Burgeoning Art Market in China: Three Mega Art Fairs in 2000

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BY YU DING

The close of Guangzhou Art Fair on December 11th, 2000 signals the epilogue of three prominent art events in China: China Art Exposition in Beijing, Shanghai Art Fair and Guangzhou Art Fair. In many ways, those activities provide an unprecedented glimpse into the booming Chinese art market: endeavors have been made to raise the shows’ profile and to meet international standards. However, gaps remain between those fairs and world landmark ones. Indeed those exhibitions demonstrate both the vitality and the potential of Chinese art market. A clearer picture may be obtained by a survey of the art market and artistic environs in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.


Beijing: Pioneer, Possibilities and Problems
Among the three, the most noticeable is China Art Exposition held in Beijing, the center of cultural and artistic torrent. As the first and the most important, the fair attracts elites in Chinese art circle and forms a highly professional administrative committee, which actually inspired and impacted upon the other two fairs.
One of the most distinguishing and valuable aspects of The Eighth China Art Exposition 2000 is its masterly fusion of art scholarship and market. 1999 show marked a successful beginning by injecting certain motifs, and thus wove the diversified works into an organic whole. Zhao Li’s vigorous show entitled Chinese Oil Painting in the 20th Century, for instance, aroused much attention and controversy. Exposition 2000 went a step further. Featuring sculpture, the exhibition curated by Zou Wen and Mi Jie in 2000 gained wide popularity and triggerred heated debates, especially when the clay drafts of Monument of the People’s Hero standing on the Tian’an Men Square were exposed
to the viewer. Another remarkable element of the exposition is the exploration of the application of Internet. With the surge of Chinese IT industry, China Art Exposition 2000 opens up new a new dimension by thoughtfully introducing Internet into the art market and exhibition projects. In 1999 only www.artnews.com.cn made an overall coverage of the show; while in 2000 five to six art websites participated the show, using it as a great opportunity to tap the Chinese art market. The operation of www.guaweb.com (focusing on E commerce), one of the Exposition’s sponsors, was confirmed to be a fair success. Indeed, China Art Exposition 2000 has made Internet an integral part of Chinese art industry.


On the other side of the picture, there is still a big room for development. The overall quality of the entry remains to be improved. Individual participation exerts a negative impact upon the exhibition. 1999 witnessed a remarkable change in terms of normalizing izing the art market by bringing many famous
galleries under Taiwan Galleries Association to the exposition. However, due to the difficulty in attracting art dealers, the exposition 2000 does not appear to match the organizer’s expectation of diluting individual presence and involving more galleries. As the organizer, Dong Mengyang, remarked, “The Expo shows the real situation in the currant Chinese art market”, China Art Exposition 2000 presents a vivid picture of puzzles as well as rogress of China’s art market.


Shanghai: Highlight
In terms of administration, the fourth Shanghai Art Fair 2000 stands out as the most powerful and spectacular of the trio. In line with the organizing principle, “internationalizing, marketing and raising the quality of the work”, the show draws more than 200 art institutions home and abroad, among which galleries play a dominant role. The presence of art museums and such renowned galleries in Beijing and Shanghai as Chunxia Hanmo Gallery, Red Gate Gallery, Courtyard Gallery, Yibo Gallery, Wah’s Gallery and Shanghart Gallery, Shanghai Grand Theatre Gallery raises the profile of the show. Moreover, the fair enhances its international stance by luring galleries from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore, Austria, Congo, South Korean, Iceland, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Hong Kong and Chinese Taiwan. Overseas galleries count for nearly one fifth of the fair’s exhibiting room. The most sensational piece seems to be the original bronze work of Rodin, The Thinker, presented by France Gallery. At the end of the fair, 4 million RMB was paid to replacement the masterpiece permanently from Paris to in Shanghai.


In addition to the administrative factor, an auspicious social environment contributes greatly to the success of Shanghai Art Fair 2000. As an entry in the repertoire of Shanghai International Art Festival, the fair receives support from the municipal government. Thanks to Shanghai Biennale, the leading contemporary art mega-exhibition in China, and a dozen satellite shows during the fair, Shanghai turn out to be the focus of art practitioners. Overseas Chinese artists, critics, curators and gallery managers swarmed to Shanghai and made the fair an artistic gala critically and commercially.


