Restoring Visibility: How Beijing’s Gallery Weekend Is Revitalizing the Chinese Art Industry After the Pandemic Almost Quashed It - artnet News | Canada News Media
798 Art District, Beijing. Courtesy Gallery Weekend Beijing
“Visibility” is the current imperative for Beijing galleries and the Chinese art scene, which have suffered from a diminished global perception due to the pandemic and strict controls on travel and public assembly. This year’s Gallery Weekend Beijing has embraced this theme, reflecting the collective efforts of the Chinese art industry to regain international recognition. And as cafes and restaurants in Beijing’s 798 Art District buzz with gossip and industry banter, one can sense a return to normalcy on the horizon.
This return is a luxury for many, considering the challenges faced in 2022, which saw limited in-person international exchange and the local art calendar lagging over a year behind its Western counterparts.
With an assist from the Beijing Contemporary Art Expo and JINGART, which it is nestled between in the calendar, Gallery Weekend Beijing is driving an accelerated pace of activity in the city, emphasizing the determination of the local art community to catch up with the global art world. The Beijing art world is undeterred in its pursuit of international engagement, despite the potential rise in Covid cases. Adapting to the reality of openness and rebuilding long-lost international connections are essential steps in this ongoing process.
While the number of international guests to Gallery Weekend Beijing has yet to fully recover compared to 2019, there has been a significant increase in domestic visitors, according to Amber Yifei Wang, director of the event. The 798 Art District, host of the event, welcomed over 150,000 visitors, surpassing the 120,000 attendees in 2022. Wang highlights the challenge of making the event more appealing to overseas collectors within the crowded global art itinerary. The attendance numbers also demonstrate the growing interest and engagement of the local audience.
Yuan Keru, Soft Sediment (2023), Performance. Courtesy of the artist and SPURS Gallery
Leo Li Chen, an independent curator who organized the group exhibition for GWBJ’s Public Sector, acknowledges the stagnation the art world faced in Beijing last year. However, he sees a strong desire for recovery now, despite uncertainties arising from economic, political, and global changes. Chen’s exhibition, titled “Facets,” aims to present the tension between external and internal realities in the context of social dynamics. He believes that artists demonstrate courage in the face of unpredictability, and the creativity of art continues to flourish.
Overseas gallery owners, such as Thomas Schulte and Timothy Taylor, have taken advantage of the open borders and removed quarantine measures to return to Beijing. Their galleries, alongside seven others, are featured in the Visiting Sector of Gallery Week Beijing.
Taylor, who witnessed the abrupt shutdown of the ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair last year, is excited to attend in person this year. He appreciates the vibrant and energized atmosphere in the 798 Art District, emphasizing the growth potential of galleries over time within China’s young and evolving art world. As a gallery establishes its identity in a new city and country, its audience grows through continued participation, he said. He envisions his gallery cultivating audiences in China over the course of 10 to 15 years, recognizing that it is a young art world “still finding its way within the parameters set for it. ”
Chris Martin, Singing (2023), Glitter sequins acrylic oil collage on canvas. Cortesy: Timothy Taylor
Gallery Week Beijing 2023 presents an unprecedented lineup of 40 exhibiting galleries and non-profit institutions. The organizers aim to break boundaries between art districts in the city and revive Beijing’s cultural vitality as the center of Chinese contemporary art. They employ golf buggies to transport collectors and press groups, gallery reps share WeChat QR codes to connect with collectors for follow-up information, and dealers were encouraged to immerse themselves in the expanding group of visitors to experience fellow artists’ projects. The dedication and hard work of everyone involved are evident, as they strive to showcase their best work after a long hiatus.
White Space, meanwhile, is known for nurturing Chinese artists. Despite not having a permanent space in the 798 Art District, their presentation in the Special Exhibition sector surpasses expectations for a pop-up show. Collaborating with architect and collector Tian Jun, White Space transforms an abandoned factory into twisted, dimly lit spaces using unfinished wooden boards. This unique setting provides a serene backdrop for artist Ouyang Chun’s poetic paintings. This is the only gallery whose programs span across Beijing’s three main art districts.
Installation view, OUYANG Chun, “Road to Heaven”, Building B06, 798 Art District, May 26 – Jun 28, 2023. Courtesy the artist and WHITE SPACE
In its Caochangdi space, White Space exhibits artist Yang Jian’s installations and paintings full of social and political metaphors, mirroring the urban village environment of the suburban area. Despite challenges faced during the pandemic and forced demolitions in 2018, Caochangdi has persevered and now houses a new group of tenants, including design galleries.
Blanc Art Group, established in October 2021, is located in the National Foreign Culture Trade near Beijing International Airport. It is the first art center in Beijing with a tax-free policy. Housing international and domestic dealers—including Lisson Gallery, Massimo de Carlo, White Space, and Chantal Crousel—Blanc Art Group’s interior decor resembles Hong Kong’s H Queen’s building, with more spacious rooms and more efficient elevators. They recently presented a covert and low-key queer-themed exhibition titled “More Than Human,” accompanied by a lively performative party in the district’s central garden.
Despite the three-year hiatus, the local art market and international exchanges have converged rapidly, nurturing galleries from a younger generation. One example is SIMULACRA, founded by Zachariah Zhou, a Parsons and Central Saint Martins graduate who returned to China in 2020. Initially a non-profit space, SIMULACRA transitioned into a for-profit entity due to “the challenges of sponsorship mechanism” in China. The gallery currently hosts a dual exhibition featuring Danish artist Villiam Miklos Andersen and German-American artist Nicholas Stewens, resonating with younger audiences reminiscent of New York’s Lower East Side or Berlin shows.
Zhou acknowledges that domestic Chinese collectors are open to spending money but tend to prefer established media. He aims to balance his program between established and experimental approaches.
Installation view, Hans Op de Beeck, “Vanishing”. Photo credit: the artist and Galleria Continua
Beijing’s gallery history primarily centers around the past 20 years in the 798 Art District, and Wang acknowledges the significant gap compared to cities like London, New York, or Berlin. Part of the Beijing scene’s current project is to broaden the professional galleries. It’s an ongoing effort. But with the year halfway through, Beijing shows no signs of entering a slow period, as it traditionally does in the summer.
Wang, for one, is optimistic and confident about the rest of 2023 and the future. “Rebuilding confidence is a top priority,” he said. “This is not for China but for the art industry worldwide. After opening up, we are back on top of a bigger stage, and we are more demanding in all aspects of our work.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
