30周年 | 30年前

Red Gate Timeline Online View

识别二维码，浏览红门画廊30周年时间轴

30 Years Ago 30年前

作者：布朗 Brian Wallace

在红门画廊最初于北京东便门角楼开办之前，我与朋友们已于1988和1989年组织过一些展览，就在从东便门沿路向前的古观象台。

Before we first opened our doors at the Watchtower, friends and I had been organising exhibitions in 1988 and 1989 just up the road at the Ancient Observatory. 

展览请柬，1988年

Exhibition Invitation Card, 1988

展览请柬，1988年

Exhibition Invitation Card, 1988

在那时，年轻的艺术家们带着其作品的幻灯片，或者干脆将作品直接夹在腋下，穿梭于北京城，希望与对艺术感兴趣的人们打交道。他们会在外国人家里的沙发上展示其作品（我们把这叫做“沙发秀”），或者领着好奇的人们到其狭小的住所，在那里把有限的空间全部用来展示作品。在这样的条件下，光是要想看到作品全貌，就得大费周折。

Young artists circulated through Beijing with slides of their work, or the work itself tucked under their arm, hoping to connect with people interested in their art.  They would exhibit on foreigners’ sofas (we called them “sofa shows”) or guide the curious to their tiny homes, where the work would take over all the available space, and it was a challenge just to be able to see it. 

展览请柬，1989年

Exhibition Invitation Card, 1989

这些初出茅庐的年轻艺术家得不到他们的支持帮助，只好与艺术赞助人在北京四处寻找各种其它场所来组织展览。令人称奇的是，在很多情况下，我们竟然得以借用那些恢宏壮观的场所，诸如圆明园、孔庙、万寿寺、日坛公园、智化寺、古观象台以及其它场所。由此可见，现代中国艺术首先是在精美绝伦的中国传统建筑中崭露头角的。

These young artists were traveling from all over the country to Beijing, leaving the blissful innocence of the provinces to wander through the Bohemian world of the Beijing art scene, literally and figuratively at the margins of the city in environs like the Old Summer Palace and later Tongxian and Songzhuang.  It was an environment at once daunting, exhilarating, impoverished, but oiled with energy. 

展览请柬，1989年

Exhibition Invitation Card, 1989

1991年的北京气氛开始变宽松，工商界与中国国家本身又在对外开放了，人们开始陆续返回。各种可能性与机会，希望与成熟条件一并而来。开始出现一种新的能量，老百姓又找到了久违的轻松与活力。小生意、饭店、酒吧以及大一些的生意开始找到自信，要大干一番，我们来到了一个人们纷纷下海淘金的时代。尽管那是由商业利益驱动的，但一个新的黎明毕竟来到了！

In 1991, Beijing was beginning to relax, and the business community and China itself was opening up again – people were returning.  Possibilities and opportunity, hope and maturity came together.  There was a new energy - the resilience of the populace was back!  Small businesses, restaurants, bars, larger businesses were gaining the confidence to have a go – the period of “jumping into the sea” (xia hai) was with us.  A new dawn – even if it was a commercially-led dawn – had arrived.

01

红门画廊第一版请柬草稿正面

Draft front

02

红门画廊第一版请柬草稿背面

Draft back

03

红门画廊第一版请柬草稿内页

Draft inside

红门画廊第一版请柬草稿

请左右滑动，查看更多

The 1st invitation card draft of Red Gate Gallery.

Slide to view more.

我们找到古观象台，试看能否在紫微殿内租到这个以前曾经长期使用的场所。管事的说不行，但是主动提出将我们引荐给一个什么“东便门角楼”的管理者。在完全不知何为“东便门角楼”的情况下，我们被领着沿二环路一直走到了那里。东便门角楼在北京老城城墙的东南角，是拆除老北京城墙时硕果仅存的几个角楼之一。角楼结构曾经受到严重损坏，无人重视，不过80年代晚期，政府加以修复，恢复了它应该具有的恢宏建筑结构，以见证诉说大明王朝的权威与文治武功。

我们被允许租借东便门角楼的最高层，并于1991年7月举办了红门画廊的开幕展，展示年轻艺术家的作品。这些艺术家包括张亚杰、大弓、王利丰、吕佐耕及王鲁炎。这是艺术界中令人兴奋的一刻。红门的设想是为年轻的中国艺术家们提供专业性展示空间，将其作品推介给观众，包括其它艺术家，以及更富于冒险精神的常住北京的外籍人士。我们并不知晓能将作品卖给谁以支持画廊运行。但是基于以前的经验以及那种重要的直觉，我还是满怀信心，觉得事情在向前行，且前途光明。画廊开业的当天我们有了第一单交易（大弓的一件作品，卖给了一个朋友 Jeff Turner)。

We approached the Ancient Observatory to see if we could rent the Purple Hall (Ziweidian) within the garden pavilion that we had used before on a long-term basis.  They declined, but offered to introduce us to the management of the “Dongbianmen Jiaolou”.  Not knowing what a “dongbianmen jiaolou” was, we were walked down the second ring road to the Dongbianmen Corner Tower (Watchtower) on the south-east corner of the old city wall, one of the few Ming towers to have survived the destruction of the city wall.  Though the structure had been heavily damaged and neglected, the Government had restored it during the late 80’s to the magnificent structure it was meant to be: a testament to the power and culture of the Ming Dynasty.

We were offered the top floor, and in July 1991 held our inaugural show of young artists.  The artists were Zhang Yajie, Da Gong, Wang Lifeng, Lv Zuogeng and Wang Luyan.  It was an exciting time for the art scene.  Red Gate’s vision was to provide a professional space for young Chinese artists to present their work to an audience which at that time consisted of other artists and the more adventurous expatriates posted to Beijing.  We had no idea where the sales would come from to support a gallery operation.  But I had the confidence from the previous experiences and that all- important “gut” feeling that things were on the move.  That very first day we had our first sale (a Da Gong to a friend, Jeff Turner).

01

红门画廊第一版请柬印刷版

Front

02

红门画廊第一版请柬印刷版

Back

03

红门画廊第一版请柬印刷版

Inside

红门画廊第一版请柬印刷版

请左右滑动，查看更多

The 1st invitation card print of Red Gate Gallery.

Slide to view more.

节选自《到角楼去 红门画廊与中国当代艺术》 ISBN 978-988-99266-8-7

有部分删减

红门画廊

红门画廊Red Gate Gallery由澳大利亚籍人士布朗·华莱士Brian Wallace创办于1991年，是中国最早经营当代艺术的外资画廊。三十年来，红门画廊始终致力于中国当代艺术推广和国际艺术联络。邀请国际、国内知名策划人在红门画廊策划当代艺术活动，进行高水平的学术交流，向中国观众介绍国内外当代艺术，为中国当代艺术的发展以及中西方的艺术交流做出了巨大的贡献。

图片来源为红门画廊

版权归红门画廊和艺术家所有

Images courtesy of Red Gate Gallery

Copyright Red Gate Gallery and the artists

Red Gate Gallery @ 798

更多媒体资料，请联系

[e-mail]

For more information, please contact

[e-mail]

Directions to Red Gate Gallery

地图索引

Copyright © 2021 Red Gate Gallery, All rights reserved.

Tel | 电话 : [phone]

Email | 邮箱 : [e-mail]

Address: 798 Art District, No. 2 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

地址 : 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路2号, 798艺术区