Unique Battle Cry of Quality Before Profit

When beauty has somehow become the antonym of modern art, at least in the so-called "avant-garde" sense, it is reassuring to know that there is still a gallery proud of its beautiful collections - a mix of the classic and modern - to such degree that its manager, Jiang Jianguo, believes they could live up to universal art standards.
Opened only in November last year, East Gallery claims to exhibit the very best oil paintings in Beijing, if not the whole of China. The gallery's investors, he says, show less consideration for making profits than for the taste, standard and artistic significance of supporting a gallery of such quality.

Either way, East Gallery has proved an immediate success, which Jiang attributes wholly to the help and support given by his wide circle of friends. It took more than a year of planning before the gallery could open, most of the time being spent on negotiations to secure its location in Deshengmen Watchtower, once the longtime home of the Dongfang Gallery. This was the first gallery in Beijing as well as China, but its memory is somehow preserved by its successor in that Dongfang literally means "East".

The new East Gallery, which in Chinese translates as "forest of art- , plans to tap into the "great potential- of the Chinese art market. As Jiang points out, western collectors on average invest 30 percent of their income in what he calls artistic consumption, while Chinese account for only one percent. Favorable import taxes in the West might further encourage more buying, he says, citing the fact that buyers enjoy exemptions or discounts on certain taxes. For example, they pay no tax if buying a painting, nor if, say, a father hands on his collection to his son.

While conceding that paintings in an art gallery can be described as commercial goods, Jiang at the same time emphasizes the positive impact of such artistic goods on his and others- self-cultivation. Unlike wholesalers of ordinary goods, he admits to an intimacy with every painting in his gallery's inventory. He gives space only to works of outstanding quality, mainly realistic paintings in classic oil style.

His selection criteria is clear enough but very hard to achieve and sustain, for he has to ensure that 80 percent of the paintings at his gallery have been created by masters of the genre - or at very least from the merely famous who have distinguished themselves through their unique style. Only 20 percent of intake is reserved for promising younger painters who show all the qualities that may see them develop into masters in their own right.

Having an older brother who had learned to paint at a very early age, yet somehow changed the direction of his life and finally became an influential art critic, Jiang has great sympathy toward earnest painters who show real enthusiasm in producing a good painting and take positive delight in seeing one.

Thanks to his many friends, the East Gallery now has a galaxy of nearly 100 top oil painters from all over China in its firmament, including, from Guangdong, Xu Weixin; Wang Guangxin from Xinjiang; Shaanxi's Wang Shengli; and Zhejiang from Chang Qin. They and their contemporaries hailed the opening of the East Gallery, agreeing that Jiang had done a very good thing for them.

Allowing that classic oil paintings which express masterful interpretations of modern life are rarely to be found in the contemporary West, the Chinese painters exhibiting in the East Galley arguably deserve more attention from international critics. Jiang believes that oil paintings will enjoy a brighter future than other forms of art in the market, as China's younger generation of painters are greatly influenced by the western aesthetic style. This, he says, is reflected in the fact that more and more Chinese homes now use more western architecture and whose interiors now boast in European decor.

To support his optimism about the future of the Chinese art market, Jiang cites a new trend in Beijing, Shanghai and Shandong Province - a growing number of people choosing paintings as presents for friends- weddings, and even for promotions at their workplaces. He observes that such people are prepared to pay around 5,000 yuan for a painting, without too much strain on their wallets. "But I honestly believe that investment in art should be a long-term consideration,- he says. "It is not very realistic to expect a huge profit in three or five years."

So far, the East Gallery has hosted two successful exhibitions, one of general nature, the other a three-month personal exhibition of the works of Jin Zhilin, a master of art widely respected for the vividness of his scenic creations, which closed only recently. Jin has often said that a painter should have a device in his heart to measure every detail of his objective. It is no exaggeration to say that each of his paintings embodies its own "temperature and moisture".

Viewers said they could feel the torch of the sun, and shiver with his snowscapes. Jiang, a great supporter of Jin, says the result "was a harmony of eastern and western art elements in the name of beauty".

Jiang also talks of a universal standard for all paintings, East and West, past and present. "This grasps the unique essence of the object with earnestness of heart, and reproduces the beauty of place and time. Simply, it's a process from utmost true to utmost beautiful."

In his view, it may not be too early to say that mature Chinese modern art has finally come "home" , at least at Deshengmen Watchtower. While many critics busily argue about East over West, ancient over modern, or a bit of both to the contrary, East Gallery painters simply regard their works as true expressions of their inner feelings about life. As one of them said: "I don'st care how critics might identify me with a certain style or genre. I just want to paint out my interpretation of life, my craving for eternity through art."

The contemporary art stage is packed with mediocre talents who, intentionally or unconsciously, produce exaggerated forms and exhibit playful skills. Sometimes their fame through being avant-garde remains insufficient in disguising their fatal weaknesses - mainly a lack of inner strength born of an aridness of true feelings towards life.

It is easy to be moved by the paintings of scenic artists at the East Gallery. Sometimes one's reaction is so strong that it jolts like an electric shock. Certainly I experienced this when viewing Kuang Jian's Balance and Cheng Linxin's depictions of trees and snow. Nothing could make art more worthwhile.