Just past 2019, the galleries in China, which have been developed for nearly 20 years, have undergone major changes in the industry: has closed physical spaces; has also announced the suspension of galleries participating in the fair, but this does not affect the 2019 Art Expo. The meeting continues to be hot; and more importantly, most galleries have spent their 10 years, and 20 years are about to be ushered in, and they have become more and more clear about the direction and positioning of their respective galleries.
In the past year, Artron Art Network and art headlines APP have maintained a high degree of attention to the primary market industry , not only the first time reporting on hot events in the gallery industry; also launched in the second half of the year The “Gallery Survey Report” provides a detailed combing of the cooperation model between galleries and artists; and in the monthly “Gallery Influence List”, pays attention to the continuous promotion of artists by .
Art Headlines specifically screened the top ten events affecting China's gallery industry. 2019 has passed, and 2020 is about to set sail. This is not only a new starting point, but also new opportunities for the Chinese gallery industry.
[January]
No.1 The first Taipei Contemporary held a brand new Taiwan North Contemporary Art Week taking shape?
2019 Taipei Contemporary
In January of 2019, the Asian art circle became turbulent due to the birth of a new contemporary art fair-January 17, with the opening of the first Taipei Contemporary Art Fair (Taipei Contemporary) VIP opening, concurrently held Ink and wash live at Ink Now, One Art Taipei, Art Future and the Taipei Biennale which is currently on display. At the same time, many exhibitions in the city including the National Palace Museum, Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, and Taipei Municipal Art Museum are also underway. Many local galleries located in Daan District and Neihu District have also launched their own important exhibitions. At the beginning of 2019, everyone will focus on Taipei.
2019 first Taipei Contemporary Art Fair site
Taiwan is one of the regions with the longest history in Asia. Since the Taipei Art Fair was founded in 1994, it has a history of nearly 30. But the grand occasion of Taiwan expo dates back to a few years ago. The year of 2013 is an important node. With the holding of Basel in Hong Kong and the subsequent rise of two expos in Shanghai, the Asian expo market gradually shifted to these two regions. Nowadays, an exposition, an art event linked to the whole city, once again attracted the attention of many people. It is understood that the opening scene of Taipei Contemporary VIP is very popular, and it seems to reproduce the glory of the Taiwan art market. But behind the excitement, what is the future of the fair, and whether an fair can drive Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the Asian region. The new art carnival? Can you write new brilliance for the Taiwan art market? At the moment when the Asian Expo market is quite saturated, facing the increasingly marginalized Taiwan area, can Taipei Contemporary squeeze out a new place to survive on this land?
The second Taipei Contemporary will open in January 2020, let us wait and see.
【March】
No.2 Zwirner Gallery announces the agent of Chinese artist Liu Ye International galleries pose new challenges to domestic galleries?
Artist Liu Ye
On March 13, 2019, David Zwirner announced that it will represent Chinese artist Liu Ye. It will hold exhibitions for artists in New York, London, and Hong Kong to promote the artist’s work, and will also use publications and Exhibitions of international institutions promote the development of their academic research. In addition, the gallery stated that it will exhibit Liu Ye's work at Art Basel in Hong Kong, and the exhibited works were successfully sold. He plans to hold a solo exhibition for him in New York Space in 2020.
Tu Hongtao, artist
, except Liu Ye and Zhuo Na Gallery established an agency partnership. In September of the second half of the year, another top international gallery, Lévy Gorvy, announced on Instagram that it would exhibit Tu Hongtao's works on a global scale and release his latest documentary. At the same time, it was announced that he will exhibit his solo exhibition in the gallery's Hong Kong Central Space in November, and plans to present Tu Hongtao's new works in the London space in 2020.
In 2019, important Chinese contemporary artists establish agency cooperation with top Western galleries. This is a phenomenon worthy of 's attention to . This is a more severe form faced by domestic galleries: Facing more and more excellent artist resources being represented by Western galleries . Many domestic galleries also confirmed their cooperative agency relationships with many important artists in 2019.
2019 Gallery Week Beijing dinner scene, Star Space won the Best Exhibition Award
During this year's Gallery Week, Star Space launched a solo exhibition of Pulitzer Prize winner and documentary photographer Liu Xiangcheng, and announced that the gallery will exclusively represent the artist's work. This exhibition also won the "Best Exhibition Award" for the gallery in Beijing this year.
