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| Meiguoxing.com, Your Ultimate Guide to Beijing, China |
Top Ten Galleries in Beijing 北京十大画廊推荐
Beijing is the best place in China to be whether you're an artist, a diehard
collector or just like to walk around and enjoy the shows.
Chinese contemporary art was officially born with an unofficial exhibition just
outside the China Art Galley (now the National Art Museum of China) by the
Stars Group in 1979; it gained momentum with a group of artists frequently
referred to as the 1985 New Art Movement and continued to flourish throughout
the 1980s when many of today's auction house favorites burst on the scene,
including sculptor Wang Guangyi, painter Fang Lijun and video artist Zhang
Peili.
Serious collectors and art students may wish to plan their itinerary by areas.
The rule-of-thumb is: head north-east. As the 798 Art District aka Dashazi -
which opened to visitors in 2002 - is the most important area, both as a centre
for new art and for the cafe-bar culture that clusters around creative folk. The
Chaoyang Brewery, known as Jiuchang in Chinese, is a newly established
commercial art district that lies just to the north of 798. Caochangdi, a village
that lies a few minutes from 798 to the north-east, is far less commercial in
presentation and home to such important players as the China Art and Archive
Warehouse (whose artistic director is Ai Weiwei). The National Art Museum of
China, though mainly a place to see older,mainstream work, has started to
exhibit an ambitious programme of international contemporary and modern art.
Peak times for viewing art in Beijing occur in April and May, with several art
festivals around the capital, notably the 798 Art Festival. Around October time,
galleries also put up their best work as artists, gallerists and collectors flock to
the capital for the China International Gallery Exposition (www.cige-bj.com) and
the Beijing Biennale (www.bjbiennale.com.cn).
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District , 4 Jiuxianqiao Road,Chaoyang District,
Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-6437-6248,010-6438-4862
Hours: 10:30am-7:30pm
Transportation: Subway Line 2 or 13 or L1 at Dongzhimen, then City Bus 401
or 955
at Dashanzi Station; City Bus 401 or 402 or 405 or 973 or 813 at Dashanzi
Station
Website: www.798space.com
The first gallery to open in Dashanzi, 798 Space is an avant-garde and trendy
space that hosts high-level cultural, artistic and commercial activities. It can
hold more than 1000 guests with ease:1000 square meters and up to 9 meters
high structural exhibition space + 300 square meters relaxing and eating space
+ contemporary art book shop + film and video showing area。 It is worth
visiting for the spectacle of the cavernous main hall with its curious multiple-
arched roof.
New Address: Building E, Red Yard No.1, Caochangdi, Cui Ge Zhuang,
Chaoyang District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区崔各庄乡草场地红一号院E座
Original address: Beijing Workers Stadium Opposite Gate 12, Chaoyang
District, Beijing
Phone: 010-5127-3292
Hours: Tue-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun-Mon 12-6pm
Website: www.artnow.cn or www.beijingartnow.com
Founded by cultural critic, Huang Liaoyuan, Beijing Art Now Gallery maintains a
diverse programme of contemporary art from around the country. Large
expansive rooms with wall sized paintings can be found here amongst other
things. It is also situated near a lake where you can take a stroll if you need a
breath of fresh air.
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路2号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-6431-1900
Open Hours: 10:30am-6pm Tue-Sun.
Website: www.artseasonsgallery.com
Admission: Free
Singapore-owned China Art Seasons is a collector’s favorite, and most of the
shows feature the kind of work perfect for the living room. Many of the artists
showing in this elegant gallery space end up in the major galleries and auction
houses in the West.
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-8456-2421
Open Hours: 11am-7pm daily
Website: www.chinesecontemporary.com
Admission: Free
With locations in London and New York, Chinese Contemporary deals with
some of China’s best-established contemporary artist. One of its more recent
claims to fame happened when artist Huang Rui (黄锐 ), a famous artistic figure
in China, was forced to remove one of the more controversial works from his
solo exhibition. Entitled Chairman Mao Ten Thousand Yuan (毛主席万圆), the
work featured one hundred RMB 100 notes that formed the words ‘Long Live
Chairman Mao’.
Update: Chinese Contemporary has recently closed all its three branches.
