Paul Gladston

Paul Gladston is the inaugural Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia (p.gladston@unsw.edu.au). He was previously Professor of Contemporary Visual Cultures and Critical Theory and Director of the Centre for Contemporary East-Asian Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham. Between 2005 and 2010, Paul served as inaugural Head of the School of International Communications and Director of the Institute of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. He was principal editor of the Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art from 2014 to 2017.

Paul has written extensively on the subject of contemporary Chinese art with specific reference to the concerns of critical theory. His book-length publications include Art History after Deconstruction (Magnolia, 2005), China and Other Spaces (CCCP, 2009), Contemporary Art in Shanghai: Conversations with Seven Chinese Artists (Blue Kingfisher-Timezone 8, 2011), 'Contemporary Chinese Art and Criticality', a special edition of the Journal of Visual Art Practice co-edited with Katie Hill (Intellect, 2012), 'Avant-Garde' Art Groups in China, 1979-89 (Intellect/University of Chicago Press, 2013) and Contemporary Chinese Art: a critical history (Reaktion 2014). He has written numerous essays and scholarly captions for exhibition catalogues including Tang Shu, Aroundspace Gallery, Shanghai 2013, Birdhead, Paradise Row Gallery, London 2012; Zhang Peili: Certain Pleasures, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai 2011, Shu Qun: Image Dialectic, OCT Art Terminal Shenzhen 2009. He was also an academic adviser to the exhibition Art of Change: New Directions from China staged at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London in 2012. An essay by Paul is included in the exhibition's catalogue. A comprehensive list of Paul's publications can be found on the University of Nottingham website.

Paul has given media interviews for BBC News 24, China Radio International, BFM Radio in Malaysia and the South China Morning Post. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Modern China Studies, Culture amd Dialogue and the Journal of Visual Art Practice. He is also a contributing editor for the contemporary Chinese art website Randian (www.randian-online.com).

Paul is currently working with Larys Frogier of the Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai on the development of an international research project: Art, Curating and Social Engagement in Contemporary China. The project's first research workshop was held at the Rockbund Art Museum in November 2013 and a second in November 2014. He is also working on a monograph of the artist Yu Youhan in conjunction with ShanghArt Gallery, Shanghai.

Awards and Distinctions:

2014 - Guest Speaker, SW Jiaotong University, Chengdu

2011 - Guest Speaker, Fundacion Francisco Godia, Barcelona

2009 - Visiting Professor, Sichuan Academy of Art, Chongqing

1986 - Greenshield Award for Drawing

1985 - Eileen Stoekel-Battel Scholar, Yale University

1985 - Andrew Grant Travelling Scholarship