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Bringing art to the masses
January 14, 2009, Wednesday
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HONG Pingtao is welcoming the financial downturn in the hope that it will bring some sort of sanity in the hyped-out art world, writes Wang Jie.
While much of the world may be fussing around about the current financial state of affairs, Hong Pingtao, surprisingly, is only too pleased with the slowdown.
"Believe it or not, the art market here will fall about 80 percent in the very near future," Hong, a veteran Taiwanese art collector, predicts, alarmed by the astronomical costs of today's paintings.
Hong is the man behind the new 800 Art Space in Wujiaochang area in Shanghai's northeastern Yangpu District - an art hub that stretches 22,000 square meters with as many as 30 galleries.
"The slowdown is the reason why I'm organizing an exhibition in the city of early works by some Chinese masters at the Cave's Art Center, because the art market here has gone a bit crazy," Hong says. "Just take a look at the price tags of the 'Big Four' (Fang Lijun, Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun and Wang Guangyi) at recent auctions. It's incredible!"
A single painting by them can fetch several million yuan, yet it doesn't seem to satisfy the hunger in the market.
"It's really time to re-start. More importantly, we need a healthy art market," Hong argues.
Born in a small mountainous village in Taiwan, Hong, who is in his 50s now, used to be a traditional ink-wash painter, but harsh reality caught up with him soon.
"I had to feed myself, but it was almost impossible for an unknown painter," Hong says.
Unlike his peers, Hong was more realistic and practical, and in 1983, he opened the Cave's Art Center with several partners in Taiwan.
"The financial condition in Taiwan at that time was better than on the Chinese mainland," he explains. "Taiwanese began to buy artworks to decorate their homes. It was a huge market, but their tastes were more inclined to Western impressionism."
The smart businessman immediately went for the old Chinese masters as similar sources had dried up in Taiwan.
"In fact, most of them (old Chinese masters) received overseas art education with strong academic background, but were being ignored by the mainstream," Hong says.
So Hong arrived on the mainland in the 1980s - first in Beijing and Shanghai.
"You can't imagine how much homework I had done at that time. It was almost a profound study of the Chinese modern art history," he says.
One by one, he found a cluster of big names, including Min Xiwen, Sha Qi and Yu Ben, whose early works are being displayed at the ongoing exhibition at 800 Art Space.
"Many of them were in very poor condition at that time. I paid them around 10,000 yuan (US$1463) for each piece of their works," he recalls. "Later, I was told that I had dramatically changed their lives."
At the peak of his career, Hong owned a total of 5,000 oil paintings but insists that he did not make a fortune from them.
"For me, to promote these 'unknown masters' was more important. They had contributed immensely to the Chinese art history," he says, adding that the current price of some of these old masters was around 50,000 yuan.
Compared with them, the new generation of artists in China enjoys a comparatively happier life, Hong says.
"Even the paintings of some of these not-so-famous artists sell well," Hong says. "Does that make sense? No one actually gave it a thought."
Because of his early involvement in the Chinese art scene, Hong became the general manager of Shanghai Poly Auction House in 2004, and witnessed the boom in contemporary Chinese art.
"Everything seems to have happened overnight," he says. "Suddenly everyone is talking about Chinese contemporary art, which fueled art prices to an astronomical amount."
Hong feels that it was way out of line. "That kind of prices is not good for art education or for buyers," he says, "because ordinary people can't afford. For example, if someone earns 10,000 yuan a month, he might be interested in purchasing artworks ranging from 6,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan. But today, even the paintings by unknown artists are priced at 100,000 yuan."
Business-wise, it made good sense.
Apparently not.
"There are few people who want to buy them. There is almost no deal. Why should artists, who are privileged and enjoy freedom, fame and fortune, be any different from the working classes? This is not the harmony we desire," he notes.
Hong, who has now shifted base to Shanghai, has been working hard to build an image for 800 Art Space to attract more ordinary people.
"We have auctions six times a year with a price range that is easily affordable to buyers," he says. "The source of the auction comes from the galleries in the art space."
When asked if he was still painting, Hong smiles.
"Traditional ink-wash painting mirrors a person's personality," he says. "I am nurturing my soul through it ... They are not for sale, but for my own confession."
