Description
Book SynopsisThe first book to explore the life and times of Chinese artist, businesswoman, socialite and style expert âMadame Songâ, whose life was spent in the company of a Whoâs Who of Cold War China and which paralleled the highs and lows of the countryâs history. The extraordinary life story of Song Huai-Kuei, better known as Madame Song, follows the arc of 20th-century history. Artist, entrepreneur and impresario, Song broke cultural barriers for love, transcended Cold War borders for her art, and laid the foundations for a global fashion industry. With her cosmopolitan outlook, she defined an influential vision for Chinese culture on the world stage and asserted an Asian perspective in 21st-century art and design. Madame Song is a name that everyone interested in the roots of contemporary visual culture needs to know. At the heart of this volume is a critical biography that explores Songâs youth in revolutionary China, her cross-cultural marriage to Bulgarian fibre artist Maryn Varban
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. Beijing to Sofia (1937–58)
2. Sofia to Paris (1959–74)
3. Paris to Beijing (1975–81)
4. Hangzhou to Beijing (1982–89)
5. Beijing to the World (1989–2006)
