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Art in the News
 Xu Bing, the award winning artist and dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, has created a large site specific installation project for the new Chinese embassy in Washington. I.M. Pei, the architect, invited Xu to create the design, which is called "Purple Breeze Comes from the East." The piece is made up of thousands of translucent Chinese characters. The American Embassy in China has also asked Xu to install a piece at the embassy called "Monkey Grasping the Moon."See images here .
 Phillips de Pury & Company auctions of contemporary art on June 29 reached about $15 million. An untitled work by Yue Minjun was one of the highest selling items, selling above estimate for about $700,000. A work by Zhan Wang also sold well. See Phillips de Pury web site here for more details .
 The artist Song Dong has an installation called "Waste Not"now showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, another indication of how Chinese artists are being seen at major museums around the world. Yan Peiming , the Shanghai born painter, has had two spectacular shows in recent months, one at theLouvre in Paris -- making him one of the few Chinese artists to ever appear there -- and on now showing at the Ullens Center of Contemporary Art in Beijing, featuring a creative display of children's portraits on flags fluttering in the space. See it here .
 A group of artists protested on June 27 in front of the Hong Kong Museum of Art saying a show there was more about advertising than art. The show, "Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation ," features works by Jean- Michael Basquiat and Cao Fei , the Guangdong-born artist. Many art shows in China in recent years have been sponsored by luxury brands. The show includes material tracing the history of luxury brands, according to the South China Morning Post . Many of China's top artists have teamed up with luxury brands, and even made objects featuring the brands for recent shows in Beijing and Shanghai.
 The Third Guangzhou Photo Biennial 2009 has opened in Guangzhou at the Guangdong Museum of Art. It runs through July 19 and features a wide range of photographs of China's development and even atrocities in Cambodia. Among the themes in urbanization in China, Zhou Enlai's death and even Democracy Wall in Beijing. Artists include Li Xiaobin, John Fung, Bao Naiyong, Gu Xiang and Jin Jingbo. See link to Guangdong Museum of Art here.
 Ai Weiwei , the artist, is stirring up trouble again, pressing for Chinese internet users to boycott the web on July 1, when the new censorship measures go into effect. That is when all pc makers have been ordered to install a new software "Green Dam" that is supposed to prevent pornography and "harmful" content.
 Zeng Fanzhi is the subject of a lengthy cover story in Chinese Harper's Bazaar June issue. The 30 pages story is filled with photographs of Zeng in fashion poses, portraits of him during his youth and descriptions of his painting style.
 SH Contemporary 2009 is presenting a special exhibition curated by Mami Kataoka, Wang Jianwei and Anton Vidokle. The fair will showcase works by some of the most significant and promising artists from all over the world. Participants including famous artists, such as Feng Mengbo, Xu Zhen and Liu Wei, etc. Learn more at www.shcontemporary.info .
 Ravenel Spring Auction 2009 in Taipei ended with $6.5 million in sales of modern and contemporary Asian art, organizers said. Wang Huaiqing 's oil painting "Flying Apsaras" sold for $1.3 million, the highest price he ever for a Wang painting at auction. A work co-created by Cai Guo-Qiang and Tsai Kang-yung called the Art Shopping Network, sold for $505,199.Read more .
 The Shanghai World Financial Center -- the tallest building in China -- say it will unveil its first major art project, the "Liu Jianhua Public Art Project," on June 16 in Shanghai. The building, which was largely financed by the Mori group in Japan, has plans to house a large collection of Chinese contemporary art. The Mori Center in Tokyo has an art museum and a large art collection.
 The Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan (once known for his outrageous performance art) has announced to friends that he will have his debut as the director of Handel's Semele at the Royal Theatre in Brussels on September 8. The opera, which was created with the help of the KT Wong Foundation, will also have showings in Beijing and Shanghai, during the 2010 World Expo. The opera is supposed to be a fusion of Eastern and Western art styles.
 The Times of London invited their readers to vote for the "Top 200 Artists of the 20th Century to Now." Sixteen weeks after the invitation, with 1.4 million voters in all, the poll results are revealed. The top three artists are, in order, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne and Gustav Klimt, all of them were dead. No artists from China is on the list. Click to see the poll .
 Hong Kong is finally set to build its huge West Kowloon arts museum. The museum will involve building a large contemporary art space on 40 hectares of reclaimed land on a central site in the city. The first phase of the $3 billion project will be finished in 2016. Acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei is among the architectural teams bidding for the project. Read more .
