Boy, was I bereft that I couldn't get to the opening of Pace Beijing in August. More than 3,000 people attended from all over the world. But, I couldn't believe what I saw when I got there yesterday. "It's the biggest gallery in the world," said Leng Lin, the director, who I've known since 2004. Leng Lin seems like a soft spoken cutey but actually has been one of the key developers of the market here, since holding the first auction for contemporary art in mainland China in 2004. Now, he's probably the most powerful dealer here, having a mutual admiration society with Arne Glimcher. I couldn't believe that they got the space open in less than four months and the show looked great. Lots of pairings of western big names--Chuck Close, Alex Katz, Jeff Koons--with the top guys in Chinese art, like Yue Minjun and Fang Lijun. Now they'll close for four months this fall to complete their $20 million renovation of this space, the last great hall in 798.
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