Linke - Artinfo

The Asian Scene
88
conversationwith
Leng Lin
The president of
Pace Beijing reflects
on the evolving Asian
art market with
Benjamin Gennochio
What does having a Pace
gallery in Beijing bring to
the Pace network?
Asia has been an essential
part of Pace’s development,
and Asia is also a very
important part of globalization
as a whole. China has
gradually reshaped itself as
the cultural center of the
future, and brings with it
the increasing influence
of Asia at the same time.
What role to do you see
the gallery playing in the
Chinese art scene?
Although China is the main
cultural hub in Asia, Pace
Beijing has tried to maintain
deep roots in China while
not limiting itself to Chinese
art only. Pace Beijing acts
as the window toward Asia—
showing artists like Hiroshi
Sugimoto, for instance—
and is committed to the
development of the broader
Asian art market.
Tell us about your
collector base. How has
it has evolved?
The vast majority of our
collectors are still
international, but local
collectors are gradually
extending and expanding.
Pace Beijing has built
connections with
influential and powerful
collectors throughout Asia.
What kind of changes have
you seen in the Chinese
art market since you
opened in summer 2008?
In the past, the art market
has been very volatile
with the ups and downs
of the economy. Although
the economy has not
yet recovered, it has had
a positive impact on the
Chinese art market’s
long-term development.
The market has
gradually shifted from
a non-rational frenzy
to an appreciation
of the art itself.
Based on your
experience
with clients,
what market
trends are you
seeing right now? How
about broader trends in
Chinese art?
The diversity of collectors’
tastes has expanded,
and market trends have
begun to diverge as well.
Currently everyone is looking
for a new direction, and that
impacts not only collectors
and galleries but artists.
It means that there are more
opportunities for emerging
artists. However, even
though these broader tastes
have appeared, it is still
difficult for new media,
such as installation art and
even photography, to gain
recognition.
Which show on your 2013
exhibition schedule are you
most excited about?
The Hong Hao retrospective,
which just opened. Hong Hao
is best known for his prints
and photographs, with many
of the works featuring
assembled scanned images
of various found objects,
including maps, books, tickets,
receipts, banknotes, food,
and containers. In his 2009
solo exhibition at Beijing
Commune, he exhibited
a series that featured the
bottom half of everyday
objects. By arranging the
scanned images according
to their forms and colors,
he deconstructed the
functional property of the
materials and reproduces
an undifferentiated,
flattened, deliberately
superficial world of aesthetics.
While Hong Hao
Hong Hao's
Deja vu II, 2012,
pen, pencil,
acrylic, and
digital print on
canvas, on view
through April 27
at Pace Beijing.
continues to work with
found objects, his most
recent solo exhibition dealt
with physical forms in a
more straightforward manner,
creating an interesting
dialectic development of
both the vocabulary and
concept of his art.
Is there a substantial
secondary market trade
at the gallery?
The primary market is
still the main trading body.
The secondary market
has not gone very far
yet, though we’re always
making preparations
for it in the near future.
Any final thoughts?
Chinese contemporary
art is still a relatively young
market compared to
Western art. The public
acceptance of contemporary
art is still weak, especially
without the assistance of
museums. The exchange
among galleries has basically
existed only since 2000,
and the art market was
initiated by the auction
houses, so there was a very
speculative atmosphere.
But after the economic
crisis in 2008, the
speculators failed hugely.
And that has actually had
quite a positive impact
on the Chinese art market.
Collectors have now
started to research relevant
aspects of art collecting
more deeply, instead of
being oriented towards
speculative investing.
MARCH/APRIL 2013 | BlouinArtinfo.comAsiA
FROM LEFT: PACE BEIJING; HONG HAO AND PACE BEIJING
141 Prince St NY 10012 . 37 West 57 St NY 10019
212.677.1340 gallery @ meiselgallery.com . meiselgallery.com
Peter Maier
New PaiNtiNgs
11 aPril - 4 May
HolsteiN, 2012, duPoNt croMax-at oN fabricated black aluMiNuM PaNel, 60 x 60”