Ji Tao: The 30-year Evolution History of the Art Expo from Version 1.0 to Version 3.1

 Auction Information     |      未知    |    2023-06-17 16:52
The Art Expo originated from the West and is a "big store" sales model that brings together art institutions such as galleries to showcase and trade with collectors.
 
The first art exhibition in mainland China appeared in Guangzhou in 1993. Due to the budding art market at that time and the fact that the gallery industry had not yet taken shape, art fairs mainly focused on individual artists participating and trading. This is also seen as the 1.0 version of the Art Expo, which is the start-up period.
 
1、 1.0 period represented by the China Art Expo
 
It is said that a gentleman named He Bing initially proposed to hold an art exhibition. By chance, He Bing was inspired by Mr. Zheng Shengtian, an art curator who had moved to Canada, when he heard about his experience in planning the first Hong Kong Asian Art Expo. He also wanted to establish an art exhibition in mainland China, so he negotiated with the China Culture and Arts Corporation, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture. The initial intention reached by both parties was to hold the event in Beijing, but the relevant cultural management department felt that the timing was not ripe and did not agree, so it was held in Guangzhou instead. The first art fair was hosted by the Art Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, organized by the China Culture and Arts Corporation, and co organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Guangdong Province. He Bing served as the Secretary General of the Art Committee.
 
On November 16-25, 1993, the first China Art Expo was held at the China Export Commodities Fair Building in Guangzhou. The Expo attracted more than 200 art institutions and artists from home and abroad, 450 booths, 4000 pieces of Chinese painting, oil painting, calligraphy and other works of art and some handicrafts. 10% of the exhibitors come from overseas institutions and individuals.
 
The "First Art Expo" is the first initiative in mainland China to focus on promoting Chinese art to both domestic and international markets, and is therefore known as the "Canton Fair" of art. The art fair specially invited some famous artists to participate in the exhibition, such as Wu Zuoren, Wu Guanzhong, Jin Shangyi, Zhu Naizheng, Liu Boshu and other works; Local calligraphy and painting societies, art companies, galleries and other institutions also provided works by famous artists including Qi Baishi, Li Keran, Fu Baoshi, etc; Among them are the figures of art agencies such as Beijing's Red Gate Gallery and Mainland Artists Gallery; The exhibition also creatively printed exhibition catalogs of major representative works, which is a service that overseas art museums do not have.

The Illustrated Catalogue of the 1993 China Art Expo Collected by the Author
 
After the exhibition, it was discovered that the organizer had incurred losses of several hundred thousand yuan, and most of the exhibitors were also unprofitable. The scene of the "First Art Expo" is very lively, and although it may not have been successful in terms of economic benefits, its significance and inspiration are beyond doubt. There may be several reasons for failure:
 
1. The original intention of the Art Expo held at the Canton Fair is obviously to rely on export sales. But at that time, overseas collectors were not very familiar with the mainland art market, and their willingness to purchase was not strong; The art collection community in China is still very weak.
 
2. The domestic art agency mechanism is not sound, with mixed participation of institutions and individuals, and diverse promotion and sales methods, giving people the impression of confusion and insufficient trust.
 
3. The variety of exhibited works is diverse, with calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, and handicrafts mixed together for exhibition; The booth layout has not been designed or planned; The exhibits range from masterpieces by renowned artists to imitations by ordinary painters, with even commercial paintings mixed in, creating a chaotic mix of good and bad.
 
The Second China Art Expo continued to be held in Guangzhou in November 1994. The organizer has been changed to the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and the Guangzhou Municipal Government, and the organizer has been the China Culture and Arts Corporation and the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture. The co organizer has added several well-known enterprises such as Hong Kong Hutchison Telecommunications Group, Yuexiu Enterprise Group, and Baiyun Real Estate Company. Obviously, the second Art Expo strengthened the cooperation of the local government and the support of the business community. The proportion of institutions among exhibitors has significantly increased, with names such as Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Chinese Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, and Xiling Gallery in addition to Hongmen Gallery and Mainland Artists Gallery.
 
The Third China Art Expo was relocated back to the Beijing International Exhibition Center in 1995. At this time, the art collection craze in Beijing was rising, with one auction after another and more galleries. The development speed of the art market was significantly faster than that of Guangzhou. At this time, the China Art Expo also gradually began to make profits.
 
