The Art Scenes of Beijing and Shanghai - A Comparison by Doreen Ho

Chinese contemporary art in Shanghai has developed a persistent momentum in the past few decades and continues to develop with the encouragement of creative clusters, namely creative spaces such as 50 Moganshan Road and Tianzifang. Yet, Shanghai, as an international, leading economic metropolis, has not yet seen the magnitude of commercialism and renown as Beijing’s 798 Dashanzi Art District has experienced in the past ten years. Why hasn’t Shanghai’s art scene been able to attain the international recognition and success of Beijing’s art scene? In what direction is Shanghai’s art scene heading?
In order to understand this divide, it is important to understand Shanghai’s unique history and development within the past few decades. Following the Opium Wars in the 19th century, foreign concessions were established in Shanghai, most prominent of which were of British and French influence. Thus, early on, Shanghai was exposed to the influence of the Western world. Today, Shanghai has become an international metropolis, the city that represents modern China and the possibilities for the future. Beijing hosts a different city dynamic, however. Politically central, Beijing protects the ancient traditional Chinese architectural constructs such as the Forbidden City and is the home base for the government. Artists from all provinces have convened in the nation’s capital, all striving to produce their works. Perhaps the city allows an identity that conditions artwork produced in the nation’s capitol to be deemed authentic Chinese contemporary art, as a strong nationalist pride in Beijing reckons it the cultural center of China. Additionally, Beijing hosts the famous academic art academies in the nation, including the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA).
Contrastingly, Shanghai, the global metropolis of business and the economic hub of China, has established itself as the quintessential modern international city of the world that developed from a history steeped in international identity. Additionally, the art scene in Shanghai has grown from a grassroots movement, under the artists’ advisement, that has been less commercial than Beijing’s 798. The battle to represent contemporary Chinese art continues to oscillate between the two cities.
Shanghai’s art scene has developed out of a distinguished history. Shanghai’s art development has been continually interrupted since the 1930s, during which works were lost, burned, and damaged during the Sino-Japanese war and during the period of civil war unrest that ensued. By 1949, art was solely used as a political mechanism, controlled by the Communist Party as a means to carry out massive, sweeping political campaigns, such as the Cultural Revolution. Only in the early 1980s, after the initiation of Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms and the opening of China’s doors to the world, did art begin to develop for art’s sake and experimentation become a new way of expression. In retrospect, the Chinese contemporary art scene is actually quite young. Throughout the 1980s, artists explored and learned from Western art books, catching up on over 150 years of the progression of modern Western art. China had been isolated for nearly 30 years following the inception of Communism, so it was only beginning in the 1980s that artists could gain exposure and exchange with the Western art world. It was beginning in the 1980s that artists had the new opportunity to experiment and explore art for themselves and for art’s sake, and not for the people or to push wide spread government policy. It was also not until the year 2000, when the Shanghai Biennale was the first time the government officially allowed multimedia projects to be exhibited to the public.
The concept for an art community like 50 Moganshan has been somewhat successful, as these creative spaces have become commercialized, attractive and accessible to tourists and foreigners. Whereas, the concept for a creative cluster such as 50 Moganshan and Beijing’s 798 is a strategic means of connecting with the local environment, these creative spaces have also emphasized the great contrast between Chinese contemporary art as it is viewed domestically and internationally. While innovative in theory, Shanghai’s 50 Moganshan attracts foreign art collectors and tourists, which begs to question whether or not more local faces can become a greater demographic of whom the Chinese contemporary art world can effectively reach. At a recent studio visit, artist Xu Zhen remarked on the importance of capturing a wider audience and forging connections with Chinese citizens. He noted that the art scene might develop stronger if there is attention for Chinese art beyond the art community. Art must reach out to the people-- and maybe this could develop better in Shanghai if M50 had more of a user-friendly atmosphere, including more cafes and shopping in the area, similar to 798. Moreover, it is crucial that local Chinese citizens are given the opportunity to engage within the development of art culture in Shanghai and in the nation. This kind of local grassroots approach is essential to establishing a strong art scene in Shanghai and within China.
Notably, the “A Starting Point: Intrude Art & Life 366” exhibition at ZendaiMOMA gallery was a forward step towards addressing this issue. The exhibition brought creative art, performance art, and new media art directly in contact with Chinese citizens. The local Chinese held a leading role in the art created for the year long project. Furthermore, “A Starting Point” explored many contemporary social issues that China faces today. From the right to privacy and youth identity, to consumerism, prison reform, women’s rights, and how to live in a harmonious society as the nation with the world’s largest population, the exhibition provided a looking glass into China’s new struggles and the challenges that face the nation’s stability and identity as it strives towards rapid development and change initiated by the government and pressure from the international realm. There exists an underlying tension, internal and external forces that are pulling China in different directions, in a paradigm of pressures and expectations. Is China ready to live up to its title as an economic power and its consequential implications, socially and politically? In recent years, China has been the center focus as a rapidly developing nation, an economic powerhouse, with the potential to expand its military might. It seems that everyone wants a piece of the development—China is developing ties with all nations, with dense pressures from the global economy and especially with the onset of the recent global financial crisis. Chinese contemporary art struggles with international pressures as well, and more and more often, it must reconcile external perceptions with domestic perceptions, or rather, a readiness attitude, that come from within the nation; this is the foundation for development that spans multiple disciplines, including the Chinese economy and art world. Are the people ready to change, to move, to develop? Inevitably, infrastructure may change and develop at a fast pace, but the Chinese people must also be ready for that change as well. Otherwise, Shanghai and China will be built with infrastructure but no real foundation to maintain and encourage future growth.
Chinese contemporary art is realizing this identity struggle that involves the complex interweaving of Chinese contemporary art being its own art, and not a mere imitation of Western modern art. Moreover, the international art market, and the international realm in general, all have their eyes on China. They see rapid change and potential. However, China must change on its own from within its nation. More importantly, Chinese contemporary art should be allowed and accepted to stand on its own. Herein lies another divide: the concept of East and West is still quite foreign to today’s newly emerging globalization and interconnected world. Until the word “foreign” can be diluted to mean less of what it means, certain divided notions of what Chinese contemporary art should be compared to what Western contemporary art has already established will still exist.
The development of identity spans across disciplines; music and art are in the midst of developing a strong identity that is solely Modern Chinese. Arts culture may also be dependent on the economic well-being of Chinese citizens. As more and more local Chinese reap the rewards of the market economy, perhaps the income disparity gap will seem less apparent and art will be accessible to both the foreigners/expat world and local world alike.
Another significant factor that influences the momentum for development of art in Shanghai is invariably the issue of censorship. Censorship continues to impede on the free expression and possibilities for experimentation in the art world. The Fuckoff Exhibition in 2000 was a striking example of the gravity and sensitivity of government censorship in art exhibitions. The exhibition, featuring 46 avant-garde artists’ works, was closed by Shanghai police due to controversial works, most notably, the performance art installation of “Eating People” by Zhu Yu. Censorship continues to be a sensitive topic in the development of experimentation in Chinese contemporary art.
Additionally, a generation gap has formed among different aged artists in China. This ultimately has affected the different experimentations and artistic works produced in the past thirty years. For example, artists such as Yu Youhan have produced works that touch upon Maoist era content, while artists such as Shi Yong and Xu Zhen have focused on more of China’s contemporary social issues. Qiu Zhijie’s recent exhibition, “Breaking Through The Ice”, at the UCCA in Beijing’s 798 District explores the idea of “total art”. Total art refers to the social and cultural research of Qiu’s work and his presentation of the historical significance of the Nanjing Bridge against today’s social backdrop; his installation combines his research and emanates social awareness. Qiu’s installation work creates a model for artistic experimentation via pushing the limits of what one can and cannot do within the constraints of government censorship. More and more experimental conceptual and performance art have been created in the past ten years and continues to push the limits of censorship today.
For some artists, such a Shi Yong, Chinese contemporary art is trying to find expression in new forms; for Shi, he found this new expression in installation art. He was looking for a new form of expression that built upon the abstract art thru the 1980’s and the political pop he felt was “too kitsch”. He wanted to build a new language, a new style, a new identity to Chinese contemporary art. However, in forming his own artistic language, he realized the challenge of trying to balance his own artistic ideas while being careful of not losing his audience. Therein lies a tension: how far can one push the limits in art experimentation? However, this point must also coincide within the same plane as the artists’ vision and the government’s censorship. With artists being arrested and exhibits being closed down on the day they open, it is difficult to measure how much experimental artistic action an artist can take. There is a constant fear of the Propaganda Department that creates a censorship dilemma, a dilemma that emanates in the back of everyone’s mind.
The artists’ initiative in organizing large-scale art productions is a testament to strength in numbers and continues to be a grassroots movement that allows discussion and experimentation and engagement with local Chinese. Social constructs have helped build a social art community, in which artists live in artist villages and exchange ideas and opinions, and even come together to work on special exhibitions and large-scale creative projects, such as the Long March Project and the Twelve Artists’ exhibition held in Shanghai, which was the first exhibition organized by the artists themselves.
I’d like to see art develop within the country first— it takes time and also, developing a domestic audience. It is important to learn from the examples of artists in the West; however, it is also important to let Chinese art grow from its own soil. A deeper exchange between the East and West will facilitate growth of contemporary art in China. Also, art may be more effective if it is fed deeper into daily life for locals to access arts culture information via media and in education. The art world must continue to draw an ever-widening audience; it must open up, reach out and relate to the Chinese people.
With a long history of international expats and foreigners mixed with local Chinese, Shanghai has begun to intertwine these demographics along economic lines. As the economy continues to raise the quality of life in China, new Chinese wealth will help Shanghai facilitate a flourishing art scene as new collectors and help develop a higher appreciation for arts culture in China. This gradual opening up and exposure to the art scene will allow exploration and continued experimentation in the art world. Furthermore, the booming of internet users and thriving netizen bloggers in China have aggregated efficient and widespread resources to information. The internet is now making censorship more and more costly for the government, as it is becoming harder and harder to stop the free flow of information, internationally and domestically. Censorship may gradually dissipate or at least become less apparent as time goes on. It is crucial that experimental art continues to push the limits further and further, challenging censorship and building a foundation for contemporary art in China. It is only a matter of time before Shanghai’s art scene will flourish and open up economically, socially, and politically from its present stance.