 Beijing's famous 798 Arts District has been hit recently by several robberies. On the evening of May 27, some galleries, art stores and cafes in 798 were robbed while the staff members were away.The administrators of the 798 area haven't yet responded to the case publicly. Click here for more information.
 Phaidon Press has just published a large paperback book about Zhang Huan , the Shanghai-based artist that the publisher calls one of the most important artists of the past decade. The $49.95 book is edited by Yilmaz Dzwiewior, RoseLee Goldberg and Robert Storr.
 Kunstkompass (Art Compass) has unveiled its list of the top hundred contemporary artists this year, among which 46 artists are new to the list. As Austria Presse Agentur, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and Der Standard report, the list ranks living artists according to a variety of factors, including exhibitions at major institutions and reviews in art magazines. Germany has the most entries, with twenty-eight artists. Two Chinese artists, Ai Weiwei and Cao Fei , are among the list. Click here for more information.
 Yan Pei-Ming , the famed Chinese artist based in Paris, will hold his first 798 solo exhibition, "Landscapeof Childhood," at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. The show is being created without canvases by experimenting with installations by the artist; it is co-curated by Jérôme Sans and Guo Xiaoyan. Yan Pei-Ming has painted huge landscapes on the walls of UCCA's Big Hall. The exhibition will open on June 19 and run through Oct. 11.
 Poly Auction said on June 3 that its 2009 Spring Auction was very successful. A Chen Yifei work sold for over $5 million. It was titled, "Thinking of History at My Space." A work from Zhang Xiaogang sold for over $2 million. A Liu Xiaodong work sold for $1 million and Zeng Fanzhi painting sold for over $1 million. Also, 18 art pieces sold by the Ullens family -- which controls the Beijing Ullens Center, sold for about $15 million. The works included some rare items. Song Huizong's "rare Birds painted from Life," sold for nearly $10 million.
 Li Xianting, the distinguished Beijing art critic, has won the 2008 Prince Claus Award in the Netherlands for his contributions to art and culture in China. The award is given to people around the world who contribute to their country's cultural heritage. More info clickhere
 Chen Guang, 37, a former soldier turned artists, tells his story of being in the square 20 years ago in Beijing. He has painted portraits of the tragedy of that year. Clickhere for his article in The New York Times.
 The Poly 2009 Spring Auction performed well. Sales of "Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art" reached 37.73 million yuan, or about $6 million, with 65 percent of lots sold. Zhou Chunya ‘s "Green Dog" painting sold for 1.4 million RMB, or about $250,000, while works by Zeng Fanzhi and Zhang Xiaogang , Guan Yong each sold for over 1 million yuan, or $125,000. Emerging artist Chen Ke's work, "Watching Fire on the Opposite Bank" sold for 728,000, or about $110,000. Click here .
 Ai Weiwei , the provocative and talented artist had his popular blog shut down days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the events in Beijing.Ai has been a critic of the government on many issues, including the delays in determining why so many children died in the Sichuan earthquake.
 Zeng Fanzhi is on the cover of this month's issue of Harper's Bazaar Chinese.
 The "2009 Martell Artists of the Year" exhibition tour will open to the public from June 12 to 23 at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum in Beijing. The four "2009 Martell Artists of the Year" include: Zeng Fanzhi , Gu Wenda , sculptor Jiang Jie and the photographer Solve Sundsbo. The exhibition will appear at the Shanghai Art Museum in the middle of July and at the Guangdong Museum of Art in August.
 A web site called Concierge.com has published an interview with Cai Guo-Qiang . Twenty years after the student protests in Beijing, Cai was asked to talk about his point of view on China politics and society. Click here to read .
 Bloomberg reported on May 25 that a painting by Chinese artist Sanyu sold for HK$42.1 million ($5.4 million) at Christie's Spring Auction evening sale.Christie's evening sale of Asian contemporary and Chinese 20th century art sold $23.4 million (181.7 million Hong Kong dollars),a strong showing according to experts. Click to learn more and see auction info reported by ArtZineChina.
 Phaidon Press of New York has published a major new book about Ai Wei Wei , the leading Chinese artist. The book is simply called Ai Weiwei. The book includes a survey written by critic Karen Smith, an interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist, and another piece by Bernard Fibicher.
 The South China Morning Post reported on May 20 that this month's Hong Kong Art Fair reported a 31 percent rise in visitors and saw some big sales by European galleries.
