Chris Gill 7.1.09 Issue 198 – The Art Newspaper
Jacopo Cordero, an Italian dealer in Chinese art and owner of Shangheye Gallery, said: “This year has been good, I did €800,000 of business, but in October we had absolutely no business at all.” According to Fu Min, manager of the Korean-owned Artside Gallery in Beijing, recent sales “are not as good as before”. But despite the downturn the gallery still sold several pieces in the $60,000 range from its recent show of the artist Oh Soufan. Galerie Michael Schultz has closed its Beijing location, planning to open a new space in Beijing’s Caochangdi district next year. “We are still selling well in Germany,” Mr Schultz said.
The not-for-profit Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing has turned to commercial sponsorship, with a large-scale show in collaboration with and sponsored by Dior. Many of China’s best-known artists displayed their work intermingled with Dior’s collections and some created homages to Dior, such as Zhang Huan’s ash painting of the designer.
The mainstay of Shanghai’s art scene over the next two years will be the upcoming World Expo in 2010. Large government funds of more than $2bn will be spent on “thousands of events”, according to the organisers. The recent massive-scale Shanghai eArts Festival was seen as a precursor for this event, with large numbers of foreign artists being flown in and provided with free accommodation in government dormitories, and even their own (free) beer hall provided by the Chinese authorities. Some artists have already received commissions, such as Xiao Hui Wang, who told The Art Newspaper she has secured the Shanghai Pavilion commission.