EXHIBITION: NET, curated by Wu Hung

For Immediate Release
September 1, 2007

EXHIBITION: NET, curated by Wu Hung

DATES: Sept 20 – Nov 3, 2007

Seven years after the opening of Chambers Fine Art in New York in 2000,
Christophe W. Mao is pleased to announce the opening of Chambers Fine
Art in Beijing on September 20th. Opening at a time when the interest
in contemporary Chinese was becoming an international phenomenon,
Chambers Fine Art became one of the primary showcases for the work of a
wide range of Chinese artists in the United States. As the art world
has become increasingly globalized in the last seven years, the
significance of Beijing as a cultural and artistic center has grown
enormously, leading to the decision to open a gallery there.

The striking new gallery, designed by Ai Weiwei is located in the Cao
Changdi district, a choice location which is rapidly becoming one of
the major centers for contemporary art in Beijing. The first exhibition
to be held in the new space, Net: Reimiganing Space, Time and Culture
is organized by Wu Hung, who has served as chief curator for many of
the biennials held in China and South Korea including the Shanghai
Biennale (2000) and the Gwangju Biennial (2006) and influential
exhibitions held in the United States and Great Britain (Between Past
and Future: New Photography and Video in China, 2004).

Wu Hung's first association with Chambers Fine Art began in 2000 with
First Encounter: Lu Shengzhong. For the current exhibition which brings
together specially commissioned works by seventeen artists associated
with Chambers Fine Art, Wu Hung has investigated the concept of a "net"
which "transcends any given time of space, history and region,
specificity and abstraction. At the same time it also inhabits any
given time and space, history and region, specificity and abstraction."
The meanings of the word range from the simple fishing net to Laozi's
use of the word as a political metaphor, and continue into the present
day with the omnipresence of the internet. As Wu Hung points out: "To
modern and contemporary artists, the "net" has become a favorite
subject of their work, mainly because this image allows them to explore
the connectivity and fluidity between the phenomenal world and the
conceptual world… Because of the complexity of this concept, the show
is expected to address many issues, from history and culture to its
status as a fundamental image."

Included in the exhibition are works by Ai Weiwei, He Yunchang, Hong
Hao, Hong Lei, Lu Shengzhong, Qiu Zhujie, Rong Rong, Shi Jinsong, Song
Dong, Wang Jianwei, Wang Tiande, Wu Jian'an, Yin Xiuzhen, Yu Hong, Zhan
Wang, Zhang Peili, Zheng Guogu. Representing several generations, the
selected are notably diverse stylistically and in the nature of their
relationship to the overpowering presence of the culture of classical
China. Their attitude to the massive transformation of Chinese society
in the last two decades, unparalleled in history, also ranges from
outright rejection to enthusiastic acceptance.

In the various phases of his development, Ai Weiwei has attempted to
emulate the achievements of classical art, on occasion to rescue it and
to demolish it altogether. Wang Tiande, Qiu Zhijie and Zheng Guogu have
turned to calligraphy to examine how it might become something other
than an antiquarian pursuit. Lu Shengzhong and Wu Jian'an have delved
deeply into the traditional world of Chinese paper-cut and have turned
away from the face of contemporary China. For Zhang Peili in his
photographic works, and for the searching Realist paintings of Yu Hong,
on the other hand, it is life as it is lived today that is of primary
importance. Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen have used video, performance and
installation in their investigation of personal and social issues. Rong
Rong, Hong Hao and Hong Lei have used the contemporary medium of
photography as a means of creating haunting pictorial illusions while
Wang Jianwei and Zhang Peili have made major contributions in the field
of video. The disturbing performances of He Yunchang, one of which will
take place during the opening, in which he frequently puts himself in
situations of extreme discomfort or even danger, contrast with the
steely perfection of the sculpture of Shi Jinsong in which the element
of risk is an essential part of its appeal.

Christophe W. Mao has remarked: "It has been a rewarding experience
for me over the past seven years to work with this group of artists,
all great individualists unmoved by trends and what is currently in
vogue. Finally - and thanks to Wu Hung - I will be able to see what it
is that attracted me to them in the first place. Installed in the new
gallery their works will speak to each other and I will be able to see
not only what unites artists with similar interests but also artists at
the other end of the artistic spectrum from each other. Is there any
connection between the performances of He Yunchang and the sculptures
of Shi Jinsong and Zhan Wang. Or between the paper- cuts of Lu
Shengzhong and the paintings of Yu Hong. The "net" that Wu Hung
described will occupy real space from September 20."

A catalog on the exhibition will be available
For further information, please contact the gallery at (212) 414-1169
or cfa@chambersfineart.com

A Gift From Beijing To Istanbul

A Gift From Beijing To Istanbul
Brain Failure- the punk band from Beijing is now featured by artist Yan
Lei as part of the Istanbul Biennial (curated by Chinese curator HH)
Brain Failure was the first punk band ever to self-release a demo in
China.
www.myspace.com/brainfailurepunk -
www.brainfailure.com/english/band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY1HoPTeLTY

-

Brain Failure - No dirty punx

Bizart this Fall

9月SEPTEMBER 2007

2007皮埃.埃尔创作奖提名展
2007 Pierre Huber Creation Prize
Nominees Exhibition
Opening: September 4th, 2007, Tuesday 18:30
Press Conference: September 4th, 2007, Tuesday 19:00
Exhibition dates: September 5th to 10th, 2007, from 11:00 to 18:00

Organizer: China Art Academy
Co-organizer: New Media Art Department, China Art Academy
Venue: BizArt Art Center
Nominated artists:
Dong Dayuan, Jiang Zhuyun, Lu Yang, Shi Chuan, Wang Xin, Ma Xiaoxiao,
Sun Huiyuan, Xiao Yuankun

About Pierre Huber New Media Art Creation Prize and Fund

On September 7th, 2006, Mr. Pierre Huber met with the students of the
New Media Art Deparment of the China Art Academy and inquired about the
education situation.
In view of stimulating New Media Art Creation, education and diffusion,
as well as encouraging and supporting creative activities of the new
media art students, Mr. Pierre Huber founded the "Pierre Huber" New
Media Art Creation Prize and Fund.

The grant will finance a small management group in charge of
supervising the use of the fund, and formulate a regulation system.

Part of the grant will fund the "Pierre Huber New Media Art Creation
Prize" to support over the years the creativity of outstanding
students. Three prizes will be awarded to the students.
Fund will also be used to support students' creativity: students will
directly submit their project which will be examinated and subsidized
by the management group. At last, part of the grant will finance
studies of prominent new media art students with family difficulties.
Reward process will be composed of two phases: first, teachers will
nominate skillful students, who will participate to an exhibition. The
second phase will be the final selection by a jury made of renowned
curators and artists.
Jury will be composed of five members selected each year from a list,
members will change from a year to another.

Jury members list:
Beijing: Fei Dawei, Pili, Karen Smith, Wang Gongxin, Lu Jie
Shanghai: Zhang Qing, Zhou Tiehai, Xu Zhen, Yang Zhenzhong, Lorenz
Helbling, Chen Jieyang, Lin Shumin, Yang Fudong
Guangzhou: Huang Zhuan
Abroad: Hou Hanru (U.S.A., France, China), Hans Ulrich-Obrist (U.S.A.,
France), Barbara London (U.S.A.), Zheng Shengtian (Canada), Yves
Aupetitallot (France), Zhang Ga (U.S.A., China).