Address: 53 Donghuanmen Ave, Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市东城区东华门大街95号
Phone: 010-6526-8882
Hours: Tue-Sun 11am-6pm
Website: www.courtyard-gallery.com
Although the space here is minuscule – it's in the basement of the Courtyard
Restaurant – this gallery still manages to attract some of the most sought-after
names in contemporary Chinese art, such as Wang Qingsong, Zhang Dali, Cao
Fei and the Gao Brothers.
The Courtyard Annex
Location: caochangdi area
Address: 319 Cao chang di, Chaoyang District,Beijing,China 100015（Art East
End）
Chinese Address: 中国北京市朝阳区草场地319号(艺术东区)
Phone: 010-6526-8882, 010-6434-9144
The Annex space of 400 plus square meters can accommodate larger,
experimental projects and multimedia events.
Address: 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市东城区五四大街一号
Hours: Daily 9am-4pm
Phone: 010-6401-2252/7076
Admission: RMB 20
Website: www.namoc.org
NAMOC shows a combination of traditional Chinese art exhibitions and
contemporary art shows, although any edgier art work that might offend
mainstream visitors is still more likely to be found in the 798 Art District. The
museum’s director, Fan Di’an, has done a great job of balancing the exhibition
programming at NAMOC of late – before his arrival, the museum was known for
stale shows that left modern art completely out in the cold. More recently it has
begun to exhibit foreign classical and contemporary art works too.
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District ,2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Open Hours: 11am-7pm Tue-Sun
Website: www.pacebeijing.com
Pace Beijing was established in 2008 by PaceWildenstein, a leading New York
art gallery and is located in Beijing’s 798 Art District. The gallery is dedicated to
the promotion of contemporary art in Asia, presenting exhibitions by an
international roster of artists including names like Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang
Huan, Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Alex Katz, Takashi Murakami, and Jean Michel
Basquiat. Housed in a 1950s former factory, the gallery is 22,000 square feet
and designed by Richard Gluckman, a New York architect whose work includes
the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and the recent expansion of the
Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. Pace Beijing’s inaugural exhibition
Encounters made its debut in 798 Art Disctrict on August 2, 2008.
Address: 1st and 4th Floor, Dongbianmen Watchtower, Chongwenmen,
Chongwen District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市崇文区崇文门东大街东便门角楼
Phone: 010-6525-1005
Open Hours: 10am-5pm daily
Website: www.redgategallery.com
Admission: Free
Founded in 1991 by Australian Brain Wallace, Red Gate is arguably the best
established gallery to be found in China. Located in a 16th-century watchtower
and offering a wide range of contemporary art idioms, it is a must visit for any
art lover coming to the city.
Address: 255 Caochangdi, Airport Service Road, Chaoyang District
Open Hours: 12:00pm-6pm Tue-Sun
Website: www.alexanderochs-galleries.de
Admission: Free
Founded by German gallerist Alexander Ochs, White Space Beijing is a
respected gallery in the city and has become an enviable venue for both
established and up-and-coming artists, who are often exhibited in Alexander
Och’s gallery space in Berlin.
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang District
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-8459-9269
Open Hours: 10am-7pm Tue-Sun.
Website: www.ucca.org.cn
Admission: RMB30(adult),RMB20(group of over 10),RMB10(student and senior
aged 65 above and special needs), free for childern under 1.3 m, free on
Thursday
Add another must-see site to the list in rapidly modernizing Beijing. The Ullens
Center for Contemporary Art, founded by Belgian art collectors Guy and
Myriam Ullens in November 2007, aims to be China’s most comprehensive
institute for contemporary arts. Their collection of around 1500 works by
contemporary Chinese artists is considered to be the world's largest and best.
The museum’s spare galleries, exposed support beams, and 31-foot-high
ceilings recall the Bauhaus-style building’s original function as an electronics
factory. It’s a natural fit for the 798 art district in Beijing’s Dashanzi
neighborhood.
Beijing is the best place in China to be whether you're an artist, a diehard
collector or just like to walk around and enjoy the shows.
