Oriental Silk is an artist book by director, author and lecturer, Xiaowen Zhu.

Can corporate history be art? This question can only be asked if one is not familiar with the fascinating long-term project by the Chinese artist Xiaowen Zhu. Anyone who has experienced Oriental Silk will answer this question with a clear “yes.” The project’s title is also the name of a company founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. Specializing in trading and distributing silks, it was headed for decades by Kenneth Wong and his family. Through her multi-sensory works Zhu opens up a multifaceted view of a firm that is distinguished, like its silk products, through its own haptics, style, colors, and values. The people, places, and stories that make up the phenomenon of Oriental Silk form a fascinating, vivid tapestry in which the past and present, art and life, are closely interwoven.

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COLOPHON

Written by Xiaowen Zhu
Translated by Nicky Harman
Designed by Studio Cheval
Published by Hatje Cantz

Language: Bilingual (English, Chinese)
Format: Linen hardcover, 196 pages, 51 illustrations
Dimensions: 241 x 178 mm
Edition: First
ISBN: 9783775747851
Full Title: Xiaowen Zhu. Oriental Silk
Publication Date: 2020