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Papers by Svetlana Kharchenkova

Cultural Sociology, 2024

Sociological research on global flows of visual art has primarily investigated artistic presence ... more Sociological research on global flows of visual art has primarily investigated artistic presence in the organizations located at the center of the art world. This article shifts the focus to a country outside the traditional center, as it investigates the nationalities of artists who have exhibited at the recently emerged private contemporary art museums in China. It demonstrates that Chinese artists dominate in their exhibitions, which points to a home bias. However, there is also evidence of a cultural hierarchy, with the dominance of a small number of European countries and the USA, and of the regional dominance of East Asian countries. The article demonstrates that a focus on a country outside the center enables us to see the prominence of regional cultural flows in the globalization of visual art. Moreover, it shows that private museums, which are relatively independent of state control, are an important venue to show non-Chinese contemporary artists in present-day China. The increase in non-Chinese artists in exhibitions over time, which is due to the establishment of new private museums, suggests the rising, albeit tentative, centrality of China globally in terms of the importance of its institutions. This article contributes to research on globalization in the sociology of art, and to the understanding of the dynamics of local and transnational cultural flows in contemporary China.

European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2023

This article investigates the interplay between art, commerce and democratization in the contempo... more This article investigates the interplay between art, commerce and democratization in the contemporary art market. It studies the roles of art merchandise, such as mugs decorated with images of high art, in the contemporary art market in China. Relying on interviews, observations and other qualitative data, this article demonstrates that the merchandising of contemporary art is legitimate in China. The generation of income and promotion of artists and contemporary art generally emerged as important roles that China's art world participants assign to art merchandise. Art merchandise is fitting for these roles in a consumer society. The prevalence of art merchandising in China stems from a lack of state support for contemporary art, and a specific cultural and historical context that makes people more attuned to accept multiples. This article contributes to the sociology of art, the literature on the democratization of art and arts marketing literature.

The China Quarterly, 2019

This study proposes a new explanation for institutional differences of organizations in China. It... more This study proposes a new explanation for institutional differences of organizations in China. It focuses on how two organizational forms dominant in contemporary art markets – commercial galleries and auction houses – were first established in China in the 1990s. Based on archival and interview data, it argues that the organizational forms were introduced to China due to mimetic isomorphism, and that their divergences from the foreign models are the result of unintended consequences of institutional work. It highlights the role of individual agency, including the role of foreign nationals, in organization-building in China. The findings also have implications for institutional theory: the article shows how the political, cultural and institutional context in China shaped institutional work that needed to be conducted and led to unintended consequences of institutional work.

Kharchenkova, Svetlana (2018). “Sketching the Art Scene: The Chinese Contemporary Art World and How It Has Been Created”. A Chinese Journey. The Sigg Collection. Zwolle: WBOOKS, in cooperation with Het Noordbrabants Museum, the Netherlands., 2018

This article proposes a novel approach to studying markets through metaphor. Unlike other sociolo... more This article proposes a novel approach to studying markets through metaphor. Unlike other sociological studies of market emergence, it focuses on emic perceptions and their consequences for actions in an emerging peripheral market. By analysing a guiding conceptual metaphor for the contemporary art market in China it investigates how market actors make sense of their market and its global position. It draws on 125 in-depth interviews and observations conducted in Beijing in 2012–2014. The market is conceptualised as an organism and juxtaposed to “mature” Western markets. This metaphor enables China’s market actors to (a) describe the market, (b) justify illegitimate behaviours, and (c) see the future and the possible ways of action. This study contributes to the sociology of markets as it suggests applying metaphor analysis to markets, as well as theorising non-agentic elements of market construction and focusing on the time dimension of market emergence. It contributes to globalisation literature as it discusses the perception of globalisation in a peripheral market, and suggests that this market’s participants do not self-Orientalise.

This article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for sin-gularities.... more This article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for sin-gularities. In particular, it seeks to understand how specific judgment devices become dominant in resolving uncertainty within these markets. Building on Karpik's seminal theory, we argue that institutional environments (e.g. government regulations, political economic factors, the level of informality within business environments) as well as the level of expertise of consumers, co-determine which devices come to be used in new markets. Empirically, we focus on the emerging market for contemporary art in China. While auctions and auction prices are widely used in valuing contemporary art in China, this is highly illegitimate in international art markets. We argue that auctions act as a judgment device in China because of strong government backing, because other validating organizations, such as museums and art critics, are seen as untrustworthy, and because auctions send strong, easily inter-pretable signals to novice collectors.