At this time, the major cities in the mainland began to independently host art fairs, such as the Guangzhou International Art Expo in 1996, the Shanghai Biennale and the Shanghai Art Expo in 1997. In March 1996, the earliest art exhibition - "Shanghai Biennale" appeared in Shanghai. The first biennial exhibition was hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and the Shanghai Art Museum. The main content was oil painting, including representational, expressive, abstract, Installation artwork and other styles. A total of 29 artists and 160 works were exhibited. The Shanghai Art Expo is held at the Shanghai World Trade Center and is regarded as a regular program of the Shanghai International Art Festival, receiving strong support from the local government.
 
The opening ceremony of the fourth "Chinese Art Expo" filmed by the author
 
In 1996, the author also joined the planning of the Fourth China Art Expo. Pacific Auction Company collaborated with the organizer to hold an auction of exhibited works at the Art Expo on August 19th. The auctions come from each exhibiting organization and individual artist. The auction will be held in the conference hall next to the Art Expo, with 225 participating works auctioned. The fresh and unique auction attracted many painters, dealers, and collectors from both domestic and foreign countries to attend. The auction hall had 600 seats available, and there were also people standing around, with about 2000 people present. After 4 hours of intense bidding, 83% of the works found buyers. The total transaction amount reached 894000 yuan. Auction, as a trading method, organically combines with the art fair to help form resource sharing and complementarity between the two emerging markets.


The author took a group photo with Mr. Jiang Dawei who participated in the 4th "China Arts Expo" in his personal capacity
 
In the same year, we once again held a self raised auction at the first Beijing International Art Expo held at the Beijing International Trade Center. In 1997, China Guardian also held an auction of its self raised auction at the "Fifth China Arts Expo". The auction at the Art Expo may not be an international convention, but in the early stages of China's art market, auctions and exhibitions complement and leverage each other, and the significance of promoting the art market far outweighs its economic benefits.
 
As the first and remembered "China Art Expo" of the Art Expo, there was no follow-up until the 15th, and the time was fixed in August 2012, marking the complete end of the 1.0 version of the Art Expo.
 
2、 The 2.0 version of the Art Expo moving towards international standards
 
The 2.0 version of the Art Expo means adopting an international model. Its iconic event was the "First China International Gallery Expo" (CIGE) held in Beijing in 2004. The "First CIGE" has clarified the exhibition standards: art brokerage and sales agencies are the main participants, promoting professionalism, academia, and internationalization.
 
The person mentioned here is Mr. Dong Mengyang. After graduating from university, he joined the China Culture and Arts Corporation and participated in the operation of the 1-10 "China Art Expo". He gained experience in ten years of work and also discovered problems with the business model of the "China Art Expo". In 2001, Dong Mengyang discovered during his overseas inspection that the overseas art exhibitions were organized by art institutions, rather than allowing artists to participate individually. In 2002, Dong Mengyang resigned and organized a team to establish the "First CIGE". In April 2004, the "First China International Gallery Expo" opened, marking an important turning point for the Mainland China Art Expo. From then on, art exhibitions began to value academic value, and models such as academic forums and themed exhibitions gradually emerged at mainland art exhibitions.
 
The "First CIGE" gathered 68 galleries from Asia, Europe, and the Americas to participate, attracting nearly 30000 viewers and collectors, and the on-site transaction volume reached tens of millions of yuan. In this exhibition, foreign galleries actively participated, accounting for over 60%. At that time, the domestic gallery industry had not yet formed a scale, while overseas galleries saw the potential and opportunities of the Chinese market. The successful hosting of this session of "CIGE" has played a good demonstration role in the development of the later mainland art fair.
 
After organizing two sessions of "CIGE", Dong Mengyang started the "Art Beijing" Expo from scratch, and "CIGE" was taken over and continued to operate by another partner, Wang Yihan. In 2008, the Hong Kong Art Expo, with convenient geography, comprehensive services, and tax advantages, had a great impact on the Mainland Art Expo. As a result, "CIGE" lost many overseas customers, and in 2013, it evolved from a "temporary extension" to a shutdown.
 
