Asia Society Hong Kong Center caught up with the curators of the Light Before Dawn: Unofficial Chinese Art 1974-1985 exhibition, which is currently showing at the Asia Society Gallery (Former Magazine A).

The exhibition is guest curated by Professor Kuiyi Shen of University of California San Diego, a leading expert on Chinese contemporary art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Professor Julia F. Andrews of The Ohio State University, who was the first American art historian to conduct research in China after formal establishment of U.S.-China relations in 1979.

In this video below, Professor Andrews explained the background of the exhibition which aims to shed light on the little-known artwork of this era, presented by three of China's most influential contemporary artist groups of this period: Wuming (No Name), Xingxing (Star) and Caocao (Grass Society), that helped to set stage for the emergence of a contemporary art movement in China and also on the global scene. Professor Shen gave anecdotes of his personal accounts when he was an art student in China in the late 1970s, which he experienced the transitional period of modern Chinese art development after the Cultural Revolution in the middle of 1980s. As art historians, both curators think it's their duty to let people understand the basic context of how Chinese contemporary art developed.

The exhibition is on view through September 1, 2013 at Asia Society Gallery.

Video: Watch the complete talk (5 min., 12 sec.)