韩国艺术家朴芝恩和中国艺术家李平虎的展览
Exhibition of Jee Eun Park (Korea) and Li Pinghu (China)

Opening: September 14th, 2007, Friday (18:30)
Exhibition Dates: September 15th � September 28th, 2007 (11:00 � 18:00)

Exhibition of the artworks produced by Korean artist, Jee Eun Park,
during her residency in BizArt and the works produced by Chinese
artist, Li Pinghu, during his residency in Ssamzie Space, Seoul. The
exhibition will be held in September in BizArt for one week.

10月October 2007
仔细想想，昨天你究竟干嘛去了？ -- 施勇个展
Let's think, where have you been yesterday? --Shi Yong's solo
exhibition

开幕时间：2007年10月12日，星期五 (18：30)
展览时间：2007年10月13日-10月22日 （11：00 � 18：00）

Opening: October 12nd, 2007, Friday (18:30)
Exhibition Dates: October 13rd �October 22nd, 2007 (11:00 � 18:00)

往事 � 被遗忘的时光
6位印尼艺术家阐释的印尼历史， 1930-1960
The Past - The Forgotten Time
Six Indonesian artists interpret Indonesian history, 1930 - 1960

Opening: October 25th, 2007, Thursday (18:30)
Exhibition Dates: October 26th � November 11st, 2007 (11:00 � 18:00)

Introduction:
This exhibition represents a variety of perspectives focusing on the
struggle of "Becoming Indonesia" during the period between 1930 and
1960. Personal stories mixed with formal facts to indicate how the
colonial situation became a major part in the attempt to formulate an
Indonesian identity. Beginning with the visual forms produced by these
artists, we learn to remember and reflect on the past and, together,
oppose forgetting.

A Gift Offer for Artists in China: Museums

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/arts/design/25muse.html

A Gift Offer for Artists in China: Museums
Xiao Quan

Eight contemporary Chinese artists have been offered their own personal
museums in Dujiangyan, in Sichuan Province. The city plans to begin
construction on an 18-acre plot of land soon.

By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: August 25, 2007

SHANGHAI, Aug. 24 — For years their work could not be exhibited in
China, but now the country's leading contemporary artists are being
courted by major art collectors abroad and their paintings set records
at international auction sales. A local government in Sichuan Province
— the area in western China known for its natural beauty, spicy food
and talented painters — is taking notice.
Skip to next paragraph
Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Zhang Xiaogang is one of eight artists who have been offered their own
museums as contemporary art flourishes in China.
The New York Times

Sichaun Province is known for its spicy food and, now, its art.

It has offered to give eight contemporary artists, all under 60, their
own personal museums to operate. The group includes some of China's
best-known avant-garde artists: Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Fang
Lijun, Yue Minjun, Zhou Chunya, He Duoling, Zhang Peili and Wu
Shanzhuan. All have accepted, and Dujiangyan, a city near the
provincial capital, Chengdu, will soon begin construction on an 18-acre
plot of land. The museums are scheduled to open in October 2008.

In a country with no major museum of contemporary art — not even in
Beijing, where most of the eight artists work — this is a novel
development. But in China, everything is changing at warp speed:
artists who sold works for $100 in the 1990s have become
multimillionaires operating huge studios and driving BMWs. They are
helping to transform the style of the country's biggest cities.

"Modern art used to be neglected," said Lu Peng, an associate professor
at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, who selected the artists.
"Then modern art became popular in the market."

The new project, which will also include a public museum, is expected
to bolster tourism and to benefit a group of real estate companies that
are redeveloping the provincial area. In addition to providing the
land, Dujiangyan's government is investing around $13 million in the
museums.

The eight artists, ranging in age from 42 to 59, include a few from
Sichuan, but the others come from all over China. They rose to
prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s by producing paintings,
installations and multimedia pieces that were often radical. Some of
the work was viewed by the Chinese government as distasteful or
antiauthoritarian.

But in recent years Beijing has significantly loosened restrictions on
what can be exhibited in China as the global art market has fed a boom
in new studios, galleries, museums and art districts in many of its
cities. Today only the most controversial works — those with explicit
sexual images or harsh depictions of high-ranking Communist Party
officials — are banned.

How the artists plan to operate their own museums remains unclear.

"I was very happy when I heard that they were going to give me my own
museum," said Mr. Wu, 47, whose radical red character paintings and
nude performance art are well known here and abroad. "Right now, I have
no idea what I'm going to do with it. In the future all the artists
will sit down and discuss how these museums will be operated."

If the artists choose to display their own works, the museums will have
an enviable collection. Prices for art from many of them have
skyrocketed on the auction market. Individual pieces by Zhang Xiaogang
and Mr. Yue, for example, have sold for more than $2 million.

The Fusion on the Menu Is Art and Food

Asia > China > Beijing
The Fusion on the Menu Is Art and Food
By JULIA CHAPLIN
Published: August 19, 2007

IT was a familiar art-world ritual. Mint BMWs and Audis snaked down a
dark alley off the Second Ring Road in Beijing and pulled up to a gray
industrial bunker. Samuel Keller, the director of Art Basel Miami
Beach, had just jetted in from Switzerland. The local hotshot painters
Liu Ding and Liu Wei were huddled with the Svengali-esque curator Pi
Li, and in one corner would-be collectors were chatting with one of
China's most renowned contemporary artists, Ai Weiwei.

Insiders could be forgiven for mistaking this as yet another gallery
opening in art-crazed Beijing, with free-flowing Yen Jing beers, an
international crowd and a minimalist interior of stark white walls and
bare concrete floors. But then the kitchen doors swung open, and a
banquet of Zhejiang province dishes like steam-dried yellow croaker and
a wild-mushroom casserole in a fragrant broth poured forth.

The place was Qu Nar, a restaurant owned and designed by Mr. Ai as a
kind of dining club for his creative circle. "The restaurant actually
loses money because we don't promote it," said Mr. Ai, who opened Qu
Nar (16 Dongsanhuan Bei Road, Chaoyang; 86-10-6508-1597) in 2005 with
several bohemian friends. "But it's worth it because now we have a
place to hang out."

Mr. Ai is among a growing number of Beijing artists who are stepping
outside their studios and into the kitchen to open some of the most
talked-about restaurants in the city. These
artists-turned-restaurateurs are introducing cuisine from their
ancestral provinces — albeit with a nouvelle twist — to a city where
local Mandarin cooking has had a lock on upscale dining.

The current market for Chinese art has turned a handful of struggling
artists into overnight multimillionaires, with their works commanding
as much as $2.3 million at auction houses like Christie's. Along with
their newfound fame, some of these Beijing artists are now rolling in
the materialist trappings of a rap star, with their Range Rovers,
Ferragamo suits and, now, their own cult-of-personality restaurants.

That's not to say these places don't serve a more communal function. As
new art districts pop up along the industrial outskirts and dirt-road
villages off the Fifth Ring Road — often with no discernible center —
the restaurants have also emerged as a kind of ad hoc salon.

At the Dashanzi arts complex, housed in a defunct military factory near
the airport, artists and dealers can be found during lunch at Tian Xia
Yan (4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, 798 Factory District, Dashanzi;
86-10-6432-3577), a casual Sichuan cafe opened five years ago by the
photographer Cang Xin, known for his provocative self-portraits. Tucked
in a back alley behind a maze of galleries, boutiques and coffee shops,
the homey cafe has a red, Cultural Revolution-style décor and serves
Sichuan standards like spicy tea-mushroom pork pot and red-hot sesame
noodles.

By far the most entrepreneurial of the new artist-cum-restaurateurs is
Fang Lijun, a cynical-realist painter known for his canvases of eerie
bald men floating in space. Mr. Fang opened six upscale restaurants
around the city, each displaying important artworks that Mr. Fang and
his curator friends pick.

"It's a business, but it's also a place for the art world to meet and
gather," said Mr. Fang, who can often be seen holding court at Yuelu
Montain's Qian Hai Branch (10 Lotus Lane, 51-10 Dianmen Xidajie,
Xicheng District; 86-10-6617-2696).

Mr. Fang's flagship — South Silk Road in Soho New Town (3/F, Building
D, 88 Jianguolu Road; 86-10-8580-4286) — is the Beijing art world
equivalent to the Ivy in Los Angeles, where power curators and
collectors from Hong Kong, Seoul and the West wine and dine with the
art elite. Set on an upper floor of an office tower, the room is a
soaring loftlike space with black lacquered furniture and chic
waitresses in brightly colored folk outfits.