 On May 22, the Wall Street Journal published a profile about Ai Weiwei in "Arts and Entertainment" section. He was called "The Collector: Ai Weiwei". Click to read .
 "Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation," an exhibition showing the art behind the products of world-famous fashion brand Louis Vuitton, opened in the Hong Kong Museum of Art on May 22. It will run through Aug. 9. Participating artists include Jeff Koons、Jean-Michel Basquiat、Cao Fei、Yang Fudong and some Hong Kong-based emerging artists. Art is increasingly coming closer to fshion brand and commerce.
 Goya Contemporary is holding an exhibition featuring the works by Yue Minjun and the German artist Wilhelm Mundt. Separately, “Backyard Garden,” one of Yue Minjun’s works, failed to sell at Phillips Contemporary Auction. Zeng Fanzhi ’s painting, “Little Boy” sold for $446,500 from a telephone bidder, well above its $300,000 high estimate. Read more .
 Sculptor Liao Yibai was featured in an article in The New York Times on May 7. Click here for article.
 The Financial Times "How to Spend It" edition of Friday, May 8 has an article by Chris Burke about how the internet has transformed the art market, allowing buyers and sellers to more easily meet -- thereby democratizing the collecting process. Learn more .
 The sixth edition of Asian Contemporary Art Week(ACAW) will be shown on 10 May through 18 May. More than 200 asian artists will display their works in 35 galleries and museums in New York. Melissa Chiu , the director of Asia Society will participate a talk during the festival. Visit ACAW for more information.
 Shanshui: Landscape, an original exhibition, curated by Ai Weiwei and Uli Sigg , is expected to be shown on next September in China Institute , New York. The participating artists are not sure yet.
 Nicole Schoeni, the 28-year-old owner of Hong Kong's Schoeni Gallery , has donated a large Yue Minjun handprinted silk screen work called "Water," to the South China Morning Post's Homes for Hope auction, scheduled for May 12 in Hong Kong. Proceeds will go toward victims of last year's devastating Sichuan earthquake.
 Another milestone was reached in April: People's Daily , the Communist Party mouthpiece, hailed Beijing 798 or Dashanzi Arts District as a wonderful place for Chinese contemporary art. This comes after the Beijing government gave strong approval to the district ahead of the Olympics, and even encouraged tourists groups to visit the old factory zone that was converted into stores, boutiques and big art galleries and studios. Now, 798 is over-run with tour groups and an odd mix of high end galleries and tourist trinket shops. See People's Daily article here .
 The South China Morning Post is auctioning off several works of Chinese contemporary art to raise money for \"Homes for Hope,\" a charity trying to help victims of the Sichuan earthquake. The auction will take place on May 12, the anniversary of the earthquake. Among the artists with works presented: Zhang Xiaogang , Yue Minjun and Guo Jin . Click here for more information.
 The Wall Street Journal has a profile on April 24 about Qiu Zhijie , and what the paper calls his inventive and fascinating show at the Ullens Center in Beijing. Ian Johnson wrote the article, see here .
 Doryun Chong was appointed associate curator in the department of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on April 17. Chong served at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis for six years. He once organized the exhibition of Huang Yongping . Also, Chong is a contributing editor to Art AsiaPacific magazine. He will join MoMA in late May.
 A group of unknown Chinese artists have created a series of weird images depicting life in Chinese hotel rooms. They are based on a similar series by Lyndon Wade . The images suggest that artists are getting greater freedoms to publish controversial and even perverse works. Underage viewers ought to seek parental guidance. Click here to view.
 Art in America recently reported that Pace Wildenstein Gallery, which represents Zhang Xiaogang and Zhang Huan , recently slashed salaries 10 to 16 percent and could face layoffs. Also, some major Chinese artists have said they have laid off staff and major galleries say sales have declined sharply this year. See Art in America article here .
 The Christian Science Monitor reported this month that some Chinese artists are applauding the sharp downturn in prices. See article here .
 Zhao Bandi \'s Panda Fashion show celebration returned to Shanghai on April 21, with an exhibition at ShanghArt\'s new space in the center of the city. Zhao appeared, with a panda wrapped around his neck, as did other artists like Zhou Tiehai, as well as collectors, celebrities and art lovers. Zhao\'s Paris show was screened for guests.
 Holland Cotter , the New York Times art critic, won a Pulitzer Prize on April 20 for his distinguished criticism last year, including articles he wrote from China, where he visited some of China\'s leading contemporary artists, including Zhang Huan and Lin Tianmiao . Read here .
