Collecting art for art's sake

Rice with fried bitter melon and steamed dumplings are her favourite suppers.

Taking a taxi has always been a luxury - she usually takes the bus.

Her small home at Hepingli in downtown Beijing is not air-conditioned even in the scorching heat of summer.

But visitors to the shabby apartment can marvel at the oil paintings and prints crowded on the wall and stacked on the floor.

Many of the artists whose works she owns are important and active in the contemporary Chinese art scene, including Ji Dachun, Wang Yuping, Su Xinping, Jiao Yingqi, Ding Fang, Zhang Fangbei, Tan Ping and Ge Pengren.

Gu Ze, a 54-year-old retired performer, has collected over 100 art works since the early 1990s.

Gu's collection is proof that appreciation of art is not a privilege of experts or rich people. Anyone can love and collect art.

Without receiving higher education and with little knowledge of art, she started collecting artworks quite by accident.

Her experience as a performer may have contributed to her current interest in the fine arts.

Since age 12, she was a Xiju Opera performer, a style of opera from Wuxi in Jiangsu Province.

In 1978, she moved to Beijing and became a performer at the Red Flag Yueju Opera Troupe, where she experienced the brief heyday of her performing career.

But the troupe was soon disbanded. In 1986, Gu began to work at the Central Symphony Orchestra and retired early in 1992.

"At that time, I happened to visit an art exhibition by world masters at the Palace Hotel in Beijing. I was shocked," Gu recalled.

She was intrigued by modern art although she did not quite understand it. Even today, she can still remember some of the big names featured in the show: Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse, Miro and Picasso.

Her life's tone turned bright again. And, since then, she has become enthusiastic about modern art, especially abstract paintings.

"Gu Ze is an avid art lover. Her collecting started well with works by middle-aged and young artists who are creative and new," said Fan Di'an, a well-known art critic and vice-president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

As a retiree, her monthly stipend of 500 yuan (US$60) and the limited financial support from her son in New York was hardly enough to buy expensive pieces by veteran master artists. So she started with collecting cheaper works by young artists with a lot of potential.

"I choose artwork mainly by instinct," said Gu, who looks like an ordinary Beijing housewife.

Her artistic acumen has proved surprisingly correct and has been fine tuned with time. Generally, she collects the works directly from the artists. She likes to spend time making friends with them and getting familiar with their art.

Years of involvement in the Beijing art community have given her sharp eyes, but Gu also gives credit to the instruction of artists and scholar friends such as Ji Dachun, Fan Di'an and Liu Xiaochun.

Gu's high-quality collection is also a reward for her kind treatment of local artists. A number of works in her collection were actually gifts from the artists who appreciated her support as a friend and a patron.

Oil painter Ji Dachun, now well known for his distinctive abstract style, was a recently-graduated, struggling artist in Beijing only a few years ago.

Gu and Ji happened to meet and became friends. After hearing of Ji's economic woes, Gu invited the young artist to live with her family for six months during his most difficult days.

Today, Ji is a close friend of Gu's family and his paintings are among the most valuable of Gu's collection.

"It's lucky that my family is very understanding and supportive," said Gu, who now lives alone.

Her elder son Zhao Zhengyu, a musician, lives with his wife in Beijing. And her second son Zhao Guangyu now works in an insurance company in New York. Both have encouraged and supported her passion for art as they could.

"I cannot imagine living without art in my life," said the energetic Gu.

"I have never thought of making a profit from the artwork," she stresses. "I hope someday I will be able to hold an exhibition of my collection and to present the art of talented contemporary Chinese artists to the public at home and abroad.

"A few years ago, I collected art just for my own enjoyment. Now I would like to share my joy with other art lovers," she said.

Date: 08/17/2000
Author: YANG YINGSHI, China Daily staff
Copyright? by China Daily

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