Words For Art Dr Damian Smith

Project

Contemporary Chinese art

Research in Beijing studios, and the bilingual monograph on the Geoff Raby Collection across three editions.

Dr Geoff Raby AO with works from the Geoff Raby Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art
Dr Geoff Raby AO with works from the Geoff Raby Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art
Period
2001 – present
On the Atlas
Beijing
Service
Art writing · Cultural gifts

Words For Art has extensive experience working in the context of Chinese contemporary art.

As the Australian Ambassador to China between 2007 and 2011, Dr Geoff Raby AO has maintained a passionate involvement with leading contemporary artists in China. The publication surveys the Raby Collection of 174 Chinese artworks in a variety of media.

In 2019 the Collection, which covers the period from 1974 to 2018 and is valued at more than $3 million, was donated to La Trobe University. Along with the Stewart Fraser Poster Collection, which is also housed at La Trobe, the combined collections form a major survey of Chinese culture from the 1960s to the present day.

Brian Wallace, Director of Red Gate Gallery, with Dr Damian Smith, Beijing, 2018 – closing party at Dongbianmen
Brian Wallace, Director of Red Gate Gallery, with Dr Damian Smith, Beijing, 2018 – closing party at Dongbianmen
Artist Zhang Dali with Dr Damian Smith at Zhang Dali's studio, Beijing, 2018
Artist Zhang Dali with Dr Damian Smith at Zhang Dali's studio, Beijing, 2018
Artist Guan Wei with Dr Damian Smith, Beijing, 2018
Artist Guan Wei with Dr Damian Smith, Beijing, 2018

The monograph Three editions · 2018 – 2022

The Geoff Raby Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art, edited by Damian Smith. Bilingual English–Mandarin.
The Geoff Raby Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art, edited by Damian Smith. Bilingual English–Mandarin.

The Geoff Raby Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art, edited by Damian Smith. A bilingual English/Mandarin survey of 174 works spanning 1974 to 2018. Hard cover, 304 pages, full colour illustrations.

  • 2018 First edition Words For Art, Beijing Editor
  • 2018 Second edition Western Sydney University · issued due to popular demand Editor
  • 2022 Third revised edition La Trobe University Press, a joint imprint of Black Inc. · marks the transfer of the collection Editor
Editor 编辑
Damian Smith (b. 1968)
Contributors 撰稿人包括
Ellrodt N · Jose N · McDonald J · Raby G · Valencia M

“LTUP publishes leading scholars and experts, producing books of high intellectual quality, substance and originality.”

La Trobe University Press

The gift to La Trobe 2019

Dr Damian Smith, John Brumby AO, Chancellor of La Trobe University, and Dr Geoff Raby AO at the presentation of the Geoff Raby Collection to La Trobe University, 2019
Dr Damian Smith, John Brumby AO, Chancellor of La Trobe University, and Dr Geoff Raby AO at the presentation of the Geoff Raby Collection to La Trobe University, 2019
Works
174
Period covered
1974 – 2018
Valued at
More than $3 million
Held with
The Stewart Fraser Poster Collection – together, a major survey of Chinese culture from the 1960s to the present day