Yan Lei's solo exhibition "Ecstasy Plus Dose" guest group photo Boers-Li Gallery 2019
In June, Boers-Li Gallery held a solo exhibition of artist Yan Lei and announced that it would start acting as an agent of Yan Lei's works. In 2019, Boers-Li Gallery’s new co-agents include: Xing Danwen, Hou Zichao, and the first solo exhibition of German expressionist artist Andre Butz in China.
Artist Chen Danqing (left) and curator Cui Cancan (right) at the exhibition site
At the end of the year, on November 2, the artist Chen Danqing’s largest solo exhibition so far "Regress 1968-2019" in the Tang Contemporary Art Center Beijing No. 1 and No. 2 Space synchronization opens. This exhibition is also the second solo exhibition of Chen Danqing's solo exhibition "Dressing and Sketching" held at Tang Contemporary Art Center Hong Kong Space on May 24 this year. This also signifies that this important Chinese contemporary artist has established a global exclusive agency partnership with China Gallery Tang Contemporary Art Center.
In 2019, more and more important contemporary Chinese artists have established cooperative agency relationships with domestic and foreign galleries. This makes the positioning of galleries more and more clearly displayed, and for the Chinese gallery industry, it is becoming more and more important. Positive embodiment of standardization.
No.3 Lison Gallery enters Shanghai Can international galleries enter China promote the development of the gallery industry?
Lisson Gallery’s first Asian stop in Shanghai
Image provided by Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery’s first Asian stop in Shanghai Opening of the first exhibition
On March 22, 2019, Lisson’s first Asian stop officially landed on the Bund in Shanghai. This is another giant in the gallery industry that chose to land in Shanghai and landed in the historical building "Amber Building" on Tanhuqiu Road. This street, once called the "Museum Road" in history, is still a gathering place for many important art galleries and cultural institutions such as the Rockbund Art Museum, Fosun Art Center and Christie's Auction House.
Almin Leahy Gallery Shanghai Amber Building exterior view
©️Almin Leahy. Photography: Alessandro Wang
Gallery owner: Almine Rech-Picasso (Almine Rech-Picasso)
©️Almine Rech-Picasso. Photo: Jouk Oosterhof
In June, the top gallery Almine Rech officially announced that it will open a new gallery space in Shanghai, and will present a series of selected works of gallery artists in the opening group exhibition on July 12, 2019 . At the same time, the gallery also launched a cooperation with Beijing Song Art Museum .
In 2019, Shanghai will continue to be the choice of international galleries to enter the Chinese and even Asian markets. This has further strengthened Shanghai's advantages in contemporary art. At the same time, will the presence of international galleries put more pressure on Chinese galleries? Will their operations in China in the future promote the development of China's entire gallery industry? It is worth watching and looking forward to.
No.4 Gallery Week BeijingSet up mutual visit unit with Zurich Art Week to conduct exchanges and cooperation with domestic and foreign galleries
2019 Gallery Week Beijing exterior view
Gallery Week Beijing×Zurich Art Week discusses
Magician Stone Gallery and Tang Contemporary Art Center were invited to participate in Zurich Art Week
Contemporary Tang Art Center Zhao Zhao's solo exhibition project site
Magician Stone Gallery Jiang Zhi's solo exhibition project site
On March 22, 2019, the third gallery week Beijing officially kicked off. And with "most China", "most world" and "growth" as its positioning, purpose and development vision. At the same time, as a platform, Gallery Week Beijing has also begun to promote exchanges and dialogues between domestic and foreign galleries. One of the most important contents of
is the cooperation between Gallery Week Beijing and Zurich Art Week. First, invite two galleries from Zurich Art Week: Mai 36 and Galerie Eva Presenhuber to participate in this gallery week in Beijing; during Art Basel in Switzerland in June, two domestic galleries: Magician Stone Gallery and Tang Contemporary Art Zurich, Switzerland presents themed solo exhibitions of two Chinese artists: Jiang Zhi and Zhao Zhao. At the same time, various forums and dialogues have been launched between the two places, linking the two cities in the form of "artistic mutual visits" and building a new mode of international art introduction.
