Asian Women Artists: A Biographical Dictionary, 2700 BCE to Today

This book is a guide to identifying female creators and artistic movements from all parts of Asia, offering a broad spectrum of media and presentation representing a wide variety of milieus, regions, peoples and genres. Arranged chronologically by artist birth date, entries date as far back as Leizu’s Chinese sericulture in 2700 B.C.E. and continue all the way to the March 2021 mural exhibition by Malaysian painter Caryn Koh. Entries for each artist feature biographical information, cultural context and a survey of notable works. Covering creators known for prophecy, dance, epic and oratory, the compendium includes obscure artists and more familiar names, like biblical war poet Deborah, Judaean dancer Salome, Byzantine Empress Theodora and Myanmar freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi. In an effort to relieve unfamiliarity with parts of the world poorly represented in art history, it focuses on Asian women often passed over in global art surveys.