Rita GENTILE
PhD in Chinese Studies – admitted in 2025
MA in Arts and Culture Management – Rome Business School
MA in Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa – University of Naples "L'Orientale"
BA in Comparative Studies – University of Naples "L'Orientale"
The growing global significance of the contemporary Chinese art market raises important questions about how contemporary Chinese art acquires value, legitimacy, and meaning across different institutional contexts. My research addresses these questions by examining how artistic value, market categories, and cultural legitimacy are produced as contemporary Chinese art moves between mainland China, Hong Kong, and global markets. Situated at the intersection of economic sociology, political economy, and contemporary art studies, I investigate the institutional processes—from valuation practices and market categorisation to market infrastructures—that shape these dynamics.
I am particularly interested in the relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong under the One Country, Two Systems framework, and in how this unique institutional configuration has shaped the development of the contemporary Chinese art market and its integration into global circuits of cultural and economic exchange. Drawing on empirical research on auction houses and other market intermediaries, I explore how contemporary Chinese art is classified, presented, positioned, and reconfigured in global markets, and how these processes reshape not only market value but also broader cultural hierarchies and systems of legitimacy.
Before beginning my doctoral studies, I gained professional experience across museums, international exhibitions, and the commercial art sector in Europe, including the Venice Biennale. These experiences continue to inform my research, bridging academic inquiry with first-hand knowledge of the institutions, markets, and actors that shape the contemporary art world.