【July】
No.5 Pace Gallery closes Beijing space Is physical space important?
Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher
is located in the 798 art zone Pace Beijing exterior view
March 16, 2019, Pace Beijing last exhibition: Richard Tatelpé solo exhibition "Double corners and colored wood" live
2019/7 On the 8th, Arne Glimcher, the founder of Pace Gallery, suddenly announced that it would close the original exhibition hall of Pace Gallery in Beijing's 798 Art District. It said: It is a very difficult time to develop gallery business in mainland China, but it will still retain its office and VIP exhibition hall.
Entering the second half of 2019, the domestic gallery industry has produced a lot of turmoil. Among them, Pace Gallery suddenly announced the closure of Beijing space, which caused extensive discussion in the industry for a while. Including whether gallery operations need physical space, why international galleries withdrew from China, what is a more suitable operating model for galleries in the future, etc.
In the past two years, more and more galleries have chosen to close the physical space, including at the end of 2018, Yi'an Gallery closed the physical space. Its founder, Zhang Mingfang, did not continue to operate the gallery, but changed his identity and started artistic creation. In 2019, he held a solo exhibition at Yi Kaixuan Gallery.
, which has lasted for two sessions, also discussed the mode of gallery sharing space. What new ways will the gallery have in the future? Does physical space still matter? More new phenomena are worth continuing to pay attention to .
No.6 Long March Space announced the suspension of participation in art fairs. Academic and market, how should galleries decide?
In July 2019, the Long March Space official WeChat released a piece of content titled "New Phase, New Direction, New Project". It means that entering the second half of 2019, the Long March Space/Long March Project jointly announced some of the latest developments and actions. The new developments and actions of
include: the establishment of "Long March Capital", with Lu Jiehui as the CEO; the appointment of Lin Yu as the director of Long March Space, comprehensively upgrading the personnel, budget and management of research, publishing, production, and exhibition; stopping participating in art fairs and innovating business Mode, enter a new stage of art market work; start the second phase of Long March Space's 1500 square meter upgrade project, designed by Studio Henny van Nistelrooy, who successfully implemented the first phase of space renovation in 2016, and complete A space and D space in stages The VIP preview room, the storage space for exhibiting works and the upgrading and transformation of other functional areas; the exhibition project focuses on long-term, systematic and in-depth research on artist cases, through curatorial grammar, display design, and curators and criticsContinuous work with artists to jointly construct creation, criticism, discourse, and the development and exhibition of art history concepts.
This is not the first Chinese gallery to announce the suspension of participation in art fairs. In recent years, more and more fairs have appeared, making participation in fairs one of the most important tasks for galleries throughout the year. It has increasingly become an important reason for consuming gallery energy. Some industry insiders pointed out that more and more fairs will actually have more negative effects on the development of galleries and the industry. The focus of the gallery's work is inclined to the market, rather than its own academic establishment. This may be a choice faced by more Chinese galleries in the future.
[September]
No.7 Artron.com and Art Headlines released the "2019 Gallery Survey Report" Is the industry transparency improving?
Figure 1, the number of artists represented by the gallery (drawing: Artron Artnet)
Figure 2, the duration of the gallery's acting artists (drawing: Artron Artnet)
Figure 3, the cooperation model between the gallery and artists (drawing: Artron Artnet)
Artists are cooperating with overseas galleries now (graphics: Artron Artnet)
In September 2019, Artron Artnet and Art Headlines launched the "Gallery Survey Report", and divided into 5 headlines before and after 5 headlines to sort out the cooperation model between galleries and artists in detail. , Once the report was publicly released, it aroused strong attention from galleries, artists and collectors to , and at the same time received pertinent suggestions from many industry experts. The background of this report is based on the increasingly clear and extensive cooperation between artists and galleries at home and abroad. Xie Mu, editor-in-chief of Artron Art.com and Art Toutiao APP pointed out: China's gallery industry is developing rapidly. The achievements and situation that this year has achieved are unimaginable when Chinese contemporary art was just beginning to sprout more than 30 years ago. In particular, the development of Chinese artists and their increasing internationalization are not only reflected in artistic creation, but more importantly, they participate in the global market and have in-depth cooperation with Western galleries.
