Saturday, November 1, 2008

Zhang Xiaogang in New York




Here's Leng Lin, Arne Glimcher and Zhang Xiaogang at the opening of Zhang's show at Pace this week. I always wondered if an artist could become a household name if his name was impossible to pronounce and Zhang Xiaogang has proven that this is possible. The paintings at the gallery, all new, were huge and didn't look at all like his usual sullen faces. Instead, he dished up surrealistic bed scapes, somber and thoughtful. I still have doubts that this is the best work out of China even if it is the most expensive. According to Leng Lin, almost all of them were sold by the end of the evening.
Glimcher has become a total Beijing enthusiast now that he has opened the biggest gallery there. He even told me that he would like to install an apartment in the gallery so he can move to Beijing or at least spend more extended time there. Leng Lin, who is now President of Pace Beijing, has been a friend for a long time. I remember one of his first trips to New York when he was still advising Max Protetch. Now, Max remains gracious though he's been cut out of the picture. It's a shame, since he gave Leng Lin his first shot at the international art market and was the first dealer to show Zhang Xiaogang in the U.S.
Max stayed away from the festivities on Thursday night but Jack Tilton was around, fretting about the current art market. According to him, it's frozen--that's the word he used--and won't warm up until the major auctions start this week. There's a Malevich with a starting bid of $60 million. But no one knows how the rest of the sale will go. Apparently, Zhang Xiaogang doesn't have to worry and maybe that's a good sign for the Chinese market. Or as Chin Chin Yap of Phillips put it, at least now we have a Chinese market. Only a few years ago, that was not even a possibility. I spent a while talking with art historian Irving Sandler who was at the dinner. He wanted to know if the market was corrupting the Chinese artists. I had to explain that the market is not viewed that way in China, but is seen as a reliable indicator of the strength of the work. It's just so much less puritanical over there, which may or may not be a good thing.
Glimcher has been awfully generous to me, always taking my calls and answering questions. When he gets enthusiastic about something, there's no bigger booster. And he's been the best on China--smart as always--which he sees as the future. We chatted a bunch and agreed that Beijing is city that could be a second home.

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