In 1998, Asia Society, with SFMoMA, presented Inside Out, the first major exhibition of contemporary Chinese art to tour North America. At the time, "globalization" was a buzzword that was difficult to casually drop into a conversation. Today, most people are either for or against globalization, and contemporary Chinese art has become a booming international commodity. New York is keeping pace, with a stellar list of galleries that specialize in new Asian art.

China Square, in the luxurious Chelsea Arts Tower on West 25^th Street, is the newest, hosting its fourth artists' reception this Thursday since it opened in May. The spacious, light-filled gallery was designed by Xu Tiantian of DnA_Design and Architecture_Beijing. The new exhibition features work in various media, including painting, sculpture, installation, and video by Jaffa Lam, Lin Yan, Shen Chen, Shiyi Sheng, Richard Tsao, Wei Qingji, Zhang Chunyang, and Zhang Wei.

Above, left to right: Feng Zhengjie, China 2005 No. 11, 2005, courtesy of Goedhuis Contemporary; Shiyi Sheng, 2007/08/03 12:07, courtesy of China Square; Zhang Huan, ½, 1998, courtesy of Chambers Fine Art; Wang Guangyi, Pepsi, 2002, courtesy of Ethan Cohen Fine Arts.

Chambers Fine Art was founded by Christopher Mao in 2000, representing artists working in video, photography, performance and installation art. Among the established artists associated with the gallery are Ai Weiwei, Wang Jianwei, Lu Shengzhong and Qiu Zhijie, joined by a younger group of artists including Zheng Guogu, Wu Jian'an and Shi Jinsong. The fall season in New York begins with Square Earth, Round Heaven, work by Lu Shengzhong. The opening reception is September 6 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The inaugural reception at Chambers Fine Art/Beijing will be September 20^th.

The Jack Tilton Gallery, which recently moved to a historic landmark townhouse on the Upper East Side, is one of the first New York galleries to exhibit Chinese art. Last year Tilton launched the Tong Xian international artist residency program and a new gallery in Beijing. Feng Zhengjie, Liu Wei, Gang Zhao, Huang Yong Ping, Ma Liuming, important artists of the Chinese avant-garde, are represented by Tilton. The next exhibition of contemporary Chinese art in New York will open January 11, 2008, with work by Zhang Peili.

Michael Goedhuis opened Goedhuis Contemporary in New York in 2002 after two decades specializing in early Asian art in his London gallery. Among the artists on his roster are Chen Wenbo, Huang Yong Ping, Li Jin, Sze Tsung Leong, Wang Jinsong, Xing Danwen, and Zheng Lianjie. Please check the website for upcoming exhibitions.

The first New York gallery to present contemporary Chinese art, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, opened in 1987. Over the past 20 years Cohen has worked with artists Ai Weiwei, Lin Tianmiao, Xiang Jing, Wang Gongxin, Gu Wenda, Sui Jianguo, Zhou Xiaohu, Lin Yilin, Qiu Zhijie, Gu Dexin, Zhu Ming, Yin Xiuzhen, Wu Shanzhuan, Chen Wenbo, Zhao Bandi, Cai Jin, Pan Xinglei, and Xu Bing among others. Please check the website for upcoming exhibitions.

As art fairs proliferate globally, Chinese and Asian contemporary art is getting broader representation. This fall shcontemporary, a new Asia-Pacific art fair runs from September 6 to 9 in Shanghai. From November 8 to 12, the Asian Contemporary Art Fair debuts at New York's Pier 92, with 80 exhibitors from 10 countries.

The work of Zhang Huan was featured on the cover of Asia Society's 1998 catalog for Inside Out. That year, Zhang moved from Beijing to New York and established himself as one of the most widely recognized expatriate Chinese artists. More recently, he returned to China and established a studio in Shanghai. Asia Society's Fall 2007 season kicks off with Altered States, a major retrospective of his work over the last fifteen years.

For more about the globalization of contemporary Chinese art, read about the upcoming auction of New Yorker Howard Farber's collection at Phillips de Pury, London by Linda Sandler for Bloomberg.com. Daniel Allen, writing for Asia Times Online Ltd., offers a detailed account of China's rising art market over the last ten years. David Barboza, for The New York Times, wrote about how the booming market affects artists and dealers. And Charles Saatchi's Interactive Art Gallery, which has a special section for Chinese art, announces the move in 2008 of his terrestrial gallery to expansive new quarters on Sloane Square, Chelsea, London.