Guangzhou: Progress
Like its peer in Shanghai, Guangzhou Art Fair is sponsored by local government. But unlike its peers, fairs in1998 and 1999 were seriously flawed by the absence of a permanent preparatory committee and the ensuing incoherence and disorder. To explore the huge potential of Guangdong art market, great effort has been made in 2000 to revive the local art scene. Chen Yuanyuan, a veteran in art market operation, was enrolled to take charge of the preparatory work. The fair 2000 exhibits a remarkable progress in refinining its taste. Like the fair in Beijing, it housed many special mini- exhibitions, including such solo shows as Li Xiongcai’s Art, Zhao Shao-ang’s Art, Yang Shanchen’s Art. Chen Shouxiang, research fellow from the Institute of Fine
Arts in the China Academy of Arts, curated Chinese New Literati Fan-format Painting
2000. Yiwei Web Cultural Development Company organized a group show called Past and Present: Evolutions of Chinese Oil Painting in a Century. Another accomplishment is its
attempt to promote the role of gallery as the bridge between the artist and the buyer. The fair 2000 brought together more than 40 art institutions, such as Hanhai Art Auction Co., Ltd., Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau, French SERCA Gallery, Ji Gu Zai gallery in Hong Kong, Daya Art Co., Ltd., Chunqiu Hanmo Gallery.


Conclusion
Indeed, Guangzhou art fair has made a considerable progress in 2000. However, it also raises common concerns of art fairs’ organizers in China: what form and role should art fairs assume in the burgeoning Chinese art market?


Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing have their distinct geocultural map. Guangzhou is situated on the forefront of reform and opening-up and takes the lead in economic development. In the Pearl River delta, the surging wealth in town and township enterprises and joint ventures is nurturing potential patrons of art. Similarly, the Yangtze River delta is nourishing Shanghai art market. For instance, Suzhou in the middle of 1990s possessed a wealth disproportionate with its size (its agricultural and industrial product ranked the third among Chinese cities.) and it was town and township enterprises that contributed overwhelmingly to this. The deep pockets under those enterprises are expected to fuel the art market. Furthermore, Shanghai’s bid for international metropolitan status will accelerate the soaring of its art market. Beijing’s situation is quite different. The position of national political and cultural center, combined with the lack of a power plant like those delta areas (its neighboring province, Hebei, is less advanced compared to the above-mentioned areas.) has made Beijing take a nation-wide strategy instead of focusing on fostering local patronage.


Those distinctions in economy and culture, to some extend, have resulted in differences in art markets, and will direct their future move. In terms of a sound and mature market mechanism, Guangzhou enjoys “tianshi”, a favorable climate. For instance, Guangdong has played a leading role in auction. In the middle of 1990s the Auction of Chinese Contemporary Painting and Calligraphy co-organized by Shenzhen Moveable Property Auctioneer’s and Chinese Painting Art Committee of Chinese Artists’ Association is regarded as the pioneer of its kind. Beijing is rich in “renhe”, namely, harmonious and conducive intellectual community. It offers the central stage for artists, collectors and galleries all over the country. Its art market is characterized by professional auction and group patronage. There are over ten auction companies, serving mainly group purchasers instead of individuals. As Shanghai and its neighboring areas gain momentum, the city is taking its “dili”, that is, geographic advantage, to tap the promising art market. Shanghai art market is distinguished by flourishing and more mature gallery operation. It houses over 300 galleries, ranking the first among Chinese cities. Those galleries, as the tie between artists and collectors, are playing a central role in fostering art market and artists. Shanghai seems to steal the limelight in this aspect.


In the final analysis, the structure and orientation of art markets in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have shaped the three art fairs. According to international practice, art fairs are operated in close relationships with galleries, art museums and collectors. They serve as ties for connecting artists, galleries and collectors. Shanghai Art Fair 2000 has, to some extent, demonstrated this trend. Despite the differences among the three magafairs, organizers have reached the consensus that the art fair in China should provide better services to the gallery, the artist and the collector, and more importantly, it has a key role in raising the profile of Chinese art market. The burden is heavy and the road is long.


Author: Yu Ding, Ph. D. in Art History, CEO of www.artnews.com.cn
Translator: Wang Yiyou

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