Galleries in Beijing Are Still in the Early Development

Mr. Magnus Renfrew， Fair Direc- tor of ART HK， will be extra busy this month， as the Art HK 12 will take place on May 17-20 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). It is the fifth session of Hong Kong International Art Fair， and will showcase the very best in contemporary art from 266 galleries representing 39 international territories.

“We had over 630 applicants for the Fair， but only 266 booths for them. The competition was fierce. The only standard we use is Quality，” said Renfrew in an interview with China’s Foreign Trade. “We are happy to see that 29 galleries from China mainland have joined in Art HK， including some famous ones from Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou， Chengdu and Wuhan. We will see some Asian top-class Chinese names back there too， such as Long March Spare， The Pace Gallery， and Vitamin Creative Space. It will be a fresh show to the whole art world.” he said.

To emphasize the Asia feature， Art HK launched ASIA ONE area in the show since 2011. “The art works from Asia have gained quick and good reputation in recent years. We hope to use the platform for all the art lovers over the world to understand Asian modern art.” said Renfrew. According its official data， 53% of the galleries joined in the Art HK this year are from Asia.

Comparing the art market between Hong Kong and Beijing， Renfrew remarked that Beijing has more established galleries than Hong Kong， which is smaller and has much higher real estate price. “In Beijing， you can find quite some galleries in large scale; however in Hong Kong you will probably only find small ones. And Beijing has some large private communities for artists too， such as 798 Art Zone.” said Renfrew. “However， Hong Kong is still a more preferable choice for world galleries， as it is geographically and historically a centre of the modern and contemporary art market in Asia. Also， Hong Kong has the advantage of no tariff for art import and export， comparatively， China mainland levies 34% tax for the art import and export.” he said.

“Beijing now witnesses interesting changes every day. We see China’s fast pace in its urbanization， industrialization， and mass consumption， and its art works express the same features too. Good art work speaks for itself.” said Renfrew.

“In terms of operation， galleries in Beijing， like elsewhere in Asia， are still in the early development. Western galleries after long time development in history， now will not only sell the art works， but cooperate and promote the works and the artists in long term. In the past， people would only concern if the gallery sells anything that interests me， now， the focus has been shifted to the artist behind the work piece. They sell the art work to support the artist to work better and create better art works.” said Renfrew. “That will be the right direction for the galleries in China too” he added.

Another vital function Renfrew mentioned for gallery is to do public education， which is also the Art HK’s target. “New enthusiasts will gain from the education opportunities offered by the galleries and the fairs. Through top class fairs like Art HK， they will learn first-hand from art world professionals. Only when you walk into the galleries and the shows will you feel， smell and touch the art atmosphere. Art is vivid before your eyes.”

Widely acknowledged as an important platform for networking in the international art community since 2007， Art HK brings together leading collectors， curators， artists and galleries from across Asia and the rest of the world. In 2011， the audience of Art HK last session reached 63，511 person times， 38% growth compared with the figure in 2010.

Hong Kong plays an important role in the global art market. In the international art auction market， Hong Kong ranked the third in sales， following New York and London. Some world famous galleries locate there， including Gagosian Gallery， White Cube， Pearl Lam Galleries， Emmanuel Perrotin， Simon Lee， and Platform China.