 Fang Lijun ’s solo exhibition was held in Tai Pei Art Museum on April 18, 2009. Fang Lijun was the first mainland artist to hold exhibition in Tai Pei public art museum. Hu Yongfen, Taiwanese senior curator, organized the exhibition. Meanwhile, Chengdu artist Zhou Chunya will also hold his solo exhibition in Taiwan next spring.
 The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art in Australia is holding a major exhibition of Chinese contemporary art works, including more than 60 pieces from Zhang Xiaogang , some that have never before left China. The show features three decades of works, and also includes a solo show of Zhang\'s works and films by Chinese directors like Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yimou. Wang Qingsong , Fang Lijun and other artists are part of the major show, which runs through June. A large feature on the show appeared in the April 19 South China Morning Post .
 Su Mingluo, a Chinese collector, has sued the Hanhai Auction House after he discovered that a Wu Guanzhong painting he bought for $350,000 at auction in 2005 was fake. Apparently, Wu Guanzhong saw the painting in 2008 and told the collector it was a fake. But a court threw out the case and found the auction house and Xiao Fuyuan, the owner of Beijing Soka Art Center who originally owned the painting not guilty. Wu Guanzhong has called the court\'s decision ridiculous. read more here
 Harvard University Art Museum is planning to sell a Zhao Wuji work at Christie\'s auction in Hong in May. The 1957 work, “Nous deux,\" is expected to fetch between $1. 2 million and $1.9 million.
 Nine of Zeng Fanzhi \'s works were sold at a recent exhibition in New York\'s Acquavella Galleries . The show was considered a big success with one large landscape selling for about $950,000 USD. Also, an exhibition of Zeng Fanzhi\'s works opened Friday, April 10, at the I.M. Pei designed Suzhou Museum. The show was sponsored by Merchant\'s Bank and a dinner was sponsored by Louis Vuitton .
 UBS currently announced that they will close their art investment department. The department was established in Basel in 1998, which is a branch under the UBS Wealth Management. However, in spite of the adverse situation, UBS will continue to support Art Basel l until year 2011 according to their contract.
 In April, art fairs in China are coming up. CIGE 2009 opens on April 16 in Beijing; Art Beijing 2009 opens on April 26; while Art Shanghai 2009 will be held on April 16. And the second edition of Hangzhou Art Fair opened on April 9. As for overseas art fairs,ARCO 2009 and Art Cologne 2009 will both open on April 22.
 Sotheby\'s Hong Kong sales of Asian contemporary art fared relatively well in April, selling $8.5 million on April 6. But prices are down dramatically from their all-time highs. No artist sold a $1 million work. The highest selling piece wes a Zhang Xiaogang painting that sold for $586,000. A Yue Minjun painting sold for $463,000. And a work by Huang Yong Ping sold for $432,000 -- the highest ever for the Paris-based artist. Also, a Sui Jianguo sculpture sold for $348,000 -- the highest ever for his work sold at auction. Ai Wei Wei and Chen Zhen \' s works also sold higher than estimated prices. Please see details here . Click here to see ArtZine report.
 TheJ. Paul Getty Museum in California has purchased a collection of Chinese contemporary photographs from the New York based American collector and publisherLarry Warsh . It was one of the first major purchases by an American museum and included works by Wang Qingsong and Hai Bo. Click to read article here
 About 40 Chinese artists, including Gu Wenda and Qiu Anxiong, are taking part at an exhibition at Drexel University in the US. The show, called \"ink NOT ink,\" features painting, photography, sculpture and video and runs through May 9. The show also includes the 186 flags made from human hair. Read here
 The 53d Venice Biennale will open in Italy on June 7. The Beijing artist Lu Hao has been appointed curator of the China pavilion by China\'s Ministry of Culture. Meanwhile, he will discuss with the committee of the Biennale how to arrange the China pavilion. Zhao Li, a professor of Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, however, said that the official document for the show had not been settled.
 Mahjong, an exhibition of Chinese contemporary art, is appearing in Salem, Mass., in the US. Here is an article published in the Christian Science Monitor. Click here .
 Zhang Huan is preparing his first exhibition at White Cube in September in London. The show is mostly about a hero pig-- a pig who survived 49 days under the collapsed ruins following the Sichuan earthquake. Zhang Huan will have video and ash paintings about this pig. He is also trying to bring the pig to UK to present it for his exhibition. But livestock cannot be transported to UK under UK law, so the artist now is seeking a solution.