On one wall, behind a banquet table for 18 people, is a
floor-to-ceiling painting by the leading artist Wang Guangyi that
depicts, in pop yellow and red, retro-Communist workers with the word
"art" stamped in the corner like a corporate logo.

Viewing the painting on a winter afternoon was Meg Maggio, the director
of the Pekin Fine Arts gallery and a consultant for the Gagosian
galleries. "China is a country where relationships are best built over
a good meal," Ms. Maggio said, as she entertained a museum group over
glasses of rice wine and dishes like caterpillar fungus chicken soup in
steam pot, made with four varieties of Yunnan mushrooms.

Three years ago, an artist collective from Guizhou — a poor province in
south central China — arrived in Beijing to sell their paintings. To
pay the bills and to keep from getting homesick, they opened a 24-hour
restaurant named after themselves, Three Guizhou Men (1-2/F, Building
7, Jianwai SOHO, 39 Dongsanhuan; 86-10-5869-0598). The sleek gray
dining room served nouvelle Guizhou specialties like sour fish soup,
lavender tea with milk, and mango and ice purée.

Their art careers never took off, but their restaurant now has five
branches. And they are always packed

made in china

sorry for the lack of format.

made in china
In terms of product design, there are two options that China (and the rest of the world for that matter) can turn towards:
industrial design- dealing mainly with functionality, and what designer Pearl Lam calls ‘hyper design’- which deals with a
combination of artistic design/design for daily life/social design. In choosing the topic of design, I had the opportunity to intern with XYZ design, as well as speak with product designers and professors at the Industrial Design unit of Shanghai University of Technology. In having the chance to visit these locations and extensively speak with the individuals within these fields, I was able to learn production methods and ideas of social idealism based on artists’ personal visions.

Chinese design is emphasized mainly by the context of contemporary China itself. By saying this, I mean that China is a place of industrial manufacturing, making certain aspects the process of designing more accessible to current design practitioners in China. In turn, just based on the premise that an object is ‘made in china,’ the act accessing certain materials and going through with the process of designing becomes more easily graspable. Designers are further prompted to explore different outlets, or ‘traditions’ as a medium to integrate art into design.
Industrial design can be defined as an applied art, where creating and developing concepts and specifications both
aesthetically and functionally improve a products marketability and production. In turn, this benefits both the user and the
manufacturer. At the College of Art and Design at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, I was given the
opportunity to interview faculty members as well as product designers-Teddy Zheng, Grant, and Chen Tao. The discourse
mainly focused on the educational system within this field. As with most things in China, they explained how the industrial
design industry began developing in the 1980s. At that time there were only thirteen Universities offering design courses as
opposed to the 220 that contain programs presently. The vast increase of design universities is a direct product of China’s
developing economy. Prior to 1980, products were designed in foreign countries and manufactured in China. Rather than
producing individual ideas and independent design, workers took to the factories, copying the shapes that they were given and paying attention to technical and aesthetic renderings.
The causes of industrial design education are products of Qing Hua and Zhong Nan University. Both set a standard
curriculum which all other Industrial design schools in China imitate. This is the reason why each University’s curriculum is at the same level. However, some have distinct characteristics- such as offering more of an art background or offering more of a science/technology background.
The industrial design unit at the University of Shanghai offers students a four-year program composed entirely of a set of
standard classes. These classes force students to explore a practical concern in technical processes and requirements for
manufacturing products. The goal for the University is to assist students in fulfilling requirements by introducing them to
materials/forms, exploring design outlets and furthering technological design. Within the first year, students are required to
study politics, master English, and explore math, mechanical technology, as well as sketching. From there, the second year
offers more professional classes, exploring costs, graphic design, aesthetics in design, sketches on design, and form fabrication. These classes train the students to use simple materials in order to get a general idea of form making. The next two years offer more specific classes that cater to the students future goals within the design world. This is the time where “real product design” happens. Students are introduced to the process of creating simple structures such as perfume bottles and then move to more complex structures such as mobile phones and vehicles. At this time students are required to take classes in the concept of forms, model making, economics, structural construction, material selection, as well as take part in social contests.All students are required to complete the three levels of the program. So, even if a student is more interested in designing microwaves, he must go through the process of learning technicalities in washing machines, vehicles, etc. At the end of their four years, the teachers introduce the ‘good students’ to independent designers and international companies. The careers of an industrial designer can range from graphic design, to furniture design, to companies such as Shanghai GM, Whirlpool, or Electrolux.After graduation, students are often times encouraged to take a year abroad to gain a higher degree and acquire further skills in the design process. Currently, most students are being outsourced to Japan and Germany. Reason being is that Chinese Industrial Design is based off of Japanese and German influence, (they hate France, they find it too Romantic). In terms of Japanese influence, China mimics their take on details, whereas in terms of German influence, China respects the functionality and durability of products. The resulting product yields no absolute difference between the two influences- both working in conjunction to create products with optimal function, value, and appearance. Today, Industrial Design enterprises in China, as in anywhere, are dictated by the consumer market, thus this is what the design curriculum is based on. Products coming out of China are based on a client’s experience with a product- a synthesized combination of functionality and trends of consumer aesthetic. Concepts and specifications are based off of human characteristic, needs, and interests. Designers must explore and understand visual and tactile.
Where the industrial design units of the Universities deal primarily with functionality, the fine art departments at the same
Universities offer technically run studio courses, which aid designers who want to concentrate more on the aesthetics of design.
From what I gather, it seems as if those who go into ‘hyper design’ tend to have more of a fine arts background- particularly in sculpture. In another one of my interviews I met with artist/designer Hang Feng, who attended Shanghai University as a fine art major, concentrating in Graphic Design. Upon visiting Hang Feng’s studio in Moganshanlu, located in the back area of Art Sea- an upstairs gallery in building 9, I was able to interview him about his schooling in the fine arts field. As a graduate from the system before art and graphics had really become a particularly popular outlet, Hang Feng had nothing but negative things to say about the art programs in China. In his perspective, the Chinese educational system is disastrous and impractical based on the premise that everything the institution teaches stems from rote memorization and exact duplication- there is no freedom of thought. The curriculum in which he was enrolled offered mostly drawing and painting classes, which he deemed as ‘not very interesting.’ To broaden his range of experience and to enhance his artistic skills, he took up a printmaking course on the side, as well as did quite a bit of independent self-study on anything that interested him. Because his graphic design course was actually taught without the use of computers, his semester consisted of classes devoted to drawing exact technical sketches of a pen, or an arrow. Due to this major disappointment, he began to work for advertising companies and magazines to pick up extra knowledge within the graphic design and photography realm. Firsthand experience within these fields acted as the key, which “opens a gate to [him] as everything can be designed differently...
below is his artist.”
In the center of his studio hangs his most recent design endeavor- a circular oriental carpet. As you approach this object
you begin to notice something peculiar going on, the shapes and patterns within the design are composed of nothing but
commercial symbols. Dissection leads to internationally recognizable trademarks of Puma, NIKE, Louis Vutton, and Channel.
As I will mention a little later, this carpet, themed ‘Fake Market’ encompasses one of the more popular themes and trends
within the contemporary Chinese Design scene. The production of this piece called for Heng Fang to oversee the entire project from start to finish. He explained that because workers in China are careless about detail, he found no other choice but to opted to live in a carpet factory for four months in order to direct workers every step of the way. Production of this one of a kind, handmade carpet took approximately a month and a half.
Heng Fang’s studio also displays a series of plastic/paper laser cut outs of the similar Branding-Logos symbols. He has
worked on furniture design as well as other popular culturally Western products, such as a geometrical plastic Christmas tree
sporting logo cutouts.
In my travels I inadvertently had another studio visit. This time with a student/employee at XYZ Design Company named Toni. Similar to Heng Fang, he studies at Shanghai University and has a similar educational background in fine arts- concentrating in sculpture. I was sent by my internship to his studio located at the University. The task at hand was the completion of the beginning stages of a project for design team Julie Mathias and Wolfgang Kaeppner. Through XYZ, this French and German duo presented us with a photo of a vase in the shape of a robot standing about a foot and a half high in length. We were also given a miniature tin robot in addition to this photo. From these two sources, we were expected to produce an exact rendering of a combination of these sources, keeping in mind precise measurements/requirements. A pristine porcelain robotic vase would be the result—partially produced in Toni’s cluttered and congested studio at Shanghai University. The procedure goes as follows:
start with basic wire structure, build up basic figure in clay-body legs, arms head- built out of basic square and rectangular
structures, add slightly more detailed accouchements- a backpack, clamped had, earphones, etc, make sure everything is in
proportion and that there are no flaws. When the clay mold is completed, it will be cast in fiberglass at Toni’s studio, inspected by Wolfgang, Julie, and XYZ design, and then sent to another factory, where it would be produced in porcelain. When this is completed it would yet again be sent to an alternate location for details to be painted on the finished product—the example photo we rendered from sported a series of blue vines crawling up the lower portion of the robot. This is the way things go in China, once the sketch leaves the designer’s hands, their idea is outsourced to manufacturers in order for their work to achieve a perfect industrial finish.
As one can probably gather from previous mentions, the company XYZ Design/Contrast Gallery relates more to the
aesthetics of design. This company was founded in 1992, and the first to focus solely on contemporary design in China. Pearl
Lam, head of XYZ Design/Contrast Gallery, defines art as “a combination of fashion, product design, graphics, painting,
sculpture, furniture design, and architecture, and considers it anachronistic to separate these disciplines into strictly autonomous fields.” Although a purely Chinese based-with locations in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong- XYZ Design commissions mainly western artists. Most recently, projects are based off the idea of exploring the influence of the West on the East. Because the designers supported by this company are from diverse countries and cultures, the products created can be considered as ‘intercultural’ art, which Pearl translates to as “respecting and understanding cultural heterogeneity.” She likes to imagine that each designer her company supports draws from China’s 5,000-year-old civilization in order to create a new means of communication, in turn forming a new visual language within their work. However, in my perspective, the result is Western art (design) and Western ideas. I may be wrong, but the only Asian spin that I’ve seen from designers in her company is their utilization of quick and cheap labor and production. Which I guess is a pretty precise reflection of what China is all about. In my short time exploring this field and interviewing the limited contacts whom I’ve met here, the only real first hand Chinese product design I’ve come in contact with – and by Chinese I mean that the designers themselves were Chinese-- yielded peculiarly similar products. In meeting with artist/designer Hang Feng, in addition to seeing and working on designer Pearl Lam’s most recent work I began to notice a trend. Both individuals produce items that are highly saturated with signs of commercialism, which surprise surprise, is what the contemporary art scene here seems to be presently about as well. Where Pearl designs Ming Dynasty style chairs upholstered in knock-off Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada, and every other pretentious high fashion handbag, Hang Feng creates rugs, plastic Christmas trees, plastic sheet hangings, etc inscribed with NIKE, Puma, Louis Vutton, and Channel symbols. The use of these symbols is of course descriptive of China’s new commercial and cultural openness, the rapid urbanization and transformation of cities, the relentless bombardment of consumer culture, and the influences of mass media.The result of this cross-cultural design concept also results in cross-disciplinary aspects of contemporary art and design. In this way, emerging designers with origins in fine art are reinventing traditions as well as creating new forms. This new breed of Chinese designer is linking the past with the future through present day practices. This takes into account the traditional Chinese concept of ‘art,’ which defined any form of creativity as artistic expression, and which made no hierarchical distinction between ‘fine art’ and design.’
So where is the history? In researching both industrial and aesthetic design in comparison to early Chinese design, one can
revert to the ren wen tradition. Both industrial design and aesthetic design can stem from this type of ideology. In the past,
when referring to the concept of art, the Chinese defined it with ‘ji shu’ meaning skill and craftsmanship, and ‘sue shu’ meaning scholarly knowledge (Li Xu, Wen Ren). Art and design stood on an even playing field, and there was no segregation between the two due in part to the extensive academic curriculum for Chinese scholars, also known as ‘wen ren.’ The traditional ‘wen ren’ was deemed as a true polymath- “a complex mix of multiple identities, with a great range of skills at their disposal”(Li Xu, Wen Ren). This meant that aside from primarily being a literary scholar and artist skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, etc. he should also be a philosopher, scientist, military strategist or statesman. They were expected to compose music, design houses, landscapes, objects such as teapots, brush pots, vases, and furniture with the assistance of craftsmen, in order to share his scholarly sentiments (Li Xu, Wen Ren).For a long time after the wen ren, China experienced quite a long period with no design at all. Individual expression was suppressed to the extreme, and design existed merely as practical function. The severe visual impression cast on Chinese living was: a white porcelain bowl, a porcelain enamel cup, an aluminum lunch box, a bag for military use, a blue and greyinsh Sun Yat Sen’s unifim, military coat, a bamboo thermos, a bare light bulb and cut-and-dry cement dormitory, as well a s a coarsely built classroom, an auditorim, a dining room, and a bathhouse. (Li Xu-wen Ren and Design- Loss of the Wen Ren Tradition.) Due to China’s rapid modernization and suppression of national values due to incidents such as the Reform Movement, 1911 Revolution, May Fourth Movement, and Cultural Revolution, it seems as if ancient lifestyle has nearly vanished, and national pride is on the downfall. As a result, when design once again emerged as an accessible idea, Eastern thought imitated western reference.
Modern Chinese product design is “projected through the context of information, globalization, economic integration and
increasingly homogeneous entertainment; that embracing the uniqueness of our national culture is not only important, but has a response with the broad population as well” (Li Xu, Wen Ren). The tough thing about design, particularly product design, is that it is expected to reflect current trends, and must constantly move with the times, if not ahead of it. Although contemporary China is about rapid transformation, often times traditional culture can be exploited in order to make use of a more advanced ideology. The common conception of Chinese design is that it must reflect a sense of “Chineseness” and obvious “Chineseness.” This means it must show hints of obvious traditional design—as Ming Dynasty furniture as displayed in Pearl Lam’s work, or at least contain a Chinese character or two.
Today, it seems that traditional culture is not being embraced and instead individuals look towards developing the economy by turning to Western ideology. This can be reflected in the fact that it is extremely difficult to find a product with specific
relevance to modern Chinese culture, other than the criteria which I had previously mentioned. This makes it questionable
whether or not the aesthetic system in ancient China can be applied extensively to current life. However, at this present time in history, design has become more of an international market than reflective of a specific marketable culture. Thus, is it possible to manufacture contemporary furniture, vases, washing machines, cars, etc with a particular Chinese quality and without referring to ancient aesthetic? From what I gather, in attempts to create a national language and integrate into the western world, Chinese modern design remains lingering between modernization and internationalization.

