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Beijing's best art galleries part 2: Pace Beijing

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As Beijing's modern art scene continues to surge into the lime light, the number of its galleries keeps apace. As with any city with a massive art scene, the quality of art you can find ranges from jaw-droppingly phenomenal to stomach-churningly terrible. CRI's William Wang takes you on a tour to galleries which showcase high caliber art, art which impresses via its subtleties, shock-value, craftsmanship or… inaccessibility.

The expansive space of Pace Beijing. [CRIENGLISH.com/Wililam Wang]

Pace Beijing

The Pace Gallery made its mark in New York City, where luminaries such as Josef Albers, Willem de Kooning and Picasso have been represented. In Beijing just before the 2008 Olympics, Pace opened its 798 art district gallery in order to be a part of China's booming art scene.

The 2500 square meter space was designed by Richard Gluckman, a New York architect who designed Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Museum. With all day access to natural light, and large enough to house almost any work of art, the space poses both freedoms and challenges to artists. Artists and curators reconceive every exhibition to maximize the impact of the work. Sometimes doing so requires building and painting walls, or creating tailored lighting systems.

The professional atmosphere has helped Pace Beijing make its impact on the art scene in China. It has exhibited an impressive collection of artists, including some of the most celebrated figures of China's modern art movement.

The ubiquitous smiling faces by Yue Minjun are part of the Pace Beijing collection as well as the emotionally-stifled portaits of Zhang Xiaogang. Artists such as these may represent the crest of the Chinese wave, but Pace Beijing is equally interested in showcasing lesser known upcoming talent, such as female artist Yin Xiuzhen, helping them gain deserved recognition.

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