Top 100 Named in China Art
A list of the 100 most influential figures in Chinese contemporary art for 2009 was recently released by Art Value magazine at the Pace Beijing Gallery in the 798 Art District last Wednesday. The event was sponsored by BMW.
2009 saw China's contemporary art scene decline drastically with market prices falling by as much as 60 percent, causing many collectors and curators to look elsewhere. Organizers said that the list aimed to show that the art market in China may have stumbled, but isn't down for the count.
Artists Fang Lijun, Ai Weiwei and Zhang Xiaogang were named in succession as the country's top 3 infl uential fi gures in art, while Fan Di'an, director of the National Art Museum of China, was cited as number 6 for promoting Chinese art abroad. Those that made the list were credited with helping to recover and further develop the Chinese art market.
Out of the 100 names on the list of the most infl uential, 13 were singled out by a 100-member jury panel and given special distinction.
An "Art Event of the Year" prize was awarded for the cooperation between the "Art Beijing" and "Art Changsha" exhibition, respectively held in March and August 2009. Both aimed to strength ties between the northern and southern parts of China's contemporary art communities.
Tan Guobin, owner of an art museum in Changsha and lead curator for "Art Changsha," spent over 6 million yuan on the Changsha exhibition, including fl ying nearly 200 collectors and artists fromBeijing to Changsha.
"I never gave any thought to returns or earnings from "Art Changsha.' I just wanted to do something for Chinese contemporary art," said Tan, who is also a collector.
Feng Boyi was named "Curator of the Year" at the awards ceremony for taking an active role in the organization of at least a dozen art exhibitions since March 2009.
"Sticking to one's guns" (坚守) has been one of the most frequently cited phrases to be associated with the Chinese contemporary art scene in 2009, and organizers co-opted the slogan as the theme of the awards ceremony.
"I am proud to see so many talented artists be given awards," said Karl-Heinz Schmidt, president of BMW China's automotive trading division. "They all deserve our applause and awards for their e£ orts during these hard times. In the near future they are certain to give us more art and beauty."
A group exhibition featuring the work of artists Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun, Yue Minjun and Yang Shaobin opened in conjunction with the ceremony. Each work was being sold for well over 1 million yuan, with some asking for more than 10 million yuan.
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