Artron.com and Art Toutiao app released [Gallery Survey Report 2019]. This series of surveys mainly focuses on the cooperative relationship between Chinese galleries and artists, and the overseas development of Chinese artists. At the beginning of the establishment of the art market, we learned a lot of Western experience; when this market is booming, we still need to reflect and hope that the Chinese contemporary art market can take its own path.
No.8 CLC Gallery Venture opens in the 798 Art District. A new attempt for galleries to integrate resources during the economic slowdown?
CLC Gallery Venture opening group exhibition "Treasure Island Fantasy" scene
CLC Gallery Venture group exhibition "Treasure Island Fantasy" scene
September 28, 2019, C5art, Space Local and C-Space three galleries merged and established in 2019 The CLC Gallery Venture announced its presence in the 798 Art District and held its opening first exhibition: the group exhibition "The Fantasy of Treasure Island" curated by artist Xie Nanxing, exhibited: Tong Yixin, Zhong Yunshu, Wang Xuebing and Nabuqi four artists Recent works.
In 2019, the economy is in a period of slowdown. In such a time, we have seen new attempts and changes by galleries. With CLC Gallery Venture as the representative, many galleries will integrate resources to find a better gallery operation model. Except for the changes in CLC Gallery Venture. The one-way gallery located in the Caochangdi Art District also announced at the end of the year that it will relocate to the Eastern District of Song Art Museum and open its exhibition in a new exhibition space.
In the current economic uncertainties, galleries have adopted a variety of methods to reduce operating costs and make galleries better and continue to operate. Perhaps more galleries have to face problems.
【October】
No.9 Beijing Gallery Exchange Salon Promote the influence of galleries on a wider social level
Beijing Gallery ExchangeStreaming Salon
Beijing Gallery Exchange Salon
On the afternoon of October 12, 2019, Beijing Gallery Association took advantage of the opportunity of "Witness and Expression-Excellent Works Exhibition of Beijing Gallery Association to Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" to hold "Beijing Gallery Exchange" salon".
Chi Gang, Secretary-General of Beijing Gallery Association, Summer Breeze, President of Beijing Gallery Association, Dong Mengyang, founder of Art Beijing, and Honeycomb Contemporary Art Center, PIFO New Art Space, Art Gate Gallery, Shixiang Space, Star Space, Asia Art Center, Yikaixuan Many iconic galleries such as galleries, author galleries, and representatives of emerging galleries and industry figures attended the salon activities. The event launched the introduction and discussion of individual cases with the theme of "The Way Out and Innovation of Contemporary Chinese Galleries". At the same time, the Songzhuang workstation of the Beijing Gallery Association was also unveiled at the Songzhuang Art Museum on the same day.
In 2019, Beijing regional galleries launched various forms of exchange activities, united, and hoped to better promote the influence of galleries on a wider social level. Among them, the "Night Tour Gallery", initiated by Red Gate Gallery and a number of galleries in the 798 Art Zone jointly participated in the organization, continued to hold many nightly opening activities in 2019, attracting many visitors to the gallery to watch the exhibition. This activity is continuing, and we look forward to a greater promotion effect in 2020.
No.10 The 15th Anniversary of Evergreen Gallery Beijing Space. What are the effective business models of foreign galleries?
The three founders of Changqing Gallery, Mario Cristiani, Moricio Rigoro, Lorenzo Fiaschi
2019, the 15th anniversary of Changqing Gallery China
Changqing Gallery (Beijing) In the fifteen years of China, nearly 50 exhibitions have been held
On October 25, 2019, Changqing Gallery unveiled the special exhibition for the 15th anniversary of Beijing Space, celebrating and confirming the wonderful 15-year history in China!
Since its participation in the first China International Gallery Expo (CIGE) in 2004, Changqing Gallery has become associated with China. And opened a space in Beijing's 798 Art District that year. For 15 years, the gallery has maintained continuous and stable operations in China. As an iconic gallery, its attempt to open a business in China is impressive. Regardless of the historical level of exhibitions, the continuous promotion of artists, and the connections he has established with domestic collectors, the model of Changqing Gallery's Beijing space is worthy of reference for domestic galleries.