The China Quarterly, 2015

This paper presents an evaluative biography of a movement in Chinese contemporary art: Cynical Re... more This paper presents an evaluative biography of a movement in Chinese contemporary art: Cynical Realism. It traces the evaluative regimes, both synchronically and diachronically, which actors in the art world and art market have drawn on in order to qualify this movement since its origins in the late 1980s. While at the time the artists involved, such as Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun or Fang Lijun hardly had any opportunity to exhibit or sell their paintings, they are now among the world's most successful living artists; single paintings frequently sell for over 1 million dollar at auction. Different, often contradictory, evaluative regimes have been involved in the emergence and success of this movement. The movement developed in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations, when censorship of contemporary art was strengthened and a lack of official infrastructure forced these artists to remain 'underground'. Geographically, the movement brings together both western pop art and communist propaganda imagery. While the works were originally exhibited by Western art institutions and bought by Western collectors looking for new artistic frontiers in contemporary art, their market is now dominated by Chinese collectors seeking status and investment opportunities. But as soon as its market success became manifest, critics and curators, especially outside of China, have started criticizing the movement for being too commercial and repetitive.

Book Reviews by Svetlana Kharchenkova

Svetlana Kharchenkova: Review of: Anita Archer: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Auction Ma... more Svetlana Kharchenkova: Review of: Anita Archer: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Auction Market, Leiden / Boston: Brill 2022, in: sehepunkte 23 (2023), Nr. 5 [15.05.2023], URL: http://www.sehepunkte.de
/2023/05/37510.html

The China Journal 84: 173-174, 2020

Books by Svetlana Kharchenkova

The Chinese contemporary art market is one of the world’s largest. Hundreds of art galle... more The Chinese contemporary art market is one of the world’s largest. Hundreds of art galleries, auction houses, artists, critics, and collectors engage in a flourishing art commerce in mainland China. Yet, as recently as the early 1990s, there were no intermediary organisations or stable market practices and conventions, nor were there shared understandings about how the art trade should unfold. In other words, there was no market for contemporary art. This dissertation addresses the question: how has the contemporary art market been emerging in China? Market emergence is a central concern of economic sociology. This study contributes to the understanding of this process by looking at the previously little-studied field of the contemporary art market in China.

Cultural Sociology, 2024

Sociological research on global flows of visual art has primarily investigated artistic presence ... more Sociological research on global flows of visual art has primarily investigated artistic presence in the organizations located at the center of the art world. This article shifts the focus to a country outside the traditional center, as it investigates the nationalities of artists who have exhibited at the recently emerged private contemporary art museums in China. It demonstrates that Chinese artists dominate in their exhibitions, which points to a home bias. However, there is also evidence of a cultural hierarchy, with the dominance of a small number of European countries and the USA, and of the regional dominance of East Asian countries. The article demonstrates that a focus on a country outside the center enables us to see the prominence of regional cultural flows in the globalization of visual art. Moreover, it shows that private museums, which are relatively independent of state control, are an important venue to show non-Chinese contemporary artists in present-day China. The increase in non-Chinese artists in exhibitions over time, which is due to the establishment of new private museums, suggests the rising, albeit tentative, centrality of China globally in terms of the importance of its institutions. This article contributes to research on globalization in the sociology of art, and to the understanding of the dynamics of local and transnational cultural flows in contemporary China.

European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2023

This article investigates the interplay between art, commerce and democratization in the contempo... more This article investigates the interplay between art, commerce and democratization in the contemporary art market. It studies the roles of art merchandise, such as mugs decorated with images of high art, in the contemporary art market in China. Relying on interviews, observations and other qualitative data, this article demonstrates that the merchandising of contemporary art is legitimate in China. The generation of income and promotion of artists and contemporary art generally emerged as important roles that China's art world participants assign to art merchandise. Art merchandise is fitting for these roles in a consumer society. The prevalence of art merchandising in China stems from a lack of state support for contemporary art, and a specific cultural and historical context that makes people more attuned to accept multiples. This article contributes to the sociology of art, the literature on the democratization of art and arts marketing literature.

