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Contemporary Art, China's New Face

I need a fighter, a lover of space, an agitator, a tester and a wise man.  I want a temple of spirit, a monument!
—Hilla Rebay to Frank Lloyd Wright, 1943

In June 1943, Frank Lloyd Wright received a letter from Hilla Rebay, the art advisor to Solomon R. Guggenheim, asking the architect to design a new building to house Guggenheim’s 4-year-old Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The Guggenheim Museum was born, becoming a focal point for contemporary art in the world.

Now, Beijing is planning to build a museum of contemporary art of its own. Plans for the new museum, to be designed by the Studio Pei-Zhu of Beijing, were outlined on October 28, 2008, during a press briefing held by the Center of International Cultural Exchange at the Beijing No. 1 Art Base in northeastern Beijing.

The Contemporary Art Museum of China is an important part of the Beijing No. 1 Art Base. The base is devoted to popularizing artistic conceptions and promoting cultural exchanges. One way it does this is by providing an art compound where artists from around the world can meet each other, exchange ideas and seek inspiration.

The Contemporary Art Museum will be an art-oriented information, training and conference centre and a base for artistic creation and exhibitions.

Designers Zhu Pei and Wu Tong, whose firm won a design competition for the project, described his work as “an outcrop from the ground,” not simply a museum but an integral part of its environment.

The general director of the Center of International Cultural Exchange, Lu Jun, said, “In recent years, Beijing’s status as national and international cultural centre has been strengthened, and the people’s cultural consumption increased by an annual average of 15.2 percent between 1997 and 2003. The cultural industry has become one of the most prosperous industries in Beijing, but there is no modern museum of contemporary art here to serve as a platform. Building a contemporary [art museum] is very important.”

Zhu Pei explained, “Contemporary art is unlike traditional art; it has a wider extension and deeper intension. It can be defined as art produced at this point in time. This art requires a functional, flexible space for its exhibitions; its moveable walls can be formed into any kind of space to meet the needs of exhibitions, such as mixed-media, installation, painting or sculptural exhibitions.

“The exterior design is very special; from the outside, you can go to the roof directly, so exhibitions can be presented outside, even on the roof. Forklifts can easily shuttle inside and outside. You need not to worry about someone knocking a nail into a wall, such as at the National Art Museum of China. We are trying to make a space where all kinds of artists can have a show.”

Lu Jun said, “The design plan is full of passion and imagination; it reflects the mainstream of architectural design in the world today.”

Construction will begin in 2009 and will be completed in 2010.

Studio Pei-Zhu
东城区东四北大街107号天海商务大厦B座413房间
B-413 Tian Hai Business Center, 107 Dongsi Beidajie, Dongcheng District
Tel: +86 10 6401 6657牋牋牋牋牋
Fax: +86 106403 8967

WWW: http://www.studiopeizhu.com