All The World’s A Stage

Written By Daniel on July 6, 2007 at 2:15 am | In technology, user generated content, events, connecting, China, art

Contemporary art goes global in China.

Trend Description

China’s current artistic “renaissance” has been likened to the emergence of Western Modernism over a hundred years ago. While this may be a questionable comparison, there is no doubt that something dynamic and vibrant is happening in the world of Chinese contemporary art right now. The constraints set out for a post-Cultural Revolution Social Realist style of art have gradually fallen away, allowing increasing numbers of Chinese artists to produce work that is pushing the boundaries of content and format like never before.

Only a decade ago there were no contemporary art spaces of note in China. Foreigners could not legally run galleries or, technically speaking, trade in art. Unofficial exhibitions were organized secretively, with no publicity, and usually lasted a few hours until being forcibly closed. Today, Chinese venues for contemporary art are multiplying exponentially, both in the real world and, increasingly, online.

Shanghai Art Fair

Helping to facilitate the flow of international and Chinese art will be the new Shanghai Art Fair (SAF), also called “ShContemporary 2007”. The SAF is being organized by the Geneva gallerist and collector, Pierre Huber, together with Lorenzo Rudolf, former director of Art Basel, and Bolognafiere, an Italian fair organizer which already has offices in Shanghai. It will involve about 120 international galleries from around the world.

Assisting with organization of ShContemporary 2007 is Zhou Tie Hai, one of China’s leading contemporary artists. Zhou graduated from the Fine Arts College of Shanghai University, and won the Contemporary Chinese Art Award in 1998. He explains, “Contemporary art and its market in Asia have developed very fast recently. However, Asia still doesn’t have a quality international art fair. One unique aspect of the SAF is that we are focusing on works instead of galleries. Pierre Huber has traveled widely in Asia to discover artists - we will bring them all to the fair so that the Asian art scene is truly represented.”

Image source: ShContemporary 2007

China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW)

Co-owned by Belgian businessman Frank Uyterhagen and Ai Weiwei, China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW) was founded in 1993, and focuses on cutting edge artists, with a spectacular hangar-like space in the Beijing suburbs. In 2003 the CAAW formed a partnership with the Lucerne-based Galerie Urs Meile, and is now dedicated to promoting high quality Chinese contemporary art under Ai Weiwei’s expert artistic direction.

Image surce: Galerie Urs Meile

Your Gallery in Mandarin

As in other countries, developments in technology are affecting Chinese contemporary art in a big way. London’s renowned Saatchi Gallery announced in May that it is launching a new, non-profit website in Chinese to allow artists in China the opportunity to present their work to a global audience. “Your Gallery in Mandarin” will be part of the overall Saatchi Gallery site, which is the largest interactive art gallery site in the world. In addition to free postings and translations, the Chinese site will host an interactive blog, forum and chatroom.

“Our goal is to break down language and cultural barriers,” says Neeraj Rattu, who is leading the site’s technology team. Having compiled a considerable amount of data, the team estimates that 20 to 30 art schools operate in China; that about 10,000 students will graduate from such schools in 2007; and that some 14,000 artists in China are represented by galleries. “That leaves roughly 10,000 unrepresented artists,” says McCann.

Image source: Kang Can - Saatchi Gallery

Trend Impact

Official attitudes toward art in China have now relaxed dramatically, with the government often lending support to exhibitions both figuratively and financially. This new laissez faire environment has been a major driver in the internationalization of Chinese contemporary art. In the last few years, Chinese artists have begun to exhibit regularly in overseas shows, leaving behind the underground scene that significantly impeded their creative development, and establishing China as the new darling of the global art community.

As China’s economy continues to boom, and interest in the country’s nascent art scene builds momentum, so a growing number of international profit and non-profit organizations are looking for ways to establish a presence in the Chinese art market. Overseas collectors are eyeing up China hungrily, and increasing numbers of knowledgeable Chinese art lovers are looking to augment their collections with pieces from beyond the mainland.