(Volume 107/Number 8)ARTnews  |  September 2008

The Chinese Art Explosion Barbara Pollack

As works by Chinese artists fetch multimillion-dollar prices, the international art world is waking to the power of the Asian market. China has spawned hundreds of new galleries, 1,600 auction houses, art fairs, and growing numbers of contemporary-art collectors, while accusations surface that some are engaging in widespread speculation

Carry a Big Shtick Rachel Wolff

For artists inspired by sketch comedy, off-the-wall characters who can say and do anything are a way to explore weighty political and social issues

Antihero in Boxers Lamar Clarkson

In 30 years of performances and videos, Michael Smith’s alter ego has grown up, gotten dressed, and skewered the worlds of business and art. But he still likes to relax in his underwear

The Personality of Peacock Feathers Ann Landi

Carol Bove assembles the most unpromising elements—stacks of discarded books, chunks of cement, old office furniture, lumps of wax, and peacock feathers—into repositories of memory and nostalgia