 Gao Brother \'s cast cooper sculpture, \"Catch a lady,\" was missing in front of their studio at 798 art district in Beijing in the night of March 18. 798 property management office admitted that it was moved by them after Gao Brother reported to the police. The weighty sculpture has not been returned yet.
 Ai Wei Wei, one of Beijing\'s leading artists, is creating a stir with his blog by challenging the government on why so many schoolchildren were killed during the Sichuan earthquake. His blog is at here . The New York Times also had an article about this. Read here .
 The seventh edition of the Florence Biennale announced its Lorenzo il Magnifico Prize. Chinese artist Shu Yong, together with the famous performance artists Marina Abramovic and Eagle shared the prize. Shu Yong was the first Asian artist to receive the honor. He has also been the youngest.
 Chambers Fine Arts in New York is planning to hold an exhibition featuring \"Qiu Zhijie: Mochou\" on March 12, 2009. However, the work was detained for some reason by the American customs. On hearing the news, Qiu Zhijie decided to make an improvised painting on the walls of the gallery. He started at 3 pm on March 11 and finished at 11 am, March 12. His solo exhibition then opened as normal at 6 pm, with entirely new works.
 A fire broke out in March 16 at a temporary housing complex at Beijing\'s Central Academy of Fine Arts, one of the nation\'s leading art schools. One person was injured. The fire destroyed the dormitory and belongings of hundreds of students, including many of their art works.
 Poly Auction of China announced that its upcoming auction will include several works from the Ullens Foundation in Switzerland, including a 900 year old painting by a Chinese emperor and a work by Zhang Xiaogang . See article here
 The New York Times reported on March 10 that the Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation is shopping its massive collection of Chinese comtemporary art, trying to sell it to a Chinese buyer. That buyer is also being offered the Ullens Center in Beijing. The article also features a portrait and story about Zeng Fanzhi and concerns among galleries and dealers that China\'s art market is in the doldrums. Click here for story.
 The Long March Space in Beijing\'s 798 Arts District is downsizing, closing several of its gallery spaces in response to the economic downturn. While rumors abound about gallery spaces closing in Beijing and Shanghai, only a handful of galleries have closed, but several are cutting staff, holding off on exhibitions and finding other cost-saving measures as buyers of Chinese contemporary art disappear. TimeZone8, the bookstore based in Beijing\'s 798 Arts District, has also retreated, by closing its Shanghai book store at Moganshan Road Arts District.
 Zhou Tiehai , the Shanghai artist, has been named art director of China\'s Minsheng Bank, which has created a fund to purchase art works. Zhou has worked not only as an artist, but helped create the SH Contemporary Art Fair in Shanghai and experimented with other business ventures.
 The New York Times Sunday March 9 edition has a major profile of Larry Gagosian, the Manhattan art dealer who represents some of the world\'s best known artists, like Damien Hirst. See article at www.nytimes.com .
 India, Kolkata—Chinese contemporary art expert Monica Dematte gave an informative lecture on landscape art in China today at Studio 21 on March 3, 2009. With the opening of discussing the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese art, The talk was divided into two parts. However, the artists and photographers she mentioned were not named or identified. Read more .
 Handel Lee, the prominent lawyer and creator of Legation Quarter in Beijing, is the subject of a lengthy profile in Forbes magazine this week. He helped put Three on the Bund in Shanghai on the map, and now he\'s in Beijing, with Legation Quarter. He\'s also the owner of Courtyard Gallery and a collector of Chinese contemporary art. Read here .
 MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) is to have Song Dong ’s solo exhibition in June of 2009, which will be the first solo exhibition that MoMA ever has for contemporary Chinese artists. The exhibition \"Waste Not\" is a collaboration between the artist and his mother.
 The Hurun Report , which tracks the wealthy in China, reports that Zhang Xiaogang , Yue Minjun and Zeng Fanzhi are the richest Chinese artists, based on their auction sales last year. Zhang\'s works sold $44 million at auction last year, and works by Yue and Zeng each sold a total of $30 million last year. Chinese artists are now some of the most sought after in the auction world. See Bloomberg article here
 The Ullens family is selling several art works to help fund their private museum in Beijing, according to Bloomberg News. The sale of the art works will take place at Poly Auction in Beijing later this year. Read article here .
 China is considering suing Christie\'s auction house to stop the auction of two ancient artifacts it says were \"stolen\" from Beijing\'s Imperial Palace when British and French troops plundered the site nearly 150 years ago. Christie\'s is vowing to go ahead with the sale later in February of two Qing Dynasty bronzes statues. Christie\'s says it\'s a legal sale and the proceeds are to go to AIDS funding; China says it\'s another example of profiteering from the country\'s stolen ruins.
