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Chinese Art Attracts Overseas Galleries

The increasing numbers of Chinese are collectors and their growing purchasing power are attracting more attention in the world's art market and many foreign galleries and art institutions have applied to participate in an art exposition slated for May in the Chinese capital.

"The enthusiasm of some world-famous galleries for this exposition is almost beyond our expectation," Dong Mengyang, chief executive of the Second Annual China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE), told Xinhuanet. "This shows their confidence in the Chinese art market."

The four-day exposition, beginning May 2, is under full preparation after last year's success. Participants are mainly galleries from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, including the CourtYard Gallery, Shanghart Gallery, Elite Gallery and Hiromi Yoshii. The number of galleries from America, Italy and Germany has also increased.

"The booths are almost fully booked and to guarantee the good quality of the fair, we have to balance the number of galleries from different countries," Dong said.

Some Korean galleries feel they are strongly dependent on the Chinese market and they need events like the CIGE to promote and exchange, Dong said, adding, "The Chinese art market is entering the mainstream of the international art trade."

At the First Annual China International Gallery Exposition last year, sales of art totaled 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million).