SHIT I DNE SEEN IN BEIJING_3; this retarded thing

SHIT I DNE SEEN IN BEIJING_2; g00d sh0w

This is the best show I've seen in China, Wang Luyan's "Sawing or Being Sawed?"

It's also quite possibly the worst show title I've seen in China. Supposedly it's supposed to be a giant metaphor for China itself. Who would've thought? I wonder if that's actually the case or if that's just what all the press shit says in hopes of making $$$$$ BANK $$$$$...

Here are some images I took while checking it ooooouuuutttt

In the end, though, I figured it out.



If you look closely at the image above, paying particular atention to the cuts in each circular saw blade, where they intersect -- you will notice that on neither blade does the cut extend to distance of the actual rivets of the opposing blade. Neither one of these blades could be spinning. So, in conclusion; IT IS NEITHER SAWING NOR BEING SAWED. Brilliant.

These are some young(ish) art doodz we met at the opening. They were on their way to dinner with Mr Wang Luyan himself. Maybe someday they will be famous. I don't have their names, but I DO have their email adresses, which I will gladly publish.

blinking305 at yahoo.com (sunglasses around his neck)

yucochina at yahoo.com (green shirt)

chenjiedada at yahoo.com (striped shirt)

After they gave me their email addresses, I warned them that yahoo regularly cooperrates with the Chinese government and reveals the personal information of its users who the Communisy Party wishes to Jail. At this point, however, it became clear to me that this crew knew very, very little English, as they had not the slightest clue about what I was trying to say.

SHIT I DONE SEEN IN BEIJING_1; cheap artz

In keeping with my last post about the pricing of Chinese Contemporary Art, specifically that of Yue Minjun, I share with you this photo I took of one of his pieces - which I found for sale at the Beijing silk market.

Being that Yue Minjun is himself from Beijing, I am quite sure this piece is authentic. I was able to barter the woman selling it from 2000 RMB down to 700 before getting bored and walking away.















The original Andy Warhol next to it was only 500, due to it's smaller size.

Chi Peng and Scoff in Beijing

Chi Peng's "Journey Into The West" at White Space Gallery, Beijing -- here's a video of his video:



Beijing rockband Scoff live at D22 club, Beijing -- a video of that:

From Propaganda to Profit

------------------------
From Propaganda to Profit
June 2007

by Rebecca Catching and Anurag Viswanath

This spring at Moganshan Lu, Shanghai's main art district, Beijing Art
Now Shanghai christened their gallery opening with a rather
unconventional exhibition, "Shanghai Now." Viewers entered the
cavernous warehouse and stared blankly at canvases sheathed in money.
Gallery founders Huang Liaoyuan and Zhang Haoming had wrapped each
painting in shiny wrapping paper printed with faces of various
different currencies. In doing so, they sought to remind viewers to
look beyond the commercial value of art and contemplate its intrinsic
value.

