  eijing’s Red Gate Gallery, the first contemporary art gallery founded in China by a Westerner is located in the ancient Dongbianmen Watchtower off of Erhuang Road. We had the pleasure of interviewing the Australian founder and director of the Gallery, Brian Wallace, during a recent visit to the gallery. He takes great pride in the gallery’s 15 year history saying, “Our gallery enjoys the longest history and the most steady progress in China. It also boasts a lot of exchange projects and residency programs, something other galleries haven’t yet acquired.
Wallace first came to China to study Chinese at the People’s University in Beijing in 1986. A visit to an art exhibition at Beijing University in 1987 spurred his interest in contemporary Chinese art. Not long after, he organized his first art exhibition at the ancient observatory on Jianguomen Street in 1988 featuring a handful of artists including Jia Bo, Zhang Jianhua and Wang Fei. He showed us some memorabilia, including the invitation, press materials and photographs. He said“lots of people came to visit the exhibition, it was a really significant moment.”
 Wallace continued to put together art exhibitions around Beijing and even went on to study art history at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing from 1990-91.
Chinese contemporary art came to a standstill in the early 1990s after the the famous "No U Turn" show at the National Gallery in 1989. Artists’ psychology for creation and the breakthrough in artistic form and content brewed quietly during this time. After completing his studies at the Central Academy in 1991, Wallace founded Red Gate Gallery with the help from the Chinese Bureau for the Preservation of Cultural and Historical Relics.
In July of that year, Red Gate Gallery held it’s inaugural art exhibition highlighting the works of Zhang Yajie, Dagong, Wang Lifeng, Lu Zuogeng and Wang Luyan.“I went to different shows or artists’studios and singled out works that interested me. I choose them based on the content, quality, creation techniques and visual impressions of the works. The artists didn’t have to be famous. As a matter of fact, the styles and creation media in this exhibition were all diverse,” Wallace says.
During our visit, the Gallery was exhibiting photographs by Sheng Qi, engravings by Zhu Wei, artifacts made from dry grass by Qing Qing and sculptures by Shi Zhongying. The Gallery continues to feature works by renowned artists and emerging artists. Wallace says he values a work’s quality more than its market price.“Some artist’s works don’t sell well, but that does not matter much to me," he says. "If the artist’s works are excellent and fit well in my gallery,  I don’t worry too much about the sales. We hold art exhibitions at home and abroad for the artists and we keep our relationship with them simple. It’s important that we can be a space that welcomes and promotes the works of newly emerging young artists.” Mr. Wallace’s unique business practices have helped Red Gate Gallery maintain its long-term relationships with many of today’s leading artists.
A member of the International Association of Residential Arts Centers (Res Artis), Red Gate Gallery has gained worldwide recognition. “We have an international art market, and we are known to many art associations, exchange centers, museums, and collectors around the world.” During the past three years, Red Gate Gallery has invited numerous overseas artists and scholars to take part in exchanges with Chinese colleagues.
In 2004, the Gallery launched an artist residency program.“This program offers artists a good opportunity to pursue their art. When we select applicants, I take note of their goals, ideas of creation and their latest works,and decide whether they ultimately fit our program,” he says. The chosen artists are invited to come live and work in Beijing for several months, where their new experiences inspire new works.
The Gallery also provides studio space and money to more than a dozen young Chinese artists from around China to date. The program has also evolved into a very large art exchange operation and has spread to other galleries including, Imagination Art Gallery, Sauce Art Center and Long March Space. Wallace says his ultimate goal is to conduct the best exhibitions and to provide the best opportunities for artists so that the general public can have a better understanding of the artists and their works.
The Gallery celebrated its 15th anniversary with an art exhibition featuring the most recent works of 19 artists represented by the Gallery. The exhibition, which ran from July 1 to Aug. 27 was deemed the most remarkable and memorable show Wallace as every had. He says there are many people to thank for the gallery's great success. As the art exhibition planner and critic Zhang Zhaohui, wrote in the article titled A Witness And Participant In History, “After so many years, he [Mr. Wallace] is still pursuing his dreams.” Zhang goes on to praise Mr. Wallace for his role as the bridge between Chinese and Australian artists, rather than just another art trader.
Dramatic changes have taken place in Beijing over the last 15 years; the contemporary Chinese art market is also changing at an unpredictably breathtaking pace. More and more galleries have sprung up and the competition is getting fiercer each day. “It’s not a bad thing; it’s beneficial to us. Moreover, with better and more complete physical facilities, the art expos, art auction fairs, grand art shows, audiences and media can all get involved. This is a wonderful thing,” he says.
The ancient observatory where Wallace held his first art exhibition is not far from Red Gate Gallery. In fact, these two spaces are the only ancient buildings left on East Erhuang Road. Despite their ancient facades, they are the windows to contemporary Chinese art. Wallace says he looks forward to celebrating many more years at Red Gate Gallery, “It is impossible to predict the future, it is always unknown, but we hope the Gallery can continue making our mark in the contemporary Chinese art scene.”
Translated by Huzhu
Image 1: The interior
Image 2: Wang Yuping New Eight Banner
Image 3: Huang Yan Model's Family-Landscape 08
Image 4: Chen Qingqing brushwood
|