Chinese contemporary art was officially born with an unofficial exhibition just
outside the China Art Galley (now the National Art Museum of China) by the
Stars Group in 1979; it gained momentum with a group of artists frequently
referred to as the 1985 New Art Movement and continued to flourish throughout
the 1980s when many of today's auction house favorites burst on the scene,
including sculptor Wang Guangyi, painter Fang Lijun and video artist Zhang
Peili.
Serious collectors and art students may wish to plan their itinerary by areas.
The rule-of-thumb is: head north-east. As the 798 Art District aka Dashazi -
which opened to visitors in 2002 - is the most important area, both as a centre
for new art and for the cafe-bar culture that clusters around creative folk. The
Chaoyang Brewery, known as Jiuchang in Chinese, is a newly established
commercial art district that lies just to the north of 798. Caochangdi, a village
that lies a few minutes from 798 to the north-east, is far less commercial in
presentation and home to such important players as the China Art and Archive
Warehouse (whose artistic director is Ai Weiwei). The National Art Museum of
China, though mainly a place to see older,mainstream work, has started to
exhibit an ambitious programme of international contemporary and modern art.
Peak times for viewing art in Beijing occur in April and May, with several art
festivals around the capital, notably the 798 Art Festival. Around October time,
galleries also put up their best work as artists, gallerists and collectors flock to
the capital for the China International Gallery Exposition (www.cige-bj.com) and
the Beijing Biennale (www.bjbiennale.com.cn).
- 798 Space (798 Shitai Kongjian, 798 时态空间)
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District , 4 Jiuxianqiao Road,Chaoyang District,
Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-6437-6248,010-6438-4862
Hours: 10:30am-7:30pm
Transportation: Subway Line 2 or 13 or L1 at Dongzhimen, then City Bus 401
or 955
at Dashanzi Station; City Bus 401 or 402 or 405 or 973 or 813 at Dashanzi
Station
Website: www.798space.com
The first gallery to open in Dashanzi, 798 Space is an avant-garde and trendy
space that hosts high-level cultural, artistic and commercial activities. It can
hold more than 1000 guests with ease:1000 square meters and up to 9 meters
high structural exhibition space + 300 square meters relaxing and eating space
+ contemporary art book shop + film and video showing area。 It is worth
visiting for the spectacle of the cavernous main hall with its curious multiple-
arched roof.
- Beijing Art Now Gallery (BANG) 北京现在画廊
New Address: Building E, Red Yard No.1, Caochangdi, Cui Ge Zhuang,
Chaoyang District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区崔各庄乡草场地红一号院E座
Original address: Beijing Workers Stadium Opposite Gate 12, Chaoyang
District, Beijing
Phone: 010-5127-3292
Hours: Tue-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun-Mon 12-6pm
Website: www.artnow.cn or www.beijingartnow.com
Founded by cultural critic, Huang Liaoyuan, Beijing Art Now Gallery maintains a
diverse programme of contemporary art from around the country. Large
expansive rooms with wall sized paintings can be found here amongst other
things. It is also situated near a lake where you can take a stroll if you need a
breath of fresh air.
- China Art Seasons 北京季节画廊
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路2号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-6431-1900
Open Hours: 10:30am-6pm Tue-Sun.
Website: www.artseasonsgallery.com
Admission: Free
Singapore-owned China Art Seasons is a collector’s favorite, and most of the
shows feature the kind of work perfect for the living room. Many of the artists
showing in this elegant gallery space end up in the major galleries and auction
houses in the West.
- Chinese Contemporary 中国当代画廊
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-8456-2421
Open Hours: 11am-7pm daily
Website: www.chinesecontemporary.com
Admission: Free
With locations in London and New York, Chinese Contemporary deals with
some of China’s best-established contemporary artist. One of its more recent
claims to fame happened when artist Huang Rui (黄锐 ), a famous artistic figure
in China, was forced to remove one of the more controversial works from his
solo exhibition. Entitled Chairman Mao Ten Thousand Yuan (毛主席万圆), the
work featured one hundred RMB 100 notes that formed the words ‘Long Live
Chairman Mao’.
Update: Chinese Contemporary has recently closed all its three branches.
