Asian Modernities is a groundbreaking comparison of two contemporary Asian art cultures. This is the first analysis that defines a space for Asian modernity without direct reference to Euramerica. Based on John Clark's extensive primary research using vernacular written and interview materials in Chinese and Thai, Asian Modernities also develops theoretical perspectives on genealogies of modernity, and the twin phenomena of globalisation and transnational artistic identity. This highly illustrated book combines institutional examination with a close attention to art works and to the way artists have positioned themselves through them at home and abroad.

Winner of the AAANZ (Art Association of Australia and New Zealand) 2011 Best Book Prize, Asian Modernities makes a "significant contribution to the understanding of contemporary art in our region of the world".