 Holland Carter writes in The New York Times on February 12 about the end of the art boom. Read his comments here
 Sotheby\'s Contemporary Art Auction in London in early February had a few surprisingly strong sales. A Zeng Fanzhi piece from his \"Mask Series,\" beat estimates and sold for about $880,000, far above the estimate. Zeng\'s work was purchased by Jose Mugrabi , one of the world\'s most aggressive collectors of works by Andy Warhol and even Damien Hirst . And a Yan Peiming \"Mao\" portrait from 2004 sold for $459,000. A Wang Guangyi mixed media piece with a bicycle sold for about $193,000.
 An exhibition commemorating the 1989 \"No U-Turn\" show was partially shut down in Beijing last week. A panel discussion was blocked by the government, participants say, and a video show at Today\'s Museum was also partially halted by government censors. As part of one of the show\'s Xiao Lu, the female artist who created a stir in 1989 by firing a gun as part of a performance art piece, appeared in the 20th anniversary show in a coffin, dressed in a wedding gown as a symbol of her rebirth.
 A new exhibition in the U.S. city of Kansas City is drawing interest by using Chinese artists, like Zhang Dali , to look at how cities develop. See a review here . The show was four years in the making.
 In another sign of the tightening marketplace for art, Larry Gagosian, owner of Gagosian Gallery has sent a tough worded letter to employees saying they had better sell art and perform or risk losing their job. See here . But some dealers in Beijing report that sales are holding up strong among well known artists, even though auction prices are in steep decline.
 CIGE 2009 art fair announces the cooperation with the prestigious information-services, news and media company Bloomberg L.P. , CIGE 2009\'s video will show on Bloomberg Television Asia Pacific (hereafter as Bloomberg TV) since March 23rd 2009, till April 10th 2009. it is the second cooperation after Bloomberg TV was the fair\'s sponsor in 2008. Under the current financial situation and the shift of global art markets, it is a significative sign from the in-depth partnership between contemporary art circle and financial circle.
 Zeng Fanzhi solo exhibition is opening at Acquavella Galleries in New York from April to May, 2009. This is his first show in the U.S. since he signed with Acquavella Galleries .
 Lorenzo Rudolf, one of the founders of the SH Contemporary art fair in Shanghai, has left to join Luxrule. He is being replaced by Colin Chnnery, who until May 2008 worked at the Ullens Center of Contemporary Art in Beijing. Mr. Chinnery will become the director of SH Contemporary. In his new job, Rudolf will help develop global art shows for Luxrule. The organizer of Sh Contemporary Art Fair will announce this on Thursday, 22. Jan.
 On Thursday, 19 February, the opening reception for Yan Pei-Ming : YES!—a solo exhibition by the Chinese-born French artist—will be held at the Walter and McBean Galleries on SFAI\'s 800 Chestnut Street campus. Yan will deliver his Visiting Artists and Scholars lecture in SFAI \'s Lecture Hall (also on the 800 Chestnut Street campus). The exhibition will be on view from 20 February to 23 May 2009. For more information, click here .
 Reports are circulating in the Chinese art world that the Ullens Center of Contemporary Art in Beijing, which holds one of the worlds\' biggest collections of Chinese contemporary art, is looking to sell its entire collection for $300 million. But a spokesperson for the UCCA in Beijing, which is controlled by the Ullens family, denied plans to sell any part of the collection in an email to ArtZineChina.com .
 In January 2009, Chengdu is featuring a series of contemporary art activities. Many artists, well-known curators, scholars and art critics participated in the events. the art scene was quite very lively. The events are: \"Art in Two Cities--Dialogue of Contemporary Art between Chengdu Qingdao\" , curated by Liang Kegang ; Artist He Duoling organized \"Corresponding--Nanjing & Chengdu\" exhibition; A Thousand Plateaus Art Space hosted \"IT IS I TOO--Photographic Self-portraits by 21 Chinese Artists\" and Chengdu Blue House art gallery exhibition \"Blue House--Character of the Dialect\". In addition, a documentary movie\"Tomorrow\" had its premiere in Chengdu Shangri-La Hotel on January 12. This documentary movie is produced by Chengdu based famous artist Zhou Chunya , featuring the families in Sichuan after earthquake. ArtZineChina web site will have more detailed reports in the next issue.