Xu Beihong's 1939 work Put Down Your Whip sold at a recent auction in
Hong Kong for a record $9.2 million.

It's a relevant point in the context of the Chinese art market, which
some claim has begun to spin out of control. Last year, Sotheby's and
Christie's sold $190 million worth of Asian contemporary art—most of
it Chinese. Prices reached unprecedented heights, with 43-year-old
artist Liu Xiaodong dropping canvases for a whopping $2.7 million, and
Xu Beihong's The Slave and Lion smashing the record for a Chinese oil
painting at $6.9 million.

Twenty years ago Chinese artists would have had trouble obtaining a
passport, but now they are globetrotters. They have studios at home
and abroad, showcase their art around the world, and are getting very
rich in the process. Why this boom? According to Simon Groom, head of
exhibitions at the Tate Liverpool, the Chinese art explosion "reflects
the interest in China, driven by the growth of its economy, the
emergence of Chinese collectors and an eagerness in the West for new
speculative markets."

Tate Liverpool's current exhibition "The Real Thing: Contemporary Art
from China" features 26 works by 18 leading Chinese artists, including
Ai Weiwei, Gu Dexin, Zhou Tiehai and the Yangjiang group. The exhibit
has been billed as the "show of the year" and is evidence of the
growing influence of Chinese artists abroad. Indeed, many of China's
most exciting artists are now based abroad—for example Xu Bing and Cai
Guoqiang—which puts them in close proximity to their collectors, 90%
of whom are foreign.

Yet mainland Chinese collectors are starting to get into the Chinese
art game, too. Catering to their needs are hundreds of mainland
galleries and auction houses which are springing up, as well as
foreign institutions that are in the process of opening branches in
China, such as the Centre Pompidou and the Guggenheim.

Auction houses, both foreign and local, have begun to deal directly
with the top-tier Chinese artists, snatching up works while the paint
is still wet, rather than going through collectors and galleries. Some
artists have responded to the demand by using teams of assistants to
churn out paintings. For example, Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan
employs close to 100 workers in a massive studio that would make Andy
Warhol's factory look like a cottage industry.

A Long March

Under Mao, art was meant to "serve the people," i.e., workers,
peasants and soldiers—social groups not known for their inclination
toward the arts. And the bureaucratic controls designed to oversee
Mao's utopian social-engineering projects quickly made art subservient
to politics.

Artists were disseminators of propaganda, celebrating revolutionary
zeal and socialist euphoria through patriotic paintings. Icons of this
era include Dong Xiwen's oil The Founding of the Nation (1953), Jin
Shangyi's painting Mao Zedong at the December Conference (1961), and
Wu Hufan's Atom Bomb (1965), which marked China's coming of age as a
nuclear power.

Woodblock prints and oils done in the Soviet socialist realism style
featured square-jawed men leading China's industrialization, and
robust women harvesting bumper crops of plump rockmelons, while folk
paintings known as nianhua, or New Year's paintings, depicted bouncing
baby boys riding atop golden fish adorned with communist slogans.

Under the oppressive Cultural Revolution, a new genre, a variation on
socialist realism described as "red, bright and luminous" (hong,
guang, liang), celebrated the accomplishments of the Cultural
Revolution with the use of theatrical illumination and garish colors.
The fall of the Gang of Four in 1976 brought new beginnings, as both
artists and art schools were rehabilitated.

Deng Xiaoping's "opening and reform" in 1978 and the preoccupation of
the state with economics allowed for expanded realm of individual
freedom and space. The officially sponsored "New Spring" art
exhibition in February 1979, followed by an exhibition by the Stars,
paved the way for the rise of the Contemporaries, which included
artists such as Wang Huaqing, Sun Weiman and Zhang Hongtu. The
establishment of Fine Arts in China (Zhongguo Meishu Bao) in 1985, a
Bejing-based weekly arts newspaper; the formalization of official
channels for sale of art by the New York-based Hefner Gallery in
1987-89; and the Chinese Nude Oils exhibition in 1989 were important
milestones which led to the culmination of what some consider the
Tiananmen of the art world: the highly controversial, socially
critical "China/Avant Garde" exhibition at the Chinese National Art
Gallery in February 1989.

Following Tiananmen, the art scene limped back to normalcy after a
brief hiatus. In the following decade, the first art galleries, such
as Red Gate Gallery and Courtyard Gallery in Bejing, and Shanghart and
Eastlink in Shanghai, began to pop up, with clients including
influential foreign collectors such as Uli Sigg and Pierre Huber.

In the years that followed art was no longer used to further the aims
of communism, rather communist imagery was used further the aims of
individual artists who made a fortune off of genres such as political
pop.

Artists such as Wang Guangyi and Xue Song, produced technicolor images
of Mao and graphic paintings of workers. While cynical realists such
as Liu Xiaodong, Yue Minjun and Zhang Xiaogang employed both
hysterical and forlorn human figures in everyday scenes, giving visual
expression to the moral vacuum left behind by communism.

Towards the late 90s, artists began really test the limits of their
freedom with exhibitions such as the "Fuck Off" biennale satellite
exhibition curated by Ai Weiwei at Eastlink in 2000, and Cang Xin's
performance piece To Add One Meter to an Unknown Mountain, where he
piled the summit of a mountain with the bodies of his friends—an
oblique reference to the terror induced by the Cultural Revolution.
Though artists experienced a palpable growth in artistic freedom
through out the 90s and onwards, plainclothes spies from the cultural
bureaus made their presence felt, asking to speak to artists, removing
works, shutting down exhibitions and occasionally holding artists in
prison.

In 2006, the Hei Shehui collective—literally "hey, society" and also a
pun on the Chinese word for mafia—organized the controversial "38 Solo
Exhibitions" in a former army barracks in Shanghai. The exhibition
featured Jin Feng's provocative performance piece An Appeal Without
Words, which comprised a group of actual peasants covered head to toe
in a layer of gold paint, brandishing empty placards—a reference to
their compromised status in appealing land disputes. Such incendiary
work caused the show's closure and landed two of the artists in jail.
New-art observer Geremie Barmé likens the situation to Miklos
Haraszti's Velvet Prison. In such an environment, the majority of
artists choose not to test the limits, and social critique often takes
a back seat to profit.

In some ways, profit poses a more pernicious threat to creativity than
government censorship, as galleries pressure artists to create works
to feed the market. "Now that [the art world] has become
commercialized, these commercial forces inform artists if something
has commercial value," opines controversial conceptual artist Xu Zhen.
Mr. Xu, who spends much of his time working at nonprofit experimental
art center BizArt, pays little attention to the market. Rather he
chooses to raise questions about transparency and China's growing
military ambitions—filming videos of himself driving remote control
tanks into China's neighboring countries and staging mockumentaries of
engineers lopping off the top of Mount Everest.

While the success stories, such as Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun,
dominate the business pages of the Western press, many critics see
them as examples of how Chinese art has failed to innovate. Outside of
the works of a small group of exceptional conceptual artists, much of
what lines gallery walls is uninspiring and derivative. Pia Camilla
Copper, a Chinese contemporary art specialist at the Paris auction
house Artcurial, says, "The painters, sculptors and conceptual artists
from [China's top academies] are technically skilled, they only lack
imagination. A sort of Turner Prize should be created for Chinese art
to encourage young artists to break free from academic rules, the
scourge of the Chinese art academy, and innovate."

At the same time, experimental art is stifled by the lack of
institutional resources. Museums are underfunded, as are nonprofit art
centers such as Shanghai's BizArt and Yunnan's Lijiang Studio. Serious
art criticism is also compromised by corruption amongst journalists
and critics who offer coverage and praise for a fee.

Ms. Catching is the arts and entertainment editor of that's Shanghai,
and the Shanghai correspondent for Art Asia Pacific. Ms. Viswanath is
a free-lance journalist based in Bangalore.

Beijing Bound: 798 Space

Thus far, being directly exposed to nothing except for Shanghai art and artists, I’ve found the art scene here in China to be underwhelming. I didn’t know whether to blame this on the my previously conceived high expectations, the art itself, the venues the art showed in, or the way in which (some) of the artists/gallery owners presented themselves to us.
The Beijing art scene may have altered this opinion of mine. Of course I had only spent a few hours at most, but what mainly impressed me was the magnitude of art being produced as well as the various different gallery clusters where one might choose to visit-each proving to be its own little community and sanctuary cut off entirely from the city. On our trip, one of the areas I visited was 798 Space.

