WHAT: "Half the Sky: Women in the New Art of China"

WHEN: Through November 12, 2011; Open Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

WHERE: Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, 3401 Filbert Street, Drexel University, Philadelphia

WHY THIS SHOW MATTERS: As the Chinese art market explodes at auction houses worldwide, "Half the Sky: Women in the New Art of China," co-curated by the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) and Drexel University, doesn't fade into the background quietly. The show focuses its critical lens on more than 60 artworks by 22 female Chinese artists, including works of photography, sculpture, video, painting, and installation.

"Half the Sky" makes clear that women have been some of the most inventive and politically aggressive artists in China. An example can be found in Xiao Lu, whose seminal work "Dialogue" (1989) found her firing a loaded gun at her own work when installed at the National Art Museum of China. The action resulted in her arrest and made global art news headlines.

Three other noteworthy artists on view are Yin Xiuzhen, Cui Xiuwen, and Cao Fei. Each individual artist's work is highly unique — correcting the oft-repeated notion that Chinese contemporary art is dominated by a single style or theme (i.e. Cynical Realism). Yin Xiuzhen presents an array of installation projects like "Portable Cities" (2002-04) examining the impact of globalization on technology and economic growth. Cui Xiuwen creates photographic assemblages with digital manipulation, fusing the traditional motifs of Western and Chinese art. Cao Fei's work inhabits a different dimension entirely, most of it created in the virtual realm of the online video game Second Life.

All together, this exhibition is not only a great opportunity to catch thought-provoking artwork coming from China, but also a unique first chance to find such a large group of the strong female contemporary artists collected in one show.

To take a virtual tour of the works in Leonard Pearlstein Gallery's "Half the Sky: Women in the New Art of China," click on the slide show at the left.