 A newly opened gallery: Art Next Gallery in New York City, will present an exhibit featuring eleven Chinese artists from Jan. 8 to Feb. 28, 2009. The exhibition, Chinese Sick Men, is curated by art critic and Professor Duan Jun of Beijing. The new gallery aims to capture the massive Chinese artistic talents both within and outside China. Click here for more information.
 Chongqing will hold its first international art festival: The Huang Jue Ping International Arts Festival. It will open on January 17, 2009, and run for 45 days. Besides 60 invited Chinese young artists, it will also display the installation works of young Asian artists. Meanwhile, there are conferences being held on the relationship between art and regional development.
 Gao Minglu , the distinguished curator and professor at the University of Pittsburgh, is creating an archive of Chinese contemporary art, according to art industry officials. The archive, which will include documents tracing the early years of Chinese contemporary art in the 1970s and 1980s to the present, is expected to be funded by an arts foundation and would be one of the most important resources for scholars studying China\'s modern art scene.
 Jeremy Strick , the director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and a major supporter of Chinese contemporary art, has resigned from the museum after the museum underwent a major restructuring with money from the philanthropist Eli Broad in late December.
 About 36 galleries are closing in and around Beijing as the economic slowdown starts to eat away at China\'s contemporary art boom. Some of the galleries are in the 798 arts district. Also, there are questions about whether art fairs and exhibitions this year will also see a dramatic slide. Hong Kong\'s art fair, though, is still attracting attention and may be one area that is strong. But otherwise, many galleries in Shanghai and Beijing are going to close by early 2009, according to art insiders. Stay tuned.
 The Gao Brothers , who are well known for the radical performance art and their penchant for creating art works banned in China, created an uproar this week in Moscow, where they were guests for the Kandinsky Prize ceremony. A performance by the duo ended with them smashing a sculptured likeness of Mao, but with two breasts. See article here: here
 The Museum of Fine Arts Houston has acquired photographs from leading international artists including Damien Hirst and Zhang Huan . See article: here Also, Artprice.com has published an early list of the 10 most popular artists of 2008, based on auction sales. Jeff Koons topped the list. But five of the 10 artists chosen were from China, with Zhang Xiaogang at No. 5 and then Zeng Fanzhi , Wang Guangyi , Yue Minjun and Liu Xiaodong . See article: here .
 Ravenel , a Taipei auction house, held a strong auction on Dec. 1 in Hong Kong raising more than $9 million and surprising some analysts with sales of art works by Yue Minjun and Zhao Wuji, as well as a number of Taiwanese artists. A Yue Minjun works sold for over $1 million. See article: here .
 Ai Wei Wei will have a major exhibition at auction house Phillips de Pury & Company \'s gallery at Howick Place from March 3 – 28, 2009. The show is composed of four new sculpture series—Marble Chairs, Moon Cabinets, Bubbles, and selected Furniture works.
 The Sixth China International Gallery Exposition（CIGE 2009 ）has announced a partnership with a European non-profit art institution --CAS （Contemporary Art Society.The cooperation will create new communication opportunities between CIGE and CAS by inviting European collectors, artists and art enthusiasts to attend CIGE 2009 and help improve artistic communication between Far East and Europe.
 Meanwhile, CIGE 2009 will present curated art projects such as MAPPING ASIA focusing on young talented artists in Asia; VIDEO LOOPS will present video, film and documentary screening programs by emerging and established artists; SUBLIMINALS will present not-for-sale projects realized by not-for-profit art organizations; and the brand new project: INTERNATIONAL SOLO SHOWS will invite artists in residency in Beijing and work towards the realization of site-specific projects in CIGE 2009 .
 The Indonesian-Chinese collector Ye Deyao privite museum \" Yuz Museum\" opens this month in Jakarta, Indonisia. The initial exhibition \"Lovely Blossoms and Full Moon: Yuz Collection of Chinese Contemporary Art\" opens December 17.
 Artinfo.com has a profile of Guan Yi , the collector, published in its magazine Art & Auction. Click here to read. Artinfo.com also has a new profile of Melissa Chiu, the curator from the Asia Society.
 A Zhang Xiaogang painting owned by the film director Oliver Stone sold for $3.4 million on Sunday, November 30, at Christie\'s Hong Kong auction, a highlight on an evening when nearly half the lots up for auction failed to sell, a sign of declining interest in buying art around the world. A Zeng Fanzhi painting of Mao, created in 1993, failed to sell. And collectors said the mood was somewhat grim, despite a strong collection of works put up for sale by Christie\'s auction house. ArtZineChina.com has a preview of the sale in the reviews section and will soon publish all the prices in its auction info section.
