Three generations of Chinese artists who’ve made Paris home, and how they changed French art

IN 1989, JEAN-HUBERT MARTIN rocked the foundations of the Parisian art world with his land­mark exhibition, “Magiciens de la Terre”, which provoked heated debate about the alleged divide between Western and non-West­ern art. Focusing on work from Asia and Africa at a time when an “international exhibi­tion” meant featuring artists from New York, Martin illustrated to his peers how diverse contempor­ary art could be and why limiting their world to a European or American perspective was both narrow-minded and self-referential.

A significant section of the exhibition was dedicated to Chinese contemporary art and one of its most unexpected and long-lasting consequences was the defection of a number of the Chinese artists who had flown to Paris for the launch. Taking place around the time of the Tiananmen Square protests, “Magiciens de la Terre” gave these painters and sculptors their first and potentially only opportunity to live in a country that prided itself on artistic freedom – and, nearly 30 years later, many of them are still based in the French capital.

The defections made headlines around the world but they were not unprecedented. Quite the contrary, in fact, as they allowed Paris to re-establish itself as a haven for Chinese artists, a label it had worn comfortably for 60 years.

Paris was home to the most dynamic art scene in the world for the first half of the 20th century and that coveted position was due, in no small part, to an influx of immigrant artists, who brought with them a diverse range of styles. But while men such as Picasso, Chagall, Miro, Modigliani and Dali have been celebrated for their contribution to the avant-garde art wave, less attention has been paid to the Chinese artists who made Paris their home in the inter- and post-war years. Bringing with them traditions dating back millennia and an aesthetic entirely at odds with the Western art of the time, the resulting culture clash would have a profound effect on both the artists themselves and French concepts of culture.

Sanyu and Lin Fengmian, while not nearly as famous as their Spanish counterparts, were established members of the Parisian art scene by 1930. Sichuan-born Sanyu, who was trained in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, became a fixture of Montparnasse café society and was deeply influenced by the city’s fabled salons.