauschenberg exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing is one of the highlights of this collection.