Jing Daily’s Top Posts for the Week In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of September 26-30. François Pinault’s Obsession With Zeng Fanzhi, Luxury And Chinese Contemporary Art Over the past decade, as the Chinese contemporary art market has emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become one of the hottest topics in the contemporary art world, names like Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun, Liu Ye and Cao Fei have gone global, attracting the attention first of high-profile Western collectors and, more recently, mainland China’s burgeoning “new collector” base. As works by the first generation of blue-chip Chinese artists has steadily risen, even after the post-financial-crisis correction of 2009, François Pinault has shown a clear preference for one top Chinese contemporary artist in particular: Zeng Fanzhi (曾凡志). Currently, Pinault’s collection includes 15 works by Zeng, and even as Zeng’s works become far more expensive and harder to come by, Pinault’s interest in the artist shows no sign of dimming. Earlier this year, just a week before the Venice Biennale, Pinault showed up in person at the Christie’s spring auctions in Hong Kong to attend the ribbon-cutting of Zeng’s solo exhibition “BEING,” which featured 30 well-known works by the artist. One Year Of Shang Xia: Jing Daily Exclusive Interview With Jiang Qiong’er (Part Two) "It’s interesting that we only have one space here but we get many visitors from Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Qingdao, even Dalian and Hong Kong. From everywhere. And I think the market for Western luxury brands differs if we’re talking about different areas of China, but since Shang Xia is inspired by Chinese culture, there’s something shared among Chinese people. So finally, which is a very interesting point, you don’t see a huge difference where Beijingers just love the furniture, or people from Dalian just love the textiles, it’s quite balanced. You don’t see this huge cultural difference between north and south. "I think maybe it’s because we’re based on Chinese culture — they all love jade or zitan, or they all drink tea. But if you look at the market, you have few quality options in this field. You have replicas of Ming Dynasty furniture, with zitan wood, greatly done, or antiques. But you don’t have traditional know-how, great quality, and contemporary design. So we are quite unique in this market. People from all over China, even from Hong Kong or Taiwan, share a lot in common in terms of appreciation of our collection in general." Educating New Chinese Collectors A Cash Cow For Major Auction Houses Although Hong Kong is clearly already a money-maker for auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, over the past year these auction houses have sought to cultivate a broader collector base in emerging markets like mainland China via more educational offerings. Earlier this year, Jing Daily looked at the mainland Chinese-focused short courses offered by Christie’s around the time of the 2011 spring auctions, noting that several of these courses were offered in Hong Kong in Mandarin for the first time ever. In July, the demand for arts education by visiting mainlanders enticed Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel to add its own educational short course as well, toting well-to-do aspiring art connoisseurs around the city in a customized MINI Clubman to visit, and learn about, the local art scene. Unable to operate in the Chinese mainland, by catering to the needs of mainland Chinese “new collectors” — few of whom have formal arts educations — Sotheby’s and Christie’s hope to get a leg up on their mainland Chinese competition by offering a wider range of services. Kartel Wine Lounge Gives Shanghai A Dose Of “Destroy Chic” It’s getting more difficult by the day for a bar or restaurant to stand out in Shanghai’s fashionable French Concession, but Kartel Wine Lounge — which had its grand opening earlier this month — manages to do just that with a striking design and equally impressive wine list. Conceptualized by French designers Thomas Dariel and Benoit Arfeuillere (Jing Daily interview), Kartel’s defining feature is an overriding theme of what Dariel and Arfeuillere call “destroy chic,” playing with the contrasts between old and new that one sees in the surrounding French Concession area. As Dariel & Arfeuillere general manager Delphine Moreau told Jing Daily at the grand opening event on September 8, the designers were inspired by the framework of the venue that emerged as construction workers dismantled the old space, choosing to juxtapose the exposed concrete with polished, modern accents. According to Dariel and Arfeuillere, this “mix-and-match” aesthetic — raw and finished, Asian and European — calls back to (yet re-thinks) the French “Beaux-Arts” style. Interview: Fashion Designer Peggy Tan’s Cheongsam Dream Taiwanese-born, New York-based designer Peggy Tan recently unveiled her new S/S 2012 collection, the second for her clothing line Mandarin & General. Heavy on Chinese elements like Cheongsam (Qipao) design and silk, for Mandarin & General Tan thoughtfully sources, reconsiders and reinvents constructional tradition and detail, ultimately reworking Chinese-inspired garments into fresh and meaningful designs for today. Recently, members of the Jing Daily team caught up with Peggy Tan at the United States of Rendez-Vous, a trade show in New York featuring over 90 international brands and designers, to discuss her Chinese-inspired designs, marketing strategies, and future plans.