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Pace Wildenstein Encounters Beijing
Huang Du Someone predicted that Beijing would be the next center of contemporary art, following New York , along with the rapid growth of Chinese economy and the reinforced global influence of China . Another boldly said the center of art would be moved to Beijing from New York . Time shall prove whether Beijing could be the new center of global art. Although it is hard to come to a conclusion, one thing we can not deny is that the energy and fascination that Chinese contemporary art gushes out make it impossible for the world's art sector to overlook Beijing . The best proof of this phenomenon is that several foreign galleries have moved into Beijing over the past few years. The fact that Pace Beijing, an affiliate of the Pace Wildenstein Gallery of the U.S., opened at 798 Art District on Aug. 2, 2008 proved that Beijing is quickly absorbing the world's art market as the origin of Chinese contemporary.
Pace Beijing , the first major American gallery nested in mainland China , is located at 798 Art District , the heart of Chinese contemporary art, and occupies 22,000 square feet. This old studio, designed and built by an East German engineer in the 1950s, is a simple Bauhaus style structure. Its architecture features a gigantic and magnificent concrete structure and a wide, bright ceiling. Most buildings at that time placed windows facing south, but this building has all its windows facing north. This style of design makes the visual beams of light consistent, creating an indescribable sense of beauty by sustaining evenness and stability using uniformed sunshine and reflection. Also, the toothed-wheel installation and the lotus flower floating in water around the installation showcases modern aesthetics from classic beauty and adds magnificence and elegance to the building. Quoting Richard Gluckman, a member of the American Engineers Association, “Its magnificence and elegance could compete with those of the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth , Texas .”
Despite that it is a leading gallery from abroad that has beautifully harmonized with the local climate, geography and other characteristics of China , its first exhibition opened almost silently without any media publicity. (There were no large promotion, ceremony, and VIP banquet, all of which other art organizations at 798 have had.) Such a reckless advent of Pace Beijing appears to have something in itself to consider. Pace Beijing , as a veteran with a global reputation, has probably skipped the extravagant fuss and ostentation to boast its aloofness and confidence. The opening exhibition “Encounter” have clearly shown its solid competency. 
Pace Wildenstein Encounters Beijing As for the works exhibited at “Encounter”, Pace Beijing showed a lot of works by artists represented by the Pace Wildenstein Museum . These works included hearty masterpieces of 24 globally acknowledged artists, such as Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Michel Basquiat, Chuck Close, Marlene Dumas, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, George Condo, Tim Eitel, Alex Katz, and Georg Baselitz; impassionate Chinese artists Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun, Yue Minjun, Wang Guangyi, Yang Shaobing, Liu Wei, Li Songsong, Ma Liuming, Qi Zhilong, and Zhang Huan; talented Japanese artists Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara. This exhibition by Pace Beijing aggregated various works by noted artists from the past and the present, and could be referred to as the ‘invincible' that is unparalleled with any other events in mainland China .
Of course, “Encounter” by Pace Beijing boasted its influence by inviting various art stars and emphasized its artistic ideology, cultural ideal and definition of market at the same time. Setting “Encounter” as the major theme, it hosted several discussions on the harmonization of diverse cultures within Beijing . Chinese contemporary art has finally come to enjoy the joys of success, overcoming the suppressions of the past 30 years. Of course, its success is complexly related to the rise of China 's influence on global economy and politics. As there is a possibility that Beijing could be a new center for international art conventions, it is a sensitive yet prospective issue to discuss the ‘supportive politics' for global art. As for this, curator Leng lin for “Encounter” explained, “Encounters is the conflict and harmony amongst cultural diversity, and we intended to create a new force through them.” Thus, it has a certain cultural significance as a breakthrough of academic research on the relationship between eastern and western art. However, the East-West relationship in contemporary art is a very complicated one, and it dwells not only on the depth of ideological culture but also on its visual representations. It is a difficult challenge to deal with such a complicated cultural issue with a certain angle, format and contents in a single event. It would be relatively ideal if it is approached by the methodology of portrait classification and comparison. In this respect, Encounter's selection of portraits, an important artistic format in the history of art, as a tool of image science is a rather reasonable approach to the issue. The works were arranged neatly and in an organized manner to apply the rigor of the methodology while making them visually refreshing. Portraits can convey abundant and complicated implications as a visual language focusing on social status issues, social problems, and cultural problems and they can even relate to personal issues such as race, class, personality and discrimination. In 1995, the Venice Biennale discussed ‘status and difference' using portraits. Therefore, the fact that Pace Beijing introduced ‘portrait classification methodology' to its exhibition made a clear impression academically, succeeding the theme of the Venice Biennial in 1995. 
The bridge across the Eastern and Western The classification methodology seemed to be pushing it a little in that the juxtaposed portraits exchanged subtle and ambiguous influences. Of course, these influences are not simultaneous but coincidental due to cultural accord. For example, when we saw Andy Warhol's Statue of Liberty juxtaposed with Wang Guang Yi's The Great Criticism: Country and DNA, we discovered that both pieces are classified into pop art, but they have completely different contexts, backgrounds, and content. Andy Warhol's work indicated the consumption culture of capitalistic society, whereas Wang Guang Yi's work indicated the integration of China 's outdated awareness and the western consumption culture and its complexity. 
Also, when we saw Ma Liuming's Fen-Ma Liuming juxtaposed with Cindy Sherman's Untitled No. 205, we saw that Ma Liuming was discussing the complexity and ambiguity of identity using a hermaphrodite, whereas Cindy Sherman's body casted questions on various provisions imposed on women in a man-centered world. In this respect, the “Encounter” between Chinese portraits and Western portraits appears to be unreasonable. Although this exhibition intended to provide information that is similar or different through comparison, the audience was confused until the end whether the message was to explain the parallel equality in encounter or the influence of Western art on Chinese art 
Although this opening exhibition was highly spotlighted, it lacked exploration of stimulation, adventure, experimentation, and openness by stressing moderation and aggregating pieces by internationally renowned artists when compared to the exhibitions of other galleries at 789, including Italy 's Galleria Continua.
As a cultural exploration, “Encounters” could be considered a new beginning. We do not ask questions about the essence. However, it must gradually reveal its real self in the near future in terms of new possibilities, and we will continually watch for its qualitative development. 1: Warhol, Andy, Statue of Liberty, 1986, synthetic polymer paint and acrylic on canvas, 127x177.8cm ⓒ2008 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/ ARS, New York
2: Close, Chuck, Arne, 1999-2000, oil on canvas,259.1x213.4cm ⓒ2008 Chuck Close, courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York, Photography by Ellen Page Wilson, courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York
3: Sherman, Cindy, Untitled #205, 1989, color photograph, 135.9x102.2cm, Edition 2 of 6 ⓒthe artist and Metro Pictures, Photograph by G. R. Christmas, courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York
4: Wang Guangyi, The Great Criticism: Country and DNA, 2008, oil on canvas
200x300x3cm ⓒWang Guangyi, Pace Beijing, Beijing, Photograph by Yang Chao
5: Zhang Xiaogang, Green Wall – about Sleep, 2008, oil on canvas, 250x300cm
ⓒZhang Xiaogang, Courtesy Pace Beijing, Beijing, Photograph by Yang Chao, Courtesy Pace Beijing, Beijing
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