Arts Education Courses Reflect Growing Demand From New Chinese Collectors#
Crowd at Art Beijing (Photo: Sara White Wilson)
Taking her first trip to the Chinese capital to attend Art Beijing 2011, writer, photographer and Jing Daily Shanghai correspondent Sara White Wilson reflects on this wide-ranging and increasingly global arts event.
The fifth annual Art Beijing Contemporary Art Fair took place last week at the Agricultural Exhibition Center of China, having united diverse contemporary art initiatives from its VIP opening on April 29 to its closing on May 2.
The exhibition's overarching theme, “Pushing Forward Chinese Contemporary Art," brought together an ambitious amalgamation of over 100 art institutions from nearly 20 countries, including exhibition booths from 75 contemporary art galleries and ten photography galleries. Reflecting the growing interest in and importance of Chinese contemporary photography in the Chinese market, part of the fair comprised Photo Beijing, which included the thematic exhibition entitled “N/1 Mixed Media." Additionally, the galleries represented at the event were joined by 13 art platforms, such as non-profit organizations, cultural centers and international embassies.
Other thematic exhibitions added to the accessibility and diversity of the event. “Art Forbidden: Collection Exhibition of Ullens Contemporary Art," for example, followed the recent Sotheby's Hong Kong auction of important works previously owned by leading collector of Chinese antiques and contemporary art, Guy Ullens. At Art Beijing, a selection of works from his collection, which have defined the formative decades of Chinese contemporary art, were presented within a sequestered VIP area with the support of Beijing Poly International Auction House, one of the most important auction houses in mainland China. Artists whose works were exhibited in this section included "blue-chips" like Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Yu Youhan, Yue Minjun, Long Liyou, Fang Lijun, Zeng Fanzhi, Liu Xiaodong, Zhou Chunya, Yu Youhan and Liu Wei.
"Weather Station" by Wang Mai (Installation, 2010) - Photo by Sara White Wilson
“Fashion + Design Beijing” was a particularly dynamic thematic exhibition of more than 20 renowned Asian designers, from Japan, South Korean and China, presenting furniture and tableware design as well as fashion and jewelry for a playful exploration of the intersection between form and function. The strongest section, which included a selection of works for sale, was the Salon de Future, curated by former Saatchi Gallery curator Daehyung Lee.
As an indication of the growing role played by new Chinese collectors in the Chinese contemporary art market, and the demand for art and art collecting education in mainland China, Art Beijing included an extensive VIP Art Education Forum to focus education for collectors aiming to make sense of the rapidly developing market.
The increasingly close relationship between major brands and Chinese contemporary art was also on display. One Art Beijing sponsor, Volkswagen, presented “The People’s Car Project," which included four unique vehicles putting forth a futuristic vision of the ideal car, toying with notions of pop art and product design and the attitude ever present in China, that "anything is possible."
Perhaps the most emblematic artwork at Art Beijing was the installation work "Weather Station" by Wang Mai, placed in the open air between the exhibition space and the event-related café. A full-size carousel, embedded with flickering lights and adorned by the logos of major gasoline companies, symbolized much of the excitement - with its ups and downs yet in relative stability - of the Chinese contemporary art market.