Quick Catch-up: wah wah. 798 Space is composed of around 300 artists in residence, 50 galleries as well as bookstores, cafes, bars, a tye-dye clothing shop, shops selling smaller versions of giant art pieces, etc. Built in the 1950s, the buildings here are converted factories representative of the heavy industry and Communist ideology that supported electronic technology and flagship for Mao’s vision of socialism. In the 90s, funding for state operated factories were revoked, and buildings were left vacant—making room for independent artists.—(info taken mostly from various sources when googled 798 space)


If you had arrived at this space- on a Sunday at 5, you would have been one of a few hundred artists/viewers/workers roaming the compound-- a surprising number in comparison to the two or three people wandering around Mognashanlu at any given time. The gallery that I took the most liking to was Long March Space. A show entitled NONO was going on—featuring eleven contemporary artists--installation, Video, photography--none in which had any particular connection. Unfortunately I was pen-less at this time and CANNOT remember Chinese artists’ names for the life of me-- sorry Barbara. I took a liking to three videos in the space—in which I’ll describe two: One video flashed at one-second intervals featuring object after object as a voiceover of ‘liangyuan’ repeated in an endless manner. This displayed everything that the artist bought for 2 RMB, and displayed the 2 cents on top of the object in view. Another video I took liking to was a piece where a few performers dressed in camouflage, donned a camouflage dragon suit, and performed traditional dances against a camouflage backdrop.—there was a whole lot of camouflage. The video jumped back and forth in a steady /repeated manner to the men performing with the dragon suit on and then to clips of the men performing without it on- all the same routine in sequence so your mind had to distinguish when exactly what was happening.

There was also a pretty cool sculpture of a dinosaur split down the center and divided into two glass cases enabling the viewer to walk in between and check out the ‘guts.’ Anyone who sees this immediately relates it to Damian Hurst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Although the sculpture wasn’t a live shark floating in formaldehyde and instead was a representation of a fake dinosaur standing in water mid-high, the grandeur and interactive display made it a more pleasing piece.

More rotting food art in Beijing

Wu Guanzhong Painting Tops Poly's `Crazy' Beijing Art Auction

Wu Guanzhong Painting Tops Poly's `Crazy' Beijing Art Auction

By Eugene Tang

June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Wu Guanzhong's ``Ancient City of Jiaohe'' sold
for a record 37 million yuan ($4.8 million) last night at Poly Auction
Co. in Beijing, on the day the Chinese stock market recovered from its
worst slump in three months.

The one-square-meter (10.8 square feet) depiction of a ruined city,
painted during Wu's 1981 teaching sojourn in western China's Xinjiang
province, was estimated by Poly to sell for 15 million yuan. The buyer
was identified only by his surname Cai.

Cai was among hundreds of collectors crowding Poly's inaugural night
sale, scheduled to avoid clashing with the spate of summer art
auctions that typically take place on weekends in the Chinese capital.
Of 65 paintings on offer, 48 reached or exceeded their high estimates.
The sale totaled 247 million yuan.

``People have gone crazy,'' said Sun Liangliang, after his 4 million
yuan bid for Shi Chong's ``Contemporary Scenery'' was surpassed by a
rival's 15 million yuan offer. ``They're paying 10 million yuan as if
it's 100,000 yuan. If you want prove that there's too much money in
Beijing, just watch this market.''

Cai, a private collector who declined to give his full name, bought
two of the eight Wu Guanzhong oil paintings on auction, paying 42
million yuan, not including a 10 percent buyer's premium.

``Jiaohe'' was last sold in 1991 by Sotheby's Holdings auction for
HK$2.55 million ($326,900), a record at that time for Chinese oil
paintings outside the country.

``Jiaohe is the epitome of Wu's work,'' said Chang Tiangu, Poly's art
director. ``This is the piece that a true collector and admirer of
Wu's work would aspire to.''

Yue Minjun

Poly's record prices extend a trend that has seen paintings from
China's contemporary artists regularly sell for many times the
expected price. On May 27, Christie's International sold a record $79
million of 20th century Chinese art and Asian Contemporary works. Yue
Minjun's ``Portrait of the Artist and His Friends'' fetched HK$20.5
million, five times the presale top estimate.

At Poly's auction, Yue's ``Untitled'' sold for 1.7 million yuan,
beating the 1.2 million yuan top estimate.

Wang Yidong's ``Innocent Years,'' depicting a newlywed couple's
journey home, sold for an artist record of 8.5 million yuan, beating
the 6.7 million yuan fetched in December for his oil painting of a
girl playing cards.

Wang, 52, paints in a signature style that dresses a maiden entirely
in bright red against a backdrop that's usually a darkened interior or
the stark snow-covered landscape of his native Shandong province. He
began his art training at 17 and has held exhibitions in Tokyo, Paris,
Rome and the U.S.

Zeng Triple

Three oil paintings by Zeng Fanzhi, a favorite among overseas
collectors of Chinese contemporary art, surpassed top estimates. His
``Mask No. 14'' sold for 8 million yuan, his portrait ``Andy Warhol''
fetched 2.4 million yuan, while ``Landscape'' sold at 4 million yuan.

Mao Yan's ``Memory or the Dancing Black Rose'' sold for 9.1 million
yuan, triple the top estimate.

The auction wasn't all smooth sailing. Xia Xing's ``Perfume in
February'' was auctioned twice. The painting depicting a naked maiden
was first sold for 820,000 yuan. Fifteen minutes later the auctioneer
put the painting back on the block. This time the hammer came down at
750,000 yuan -- to a different winner. Poly officials declined to
explain the discrepancy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eugene Tang in Beijing on
eugenetang@bloomberg.net

3 Solo Exhibitions by Zhang Dali, Ren Hong, Wang Lang/Liu Xinhua

" Three Unities"        3 Solo Exhibitions by Zhang Dali, Ren Hong, Wang Lang/Liu Xinhua

 

Artist s:                        Zhang Dali, Ren Hong, Wang Lang/Liu Xinhua

Curator s:                   Mathieu Borysevicz , Yan Yang

Organiser/Venue:     ddmwarehouse

Exhibition Dates:      May 26^th - June 2 4^th 2007

Opening:                    May 26^th, 2007 (Sat.) 8 pm

Entry:                          Free

 

 

Aristotle articulated the precepts of early Greek drama as the three "unities": unity of place, unity of time and unity of action. Under the roof of DDM Warehouse from 5/26/07 �C 6/27/07 three solo shows by Beijing based artists will be enacted: Zhang Dali, Ren Hong, and Liu Xinhua/Wang Lang. These artists of the Cultural Revolution generation transform the DDM warehouse into a stage where never-before exhibited works will be dramatically presented to the Shanghai audience.

 

Zhang Dali , the bad boy artist whose ubiquitous and mysterious graffiti took Beijing by force in the mid-1990's, and who has since gone on to achieve international fame, proudly presents his powerful new series of bronze sculptural works. Juxtaposing life size animals with human figures, these surrealist unions are rife with symbolic implications of a bestial violence that pervades our society and environment. Zhang Dali has recently been profiled in both ART Forum and Art in America for his participation in The Gwanju Biennial. His "Chinese Offspring" sculptures have also been recently acquired by famous British collector, Charles Saatchi and are profiled on the website:

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/zhang_dali.htm

 

Artists, Wang Lang  and Liu Xinhua pair up for the first time to present their long-term, labor-intensive work "Implemental Photography". Both artists have turned from their performance art backgrounds to work as semioticians in the creation of an extensive image archive. Culling thousands of images from newspapers, pictorials and advertisements this duo has deconstructed the legacy of propaganda and perhaps of photography itself. You will never look at a photograph the same way again.

 

In "Red Romanticism", a new painting series by Ren Hong, the artist presents images from 1960 and 70-era collective consciousness, which are then filtered through kaleidoscopic patterns. Various charged forms such as butterflies, arrows, birds and urns are meticulously repeated across the canvas surface reflecting the artists' childhood and her ambiguous nostalgia for a colorful age of idealism and innocence. These tediously made oil paintings are made to look effortless like soft, hypnotic daydreams.

 

ddmwarehouse

713 Dong Daming Rd. 3F Shanghai, China 200080

Tel: +86 21 3501 3212      Fax: +86 21 3501 3340

Opening Hours: 11:00-19:00 Tues.-Sun. (no fee)

www.ddmwarehouse.org

info@ddmwarehouse.org

 

 

Bus Lines (ddm) ： 13,19,25,33,37,921,922,868,875 to Gao Yang Rd.

Once hated, now feted - Chinese artists come out from behind the wall

Charles Saatchi joins the swell of collectors beating a path to the east

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Wednesday April 11, 2007
The Guardian


Art world turned upside down ... Charles Saatchi has bought 15 of Zhang Dali's Chinese Offspring. Photograph: courtesy Saatchi Gallery

The naked Chinese migrant workers were dangling on hooks and ropes from a ceiling in north-east Beijing until a few months ago, when they were bundled up in bubble wrap, crammed into a container and shipped off to London.