Exhibition of old masters' early works
Date: through January 20, 11am-5pm
Address: Bldg 217, 800 Guoshun Rd E., Yangpu District
Tel: 6148-3428
While much of the world may be fussing around about the current financial state of affairs, Hong Pingtao, surprisingly, is only too pleased with the slowdown.
"Believe it or not, the art market here will fall about 80 percent in the very near future," Hong, a veteran Taiwanese art collector, predicts, alarmed by the astronomical costs of today's paintings.
Hong is the man behind the new 800 Art Space in Wujiaochang area in Shanghai's northeastern Yangpu District - an art hub that stretches 22,000 square meters with as many as 30 galleries.
"The slowdown is the reason why I'm organizing an exhibition in the city of early works by some Chinese masters at the Cave's Art Center, because the art market here has gone a bit crazy," Hong says. "Just take a look at the price tags of the 'Big Four' (Fang Lijun, Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun and Wang Guangyi) at recent auctions. It's incredible!"
A single painting by them can fetch several million yuan, yet it doesn't seem to satisfy the hunger in the market.
"It's really time to re-start. More importantly, we need a healthy art market," Hong argues.
Born in a small mountainous village in Taiwan, Hong, who is in his 50s now, used to be a traditional ink-wash painter, but harsh reality caught up with him soon.
"I had to feed myself, but it was almost impossible for an unknown painter," Hong says.
Unlike his peers, Hong was more realistic and practical, and in 1983, he opened the Cave's Art Center with several partners in Taiwan.
"The financial condition in Taiwan at that time was better than on the Chinese mainland," he explains. "Taiwanese began to buy artworks to decorate their homes. It was a huge market, but their tastes were more inclined to Western impressionism."
The smart businessman immediately went for the old Chinese masters as similar sources had dried up in Taiwan.
"In fact, most of them (old Chinese masters) received overseas art education with strong academic background, but were being ignored by the mainstream," Hong says.
So Hong arrived on the mainland in the 1980s - first in Beijing and Shanghai.
"You can't imagine how much homework I had done at that time. It was almost a profound study of the Chinese modern art history," he says.
One by one, he found a cluster of big names, including Min Xiwen, Sha Qi and Yu Ben, whose early works are being displayed at the ongoing exhibition at 800 Art Space.
"Many of them were in very poor condition at that time. I paid them around 10,000 yuan (US$1463) for each piece of their works," he recalls. "Later, I was told that I had dramatically changed their lives."
At the peak of his career, Hong owned a total of 5,000 oil paintings but insists that he did not make a fortune from them.
"For me, to promote these 'unknown masters' was more important. They had contributed immensely to the Chinese art history," he says, adding that the current price of some of these old masters was around 50,000 yuan.
Compared with them, the new generation of artists in China enjoys a comparatively happier life, Hong says.
"Even the paintings of some of these not-so-famous artists sell well," Hong says. "Does that make sense? No one actually gave it a thought."
Because of his early involvement in the Chinese art scene, Hong became the general manager of Shanghai Poly Auction House in 2004, and witnessed the boom in contemporary Chinese art.
"Everything seems to have happened overnight," he says. "Suddenly everyone is talking about Chinese contemporary art, which fueled art prices to an astronomical amount."
Hong feels that it was way out of line. "That kind of prices is not good for art education or for buyers," he says, "because ordinary people can't afford. For example, if someone earns 10,000 yuan a month, he might be interested in purchasing artworks ranging from 6,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan. But today, even the paintings by unknown artists are priced at 100,000 yuan."
Business-wise, it made good sense.
Apparently not.
"There are few people who want to buy them. There is almost no deal. Why should artists, who are privileged and enjoy freedom, fame and fortune, be any different from the working classes? This is not the harmony we desire," he notes.
Hong, who has now shifted base to Shanghai, has been working hard to build an image for 800 Art Space to attract more ordinary people.
"We have auctions six times a year with a price range that is easily affordable to buyers," he says. "The source of the auction comes from the galleries in the art space."
When asked if he was still painting, Hong smiles.
"Traditional ink-wash painting mirrors a person's personality," he says. "I am nurturing my soul through it ... They are not for sale, but for my own confession."
Exhibition of old masters' early works
Date: through January 20, 11am-5pm
Address: Bldg 217, 800 Guoshun Rd E., Yangpu District
Tel: 6148-3428
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