Recently in art Category

The Beijing Contemporary Art Fair, now on at the Agricultural Exhibition Center in Chaoyang district, is a four day jamboree for the art world, with an emphasis on the buyer. Hence the preponderance of medium sized, hangable works, especially oil painting and photography. This year the show is well presented and is worth going to see, whether you have cash in hand or not.

The Fair is a cross section of contemporary Chinese art with a smattering of overseas (particularly European) dealers. To critique the whole show would be impossible, so instead I offer my brief (and indispensable) guide to trends in the local art scene...

Emerging... soon to be must-haves:
3D
LCD
3D LCD girls
girls with weapons!
3D LCD girls with weapons!! (sorry, that last one is just wishful thinking on my part)

Still Red Hot:
migrant workers (their careworn faces look at you from oil paintings, photos and video installations ... I wonder what the going rate is for hiring a posse?)
girls
animals
girls with animals
girls! girls!
fruit
doodles
Buddha
photography (so much easier than the fiddly business with the paint and the brushes)
Feng Zheng Jie (I counted at least 4 galleries featuring his works)
Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol (the Old Masters of recycling, now recycled themselves)
facial hair (Chinese artists competing with European dealers for the title of  "Most Whimsical Whiskers")

Fading somewhat:
Mao
irony (maybe '08 just wasn't the year for it)
advertising imagery
fat babies (bye bye babies, you won't be missed)

Nearly gone!
oil paintings based on photos modified with Photoshop filters (good riddance)

(illustration: Android - Plus by Hung TungLu: 3D lightbox installation)

The art show ShContemporary runs from 11th to 13th September, and this year features a number of international galleries, including Rossi and Rossi from London, who this year will feature work by Tibetan artists.

Tibetan contemporary art is a relatively new field, with international exhibitions including Tibetan works for the first time in the last 2-3 years. The origin of the current crop of Lhasa-based artists can be traced to the Gedun Choephel gallery, situated on Lhasa's Barkhor square and founded by a professor from the Lhasa university. One of the first major exhibitions of works by artists from this group was sponsored by Ian Alsop, who invited artists to paint on the theme of the Lhasa Train, the new line for which was being completed at the time. Ian has also shown Tibetan artists work at his Peaceful Wind gallery in Santa Fe.

More recent shows have included the Red Gate gallery's show Lhasa - New Art from Tibet at their Beijing gallery in the 798 district and shows by Rossi and Rossi in London. Both were excellent, and the catalogue from Brian Wallace and Tony Scott's  798 show is a must-have for those interested in this field.

Gade is a particularly interesting figure amongst this group: his paintings (such as the one shown here) depart from the styles normally seen amongst young Chinese artists and incorporate tradtional objects such as the handmade paper used for traditional Tibetan books. I was particularly struck by a "performance" piece of an ice Buddha melting in the Kyichu river at Lhasa at the 798 show and bought one of the prints that recorded the work.

I am not sure that I will be able to attend the Shanghai show (I will be in Shanghai the day before giving a talk to the Royal Asiatic Society, but need to head back to Beijing for another appointment...) but I would be interested to hear feedback from any Shanghai residents who go to it. It's in the Shanghai Exhibition Center (ie the Russian-looking building with the pointy spire on top!) on Yan An road.