- Courtyard Gallery 四合苑画廊
Address: 53 Donghuanmen Ave, Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市东城区东华门大街95号
Phone: 010-6526-8882
Hours: Tue-Sun 11am-6pm
Website: www.courtyard-gallery.com
Although the space here is minuscule – it's in the basement of the Courtyard
Restaurant – this gallery still manages to attract some of the most sought-after
names in contemporary Chinese art, such as Wang Qingsong, Zhang Dali, Cao
Fei and the Gao Brothers.
The Courtyard Annex
Location: caochangdi area
Address: 319 Cao chang di, Chaoyang District,Beijing,China 100015（Art East
End）
Chinese Address: 中国北京市朝阳区草场地319号(艺术东区)
Phone: 010-6526-8882, 010-6434-9144
The Annex space of 400 plus square meters can accommodate larger,
experimental projects and multimedia events.
- National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) 中国美术馆
Address: 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市东城区五四大街一号
Hours: Daily 9am-4pm
Phone: 010-6401-2252/7076
Admission: RMB 20
Website: www.namoc.org
NAMOC shows a combination of traditional Chinese art exhibitions and
contemporary art shows, although any edgier art work that might offend
mainstream visitors is still more likely to be found in the 798 Art District. The
museum’s director, Fan Di’an, has done a great job of balancing the exhibition
programming at NAMOC of late – before his arrival, the museum was known for
stale shows that left modern art completely out in the cold. More recently it has
begun to exhibit foreign classical and contemporary art works too.
- Pace Beijing 佩斯北京画廊
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District ,2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Open Hours: 11am-7pm Tue-Sun
Website: www.pacebeijing.com
Pace Beijing was established in 2008 by PaceWildenstein, a leading New York
art gallery and is located in Beijing’s 798 Art District. The gallery is dedicated to
the promotion of contemporary art in Asia, presenting exhibitions by an
international roster of artists including names like Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang
Huan, Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Alex Katz, Takashi Murakami, and Jean Michel
Basquiat. Housed in a 1950s former factory, the gallery is 22,000 square feet
and designed by Richard Gluckman, a New York architect whose work includes
the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and the recent expansion of the
Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. Pace Beijing’s inaugural exhibition
Encounters made its debut in 798 Art Disctrict on August 2, 2008.
- Red Gate Gallery 红门画廊
Address: 1st and 4th Floor, Dongbianmen Watchtower, Chongwenmen,
Chongwen District, Beijing
Chinese Address: 北京市崇文区崇文门东大街东便门角楼
Phone: 010-6525-1005
Open Hours: 10am-5pm daily
Website: www.redgategallery.com
Admission: Free
Founded in 1991 by Australian Brain Wallace, Red Gate is arguably the best
established gallery to be found in China. Located in a 16th-century watchtower
and offering a wide range of contemporary art idioms, it is a must visit for any
art lover coming to the city.
- White Space Beijing 空白空间
Address: 255 Caochangdi, Airport Service Road, Chaoyang District
Open Hours: 12:00pm-6pm Tue-Sun
Website: www.alexanderochs-galleries.de
Admission: Free
Founded by German gallerist Alexander Ochs, White Space Beijing is a
respected gallery in the city and has become an enviable venue for both
established and up-and-coming artists, who are often exhibited in Alexander
Och’s gallery space in Berlin.
- Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA). 尤伦斯当代艺术中心
Address: Dashanzi 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang District
Chinese Address: 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号大山子艺术区内
Phone: 010-8459-9269
Open Hours: 10am-7pm Tue-Sun.
Website: www.ucca.org.cn
Admission: RMB30(adult),RMB20(group of over 10),RMB10(student and senior
aged 65 above and special needs), free for childern under 1.3 m, free on
Thursday
Add another must-see site to the list in rapidly modernizing Beijing. The Ullens
Center for Contemporary Art, founded by Belgian art collectors Guy and
Myriam Ullens in November 2007, aims to be China’s most comprehensive
institute for contemporary arts. Their collection of around 1500 works by
contemporary Chinese artists is considered to be the world's largest and best.
The museum’s spare galleries, exposed support beams, and 31-foot-high
ceilings recall the Bauhaus-style building’s original function as an electronics
factory. It’s a natural fit for the 798 art district in Beijing’s Dashanzi
neighborhood.
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