Today saw the grand opening of the Yangtze Nanjing Contemporary Art Fair, which is being held at the Nanjing International Exhibition Centre over the next 4 days.
Covering an exhibition area of over 12,000 square meters, the fair is showcasing leading local, national and international contemporary art pieces.
Founder Dong Zeng told The Nanjinger, “The contemporary art fair in this city is quite fresh. Although it does take some promoting and preparing, this is to be an annual event in Nanjing”.
“We have 28 galleries here including one from Tokyo, two from Hong Kong and four from Taipei. We aim to bring more fresh art to this city”, Dong said.
Sprouting its contemporary roots in the early 1980s, Nanjing went on to become one of the country’s most important spaces for contemporary Chinese artists, such as Mao Yan, Guan Ce and Xu Lei, all of whom no doubt look upon the city’s first contemporary art fair with pride.
During the Fair’s press conference, personal support for the Fair, in the form of video testimonials, came from multiple artists including megastar Jackie Chan, Zhang Xinzhe, Liu Jialing, Ding Yi, Xu Lei and Zheng Zaidong.
The Fair aims to showcase the historical culture and contemporary art scene of Nanjing to the world, and has invited galleries from Asia, Europe and America to participate in cultural exchange. Those attending now have an opportunity to develop relationships with Chinese art patrons.
In cooperation with the fair are galleries from across the country, such as Liang Project Co. Space, Pusu Art Space, Aura Gallery, Yard Gallery, Yibo Gallery, TOKU PAR, Banana Art Space, East Gallery and many more which have been chosen to participate in the event.
“I’m so fond of art! I find it interesting. I’m here for 1 day only but I’m pleased to be here. There haven’t been a lot of people coming through today but the quality of people that have come through has been great. All people with great impressions for art!”, Enthusiastic art student Catherine from Nanjing Forestry University, who is volunteering at the Fair, told The Nanjinger.
Quality people indeed, Nanjing’s most artistic was certainly out in full force at the Fair; celebs, artists, dealers, paparazzi and the press mixed, as they moved from piece to piece admiringly.
Touted as “one of the most professional art exhibitions in Nanjing”, the Fair promises to push this fair city’s contemporary art scene to a new level, and is “committed to trying to fill this gap in the field of contemporary art fairs in Nanjing”.
“Nanjing is an important cultural centre in China with a well established contemporary art scene.
“The city has nurtured several famous artists who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese contemporary art. Nanjing also has many collectors engaged in contemporary art. Over the years Nanjing has become a mature and abundant resource of art and artists”, said Fair organisers.
The “Nanjing” section at the back of the hall is an impressive mix of paints, prints and collaborations, all too worthy of a place on the wall next to international heavy weights from around Asia. It all helps make the Fair a must-see for Nanjingers this coming weekend.
The Contemporary Art Fair will run until 14 October 2018, closes at 5:30pm each day and is located in the Nanjing International Exhibition Centre, 88 Longpan Lu, near Xuanwu Lake and Nanjing Railway Station.
Tickets can be purchased on the exhibition’s website (http://www.artyangtze.com/; note that this is an insecure website), via WeChat or at the door.