The China Quarterly, 2019

This study proposes a new explanation for institutional differences of organizations in China. It... more This study proposes a new explanation for institutional differences of organizations in China. It focuses on how two organizational forms dominant in contemporary art markets – commercial galleries and auction houses – were first established in China in the 1990s. Based on archival and interview data, it argues that the organizational forms were introduced to China due to mimetic isomorphism, and that their divergences from the foreign models are the result of unintended consequences of institutional work. It highlights the role of individual agency, including the role of foreign nationals, in organization-building in China. The findings also have implications for institutional theory: the article shows how the political, cultural and institutional context in China shaped institutional work that needed to be conducted and led to unintended consequences of institutional work.

Kharchenkova, Svetlana (2018). “Sketching the Art Scene: The Chinese Contemporary Art World and How It Has Been Created”. A Chinese Journey. The Sigg Collection. Zwolle: WBOOKS, in cooperation with Het Noordbrabants Museum, the Netherlands., 2018

This article proposes a novel approach to studying markets through metaphor. Unlike other sociolo... more This article proposes a novel approach to studying markets through metaphor. Unlike other sociological studies of market emergence, it focuses on emic perceptions and their consequences for actions in an emerging peripheral market. By analysing a guiding conceptual metaphor for the contemporary art market in China it investigates how market actors make sense of their market and its global position. It draws on 125 in-depth interviews and observations conducted in Beijing in 2012–2014. The market is conceptualised as an organism and juxtaposed to “mature” Western markets. This metaphor enables China’s market actors to (a) describe the market, (b) justify illegitimate behaviours, and (c) see the future and the possible ways of action. This study contributes to the sociology of markets as it suggests applying metaphor analysis to markets, as well as theorising non-agentic elements of market construction and focusing on the time dimension of market emergence. It contributes to globalisation literature as it discusses the perception of globalisation in a peripheral market, and suggests that this market’s participants do not self-Orientalise.

This article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for sin-gularities.... more This article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for sin-gularities. In particular, it seeks to understand how specific judgment devices become dominant in resolving uncertainty within these markets. Building on Karpik's seminal theory, we argue that institutional environments (e.g. government regulations, political economic factors, the level of informality within business environments) as well as the level of expertise of consumers, co-determine which devices come to be used in new markets. Empirically, we focus on the emerging market for contemporary art in China. While auctions and auction prices are widely used in valuing contemporary art in China, this is highly illegitimate in international art markets. We argue that auctions act as a judgment device in China because of strong government backing, because other validating organizations, such as museums and art critics, are seen as untrustworthy, and because auctions send strong, easily inter-pretable signals to novice collectors.

The China Quarterly, 2015

This paper presents an evaluative biography of a movement in Chinese contemporary art: Cynical Re... more This paper presents an evaluative biography of a movement in Chinese contemporary art: Cynical Realism. It traces the evaluative regimes, both synchronically and diachronically, which actors in the art world and art market have drawn on in order to qualify this movement since its origins in the late 1980s. While at the time the artists involved, such as Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun or Fang Lijun hardly had any opportunity to exhibit or sell their paintings, they are now among the world's most successful living artists; single paintings frequently sell for over 1 million dollar at auction. Different, often contradictory, evaluative regimes have been involved in the emergence and success of this movement. The movement developed in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations, when censorship of contemporary art was strengthened and a lack of official infrastructure forced these artists to remain 'underground'. Geographically, the movement brings together both western pop art and communist propaganda imagery. While the works were originally exhibited by Western art institutions and bought by Western collectors looking for new artistic frontiers in contemporary art, their market is now dominated by Chinese collectors seeking status and investment opportunities. But as soon as its market success became manifest, critics and curators, especially outside of China, have started criticizing the movement for being too commercial and repetitive.

Svetlana Kharchenkova: Review of: Anita Archer: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Auction Ma... more Svetlana Kharchenkova: Review of: Anita Archer: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Auction Market, Leiden / Boston: Brill 2022, in: sehepunkte 23 (2023), Nr. 5 [15.05.2023], URL: http://www.sehepunkte.de
/2023/05/37510.html

The China Journal 84: 173-174, 2020

The Chinese contemporary art market is one of the world’s largest. Hundreds of art galle... more The Chinese contemporary art market is one of the world’s largest. Hundreds of art galleries, auction houses, artists, critics, and collectors engage in a flourishing art commerce in mainland China. Yet, as recently as the early 1990s, there were no intermediary organisations or stable market practices and conventions, nor were there shared understandings about how the art trade should unfold. In other words, there was no market for contemporary art. This dissertation addresses the question: how has the contemporary art market been emerging in China? Market emergence is a central concern of economic sociology. This study contributes to the understanding of this process by looking at the previously little-studied field of the contemporary art market in China.