3、 The Art Expo Goes towards a Personalized 3.0 Era
 
The third stage of the development of mainland art exhibitions is personalized and detailed staging. Originated from the "Art Beijing 2006" Contemporary Art Expo held in the Beijing Agricultural Exhibition Hall and the "Shanghai Exhibition Centre 2007 Shanghai Art Expo" held in 2007


"2007 Shanghai Contemporary" was held in Shanghai Exhibition Centre on September 6-9. 130 galleries from 23 countries and regions participated in the exhibition. Its operation team is mainly Italian Bologna Group. The planners Pierre and Lorenzo were both former members of the Basel Art Expo, and they moved the entire system and operational model of the European and American Art Expo to China. From the perspective of exhibition viewing, "2007 Shanghai Contemporary" looks better than other art exhibitions in mainland China, with installation works appearing on almost every gallery booth, visually very similar to the form of overseas art exhibitions. In its exhibition composition, European and American galleries account for 55%, Asian galleries account for 24%, and mainland galleries only account for 21%, forming a market positioning dominated by Europe and America.


 
The "2007 Shanghai Contemporary" brought great challenges and impacts to the mainland art expo at that time due to its contemporaneity and professionalism. However, the high tariffs on artworks, overly strict censorship systems, and the issue of mainland collectors seeing more and buying less, as well as differences in the organizers' business strategies, have subsequently affected the enthusiasm of overseas galleries and buyers for exhibition, and the transaction volume has gradually decreased. In the end, it was discontinued in 2013 due to the investor's reasons. In 2014, it made a comeback under the name of "Borna Shanghai Contemporary Art Exhibition", but it no longer had the style of "2007 Contemporary Shanghai". Among the 60 galleries, the proportion of galleries in mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, rebounded to 75%, 15% came from the Asia Pacific and Middle East region, and 10% came from Europe and the United States, clearly shifting towards local galleries.
Although the initial market positioning concept of "Shanghai Contemporary" was not very successful, it provided a sample of mature art exhibitions to the mainland art market, providing a reference value and lessons that cannot be ignored for rising stars.
In November 2013, a brand new art expo appeared at the Shanghai Zhongshi Building, which is known as the "Shanghai 21 Contemporary Art Expo" (ART021). As an exhibition project at the Shanghai International Art Festival, the "First ART021" brought together 29 galleries and contemporary artist works from around the world. ART021 has proposed a positioning policy of "based on local areas and looking globally", with most of the exhibitors being local galleries. By 2015, the number of ART021 galleries had increased to 75, so the exhibition hall was moved to Shanghai Exhibition Centre. The 10th ART021 in 2022 has gathered 134 galleries from 19 countries worldwide, of which 50% are still mainland galleries. ART021 focuses on cultivating local galleries and new collectors, with the responsibility of continuously pursuing the growth of the art market.
 



The appearance of the 5th "ART021" exhibition hall photographed by the author
 
On September 25, 2014, the first "West Bund Art&Design" joined the art fair in Shanghai. The first "West Coast Art Expo", co sponsored by Shanghai West Coast Development Company and artist Zhou Tiehai, is the first expo integrating art and design. The art expo advocates the core concept of "art leads life, design enters life" and contemporary lifestyle, adopting an innovative model of "5+25", divided into 5-day expos and 25 day special exhibitions, breaking through the original habit of exhibition periods of five or six days. Its exhibition site is located in the West Bank Art Center, which is transformed from the stamping workshop of the original Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company Factory. Although only 25 galleries participated, most were internationally renowned galleries and design institutions. The organizer held multiple peak forums focusing on topics such as art and design creation, curation and museum operations, and art collection. Throughout the "West Coast Art Expo", it is located in international galleries, overseas contemporary art and design works, and more pursues the fashion, novelty, and aesthetics of the works. By the 9th "West Coast Art Expo" in November 2022, more than 100 galleries from 19 countries had participated, making it even more popular among young art enthusiasts.


The queuing scene of the 5th "West Coast Art Expo" filmed by the author
 
In summary, mainland art exhibitions are becoming increasingly mature in their internationalization and specialization. After ten years of operation, Art Art Basel HK, which was held in Hong Kong in May 2013, has become the number one art event in Hong Kong and even in Asia. This has also posed a huge challenge and "siphon effect" for the development of mainland art exhibitions. The future direction of mainland art exhibitions will always be widely concerned and expected by people.