 The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing published a over-sized art book chronicling the \'85 New Wave, one of the major movements in the development of Chinese contemporary art. Artists like Gu Wenda and Wang Guangyi are included. The book, published as an English and Chinese volume, is priced at 380 yuan, or about $50 and is a compilation of art works from 1985 period with art works, historical insights and images of handwritten documents from the period. ArtZineChina.com will publish a review of the book soon. For more information about the book go to www.ullens-center.org
 The iconic Peace Hotel will open in time for the Shanghai World Expo with an arts centre controlled by the Swatch Group , the luxury watch maker. The landmark hotel on the Bund in Shanghai, is being renovated as part of a joint venture between Shanghai\'s Jin Jiang Group and the Fairmont Group.
 The Hurun Report , which tracks wealthy Chinese, has published its 2008 list of the wealthiest artist by sales. Wu Guanzhong , the modernist artist who is in his 90s, topped the list with about $50 million in sales in the past year. Zhang Xiaogang ranked No. 2 with about $38 million in art work sales. The ranking also listed sales per square foot: Wu Guanzhong \'s works sold for about $125,000 per square foot. Zhang Xiaogang sold for about $98,000 per square foot. See the entire list here: www.hurun.net
 The opening of an exhibition of works by Yoko Ono , the widow of John Lennon , drew an overflow of crowd Saturday Nov. 22 at the Ke Center in Shanghai . Hundreds of people waited outside in the rain, watching a large screen video of Yoko Ono while the doors to the gallery opened every once in a while, allowing only a few people in at a time. Much to the annoyance of some, people tried to push their way into the exhibition hall. Yoko Ono was present inside the gallery, surrounded by cameras and spectators. Many left before getting the chance to enter the due to the rain. Yoko Ono was in town to promote her art works and her message of love and flashing lights for peace. Her show runs through Dec. 15.
 A new documentary film about Chinese contemporary art, called \"The Rising Tide,\" is now being shown in different parts of the world. It was shown at Art Basel Miami and in the UK. The film, created by Robert Adanto , looks at the boom through the lives and works of several artists, including Cao Fei , Xu Zhen , Wang Qingsong , Chen Qiulin and Zhang O . It is narrated by Rosalind Chao and Gordon Chang . Excerpts of the film can be seen here, at www.youtube.com . For more information: www.therisingtidefilm.com.
 Hu Ming , a controversial Beijing female artist, has produced a series of works inspired by the Cultural Revolution and the People\'s Liberation Army. The paintings are provocative and, to some, demeaning because of their erotic poses. See her images here: http://hu-ming.com.
 Christie\'s is gearing up for an important auction in Hong Kong on November 27, but also a relatively unknown Japanese auction house is also planning to sell works in Hong Kong. Est-Ouest Auctions says its first ever sale in Hong Kong on Nov. 25 will include pieces by Zeng Fanzhi and Zhang Xiaogang at the island Shangri-La.
 Christian Dior , the fashion brand, is using leading artists like Zhang Xiaogang , Zhang Huan and 60 other artists, for an art and fashion show being exhibited through Jan. 15 at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing's 798 Arts District. See Bloomberg story here: www.bloomberg.com
 The Wall Street Journal on Nov. 17 has an article about the slumping auction market in New York, saying Sotheby's and Christie's are facing a serious downturn. Also, The Asia Art Archive is holding its annual fundraising auction on Nov. 29 in Hong Kong. Previews begin Nov. 23 with a work donated by Zhang Xiaogang. Catalogue at www.aaa.org.hk
 Richard Vine, the writer and editor of Art in America , has published a new book on Chinese contemporary art called "New China Art ". Max Protetch Gallery in New York is hosting a book signing for the author on Nov. 20.
 A Damien Hirst painting featuring four skulls did not sell at a Philips de Pury auction in New York, a surprise for the incredibly hot artist and a sign that big collectors may be holding back.
 Richemont , the luxury goods group, has opened a stunning new arts, culture and shopping center in Shanghai, at 796 Huaihai Road in an old mansion complex. The complex includes a glassed-in gallery by ShanghArt -- one of Shanghai's most prestigious galleries. The space -- something like Three on the Bund and Beijing's Legation Quarter -- is a mix of luxury shopping, high end dining and art. Alfred Dunhill luxury goods is one of the main tenants.
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