Pioneering Red Gate Gallery to Move From Dongbianmen Watchtower to 798; Farewell Exhibit Set for Nov 19
Widely known not only for being China's first private contemporary art gallery but also for its iconic perch at the 600-year-old Ming dynasty Dongbianmen Watchtower, Red Gate Gallery will soon be moving from that coveted location. The announcement was made via the gallery's official Instagram account today (Nov. 6), and that post also said the venue will host its final exhibition, "Red Gate On the Move," on Nov. 19.
When asked about what prompted the move, founder Brian Wallace told the Beijinger: "Long ago the Bureau of Cultural Relics let local governments be responsible for these sites. But now it is taking them back and, as tenants' leases expire, they have to move on. I have known for a long time, but we were given the formal notice a few months ago."
And while Red Gate's fans will surely be disappointed to see it leave the iconic watchtower, Wallace says they can at least take solace in the fact that he has already secured a new location in 798, and will move there by the end of this year. He describes it as a prime address near New York gallery Pace and the Goethe Institute, adding they will be "good neighbors in the high end of town!"
Wallace also told the Financial Review today "We've had a good run for 21 years and now it's time to go." That article went on to describe how "The Cultural Relics Bureau is taking a tougher line on commercial businesses operating in historically significant sites, which means he will move out next month. Near where Wallace runs the Red Gate Gallery a café, jade shop and tourism company have already shut their doors, unable to renew their leases."
Back in 2011, when Red Gate held its twentieth anniversary, TBJ pointed out: "It’s hard to imagine Beijing when Red Gate Gallery first opened. 798 was still a set of abandoned warehouses. Caochangdi was still just a village. There were only two subway lines, and they cost five mao to ride. Fast forward to today, and it seems the city’s art scene is a completely different animal. For more about these changes from an artist’s perspective, read our feature with Guan Wei and Wu Daxin here. Then, to look ahead to the horizons of Beijing’s art scene, check out the show at Red Gate’s majestic Dongbianmen Watchtower location."
Wallace founded the gallery in 1991, after spending much of the late 80's curating exhibits for several young Chinese artists. The Australian gallerist and fine arts proponent recalled, during one interview, how he first came to China as a backpacker, and then returned on a scholarship. What would become some of the most highly touted curating and organizing in the Chinese art world began quite organically, with Wallace recalling: "When I was studying, most of my Chinese friends were artists, so I spent a lot of time with them and helped them organize exhibitions."
In another Q&A, Wallace said, "there were no commercial galleries, no private galleries" at that time. "So we had to hire different spaces and these turned out to be Ming dynasty buildings; structures like the Ancient Observatory – that is where I was doing shows in '88 and '89. But other groups of artists were organizing shows at the Temple of Longevity, the Temple of Law, the Confucian Testing Center and such places which were empty and in some cases in quite bad states of repair." Those experiences inspired him to open a gallery at the Observatory, but he and his cohorts were unable to do so.
However, the then newly restored Ming dynasty watchtower was reopening to the public, and Wallace and his friends had better luck there, opening Red Gate in 1991. Some of the first artists to be exhibited there included would be big names like Wang Luyan, Zhang Yajie, Da Gong.
Further details about the "Red Gate On the Move" farewell exhibit, slated for Nov. 19 from 2pm-5pm, will be announced soon.
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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
Photos: ionawhittaker.com, redgategallery.com