They are not desperate Chinese peasants seeking illegal entry into the UK. Far from it. Their arrival in Britain is part of a cultural invasion, paid for by the UK's most famous art collector, and signalling a surge of interest in Chinese sculpture, painting and photography.

The life-sized resin figures are the work of Zhang Dali, one of China's leading artists. To highlight the role played by countryside labourers in his country's rapid urbanisation, Zhang took casts of 100 of them, substituted numbers for their names, signed the figures and offered them for sale like pieces of meat hung in a window.

Except, of course, they are a lot more expensive. Thanks to the booming market in Chinese art, the price for a single figure has doubled in the past two years to £10,000. That value is likely to increase further if they are shown at the opening of Charles Saatchi's new gallery in the King's Road this year.

Saatchi snapped up 15 of Zhang's Chinese Offspring in a shopping spree that has also seen him spend more than a million dollars each on two huge paintings by Zhang Xiaogang, the hottest property in the Chinese contemporary art scene, as well as works from at least 18 of his compatriots.

The UK buyer, whose patronage helped to establish the careers of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin in the 1990s, is now paying increasing attention to the east. This year he launched a Mandarin version of his website, which gets more than 4m hits a day.

"I have been looking at lots of contemporary Chinese art in the past few years and find that a small percentage of it is world class and as good as the best contemporary art anywhere else," he told the Guardian. "There is a huge gulf, though, between the small amount that is world class and the majority, which is derivative and kitsch."

Saatchi is a late but influential arrival. Thanks to a near eightfold increase in the market in only two years, Sotheby's in Hong Kong recorded Chinese contemporary art sales of $21.9m (£11m) in 2006. It is a similar story at auction houses from London to New York, many of which started only recently to offer modern Chinese work but now find it their biggest driver of growth.

It has bordered on a frenzy. During the first auction of Chinese contemporary art in New York last April, so many bidders were calling in that Sotheby's ran out of telephones.

Among the most sought-after works was Lions, the roaring, guffawing multiple self-portrait by Yue Minjun, which eventually sold for more than half a million dollars. Yue's paintings and sculptures of garishly coloured laughing men are seen as symbols of China's consumer culture. This is one of the central themes for contemporary artists, along with reflections on materialism, the loss of traditional values, environmental destruction and the political legacy of Mao Zedong and Tiananmen Square.

Most of the headlines have been made by Zhang Xiaogang, whose giant family portraits and split-focus images from the Cultural Revolution era have generated the biggest interest among buyers. Last April, his Bloodline Series: Comrade No 120 sold for $979,200, almost three times Sotheby's high estimate. It was a record for Chinese contemporary art, but one that lasted only until October, when Saatchi paid £769,600 for another work by Zhang Xiaogang at a London auction.

With auction sales of $23.6m last year, Zhang Xiaogang was narrowly second to Jean-Michel Basquiat in the ArtPrice ranking of the 100 top-selling artists. But he was far from alone on the chart. There were 24 Chinese names last year, up from almost none five years ago.

This represents a huge change in attitudes and lifestyles. Ten years ago, avant-garde artists were on the fringe of Chinese society. Their works were often banned, exhibitions were shut down and, for most, the sales of their work were barely enough to make ends meet. Today, however, a growing number of artists own villas, foreign cars and apartments. "Cynical realist" Fang Lijun is said to own six restaurants in Beijing and a hotel in Yunnan province.

Among the newcomers to the top-seller list is Su Xinping, an artist from Inner Mongolia. Su said the price of his work had tripled in the past three years. "My life has changed a little. I still eat simple food and lead a simple life, but I have a more convenient house and a more convenient car. I have several homes, and I bought a studio in the city last year."

Su is one of many artists who struggled after their participation in the Tiananmen Square protests. But now he sees greater opportunities to do the work he wants to do, and to get paid for what it is worth. He received a call from New York recently to say several of his works had just sold for almost $400,000. "I won't get any of that money," he grinned. "I sold those pieces years ago." But he will benefit from now on. "The price for Chinese art was too low before. Even now some fine pieces have not reached their true value."

Zhang Dali agrees. "I expect the price will keep rising for at least five years because more and more people want to buy Chinese art, but there are not that many Chinese artists. The demand is increasing, but the supply is limited so the price will keep rising."

The reasons for the boom are manifold. The establishment of the Dashanzi art district in Beijing three years ago attracted many foreign buyers, who account for about 80% of sales. A government crackdown on property speculation and unease about stock market prices have also pushed many investors to consider art. But many overseas purchasers are motivated by a desire to grab a piece of history.

"I think the rise of the art market is highly related to the rising interest in China," said Jonathan Wong of Sotheby's in Hong Kong. "We observe money comes from all over the world and new buyers keep emerging in every auction."

Amid concerns about a speculative bubble, insiders say the boom is a mixed blessing. "For big-name artists, the price of works has gone up dramatically - by 10 to 20 times in some cases," said Brian Wallace, whose Red Gate Gallery was the first to show contemporary works in Beijing. "If you were in it for the money 10 years ago, you would be very well off today. But it is not easy. With all the new entrants into the market, more galleries are taking up more artists. So the overall quality is not as high as before. There are many good artists out there, but a lot of them are now painting for the market - even some of the big names."

Surfacing | Beijing- A New Frontier for Chinese Art

Miranda Mimi Kuo for The New York Times

Suburban Caochangdi has become a magnet for contemporary art.

• By ARIC CHEN

Published: April 1, 2007

SEVEN years ago, the pre-eminent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made a bold move to the outskirts of Beijing. In an area called Caochangdi Village, by the Fifth Ring Road in the city’s northeast, he designed a compound for himself, some friends and a gallery called China Art Archives and Warehouse. For a while, they were left alone.

“We all thought they were cuckoo,” said Meg Maggio, a prominent contemporary art dealer in Beijing. “It was basically the countryside — really far away.”

But this spring, Ms. Maggio is moving there herself, joining an influx of high-profile galleries that are turning this quiet, birch- and pine-lined enclave into an artistic hotbed. Indeed, as the 798 District, the epicenter of Beijing’s lively contemporary art scene, becomes increasingly crowded with boutiques and tourists, some of China’s leading gallery owners are bypassing the district altogether, and heading directly to Caochangdi Village.

Or maybe they should call it Ai Weiwei Village.

Ms. Maggio’s gallery, Pekin Fine Arts (www.pekinfinearts.com), will be housed in a new complex designed by Mr. Ai — a cluster of low, minimalist buildings clad in weathered gray bricks that suggests the hutongs, or traditional alleyways, of old Beijing.

Nearby, Mr. Ai designed similar compounds for the leading Swiss gallery Urs Meile (104 Caochangdi; 86-10-6433-3393; www.galerieursmeile.com) and the soon-to-open Three Shadows Photography Art Center (155 Caochangdi; 86-10-8456-6147), a 14,000-square-foot space founded by the vanguard photographer Rong Rong to showcase Chinese and international works.

“Now there is a nice density here, like a community,” said Mr. Ai, who still serves as artistic director of China Art Archives and Warehouse (200 Caochangdi; 86-10-8456-5152; www.archivesandwarehouse.com).

If Mr. Ai is the area’s star artist, then its social hub is the hip warehouse gallery Universal Studios (A-8 Caochangdi; 86-10-6432-2600; www.universalstudios.org.cn) with its bohemian cafe and bar serving no-nonsense fare like beef noodle soup. Nearby is the spectacular new National Film Museum (9 Nanying Road; 86-10-6431-9548; www.bjrt.gov.cn/museum) and the art space Platform China (319-1 East End Art Zone A, Caochangdi; 86-10-6432-0091; www.platformchina.org), which helped set off the area’s gallery boom.

Besides being remote (at least a 30-minute drive from central Beijing), Caochangdi’s mazelike warrens make it easy to get lost. And addresses are basically useless. So the best strategy is to hire a taxi for the day, take a cellphone, call the galleries and pass the phone to the driver. A full afternoon on the meter, including round-trip fare and generous tip, should run less than 300 yuan, about $38 at 7.9 yuan to the dollar.

It might sound like a hassle, but you’ll be rewarded with an early look at more than a dozen galleries that represent the Chinese art world’s next frontier.

Other noteworthy spots include F2 Gallery (319 Caochangdi; 86-10-6432-8831; www.f2gallery.com) and the gargantuan PKM Gallery (46-C Caochangdi; 86-10-8456-6245; www.pkmgallery.com). Meanwhile, ShanghART, the trailblazing Shanghai-based gallery, is expected to open this fall, while Korea’s Gallery Hyundai is on its way, too.

“Things are developing really fast,” said Pi Li, the co-director of Universal Studios. “I think you’ll see restaurants and shops here in maybe two years. After 20 years in China’s art world, nothing would shock me.”