Xiangming Chen

Xiangming CHEN studies arts and visual culture of China and Japan from the pre-modern to modern and contemporary periods, with a particular interest in the movements of people, objects, and concepts across and beyond East Asia. Her doctoral dissertation investigates how imageries of China as the continental other are constructed and disseminated through illustrated books during the sakoku ("closed country") period (c.1633—1853) of Japan, appropriating source materials from China that entered Japan through the complex Asian trade network.

Xiangming received her BA in Art History from the University of Hong Kong and her joint-degree MA in Transcultural Studies from Heidelberg University and Kyoto University. Her MA thesis examines the role that Tokyo art world has played in the rise of "Modern Painting" in Shanghai in the early 20th century, and issues of multiple modernities remain a strong part of her academic interest. She has also worked as Curatorial Assistant at Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong and has held internships at M+, CUHK Art Museum, HKU University Museum and Art Gallery, among others. She is passionate about connecting museum collections with academic and public communities.