30周年 | 李严 - 有幸成为红门画廊的一员

三十年前布朗创办了红门画廊；于是“红门画廊”和“布朗”这两个名词一直活跃至今。

十年前，我还在校读书，经朋友介绍去协助一位老师完成他作品中雕塑的部分。期间得知这位老师是艺术家，而且还是红门画廊合作的艺术家。于是两个名词中我就先知道了“红门画廊”。

五年前，刚到北京，在展览上经朋友的介绍：“这位是布朗先生”；于是我又有幸知道了“布朗”。布朗说话不多，眼睛有神，闲聊间看了我的”太空系列“作品集，互留了联系方式，不说好，也不说坏。此后两个月，某一天，布朗发来信息，开门见山--我打算给你做一个展览。于是《入侵式软体》在布朗的筹备下顺利隆重的举行了，也是同年我有幸成为红门画廊的一员。

今年是画廊成立30周年，作为大家庭里的一员在祝贺之余，还有着更多的期盼，五年之后，十年之后，三十年之后...

李严 写于景德镇

2016年，《入侵式软体》开幕现场

Thirty years ago, Brian founded Red Gate Gallery - the words "Red Gate Gallery" and "Brian" have been active to this day.

Ten years ago, I was still studying in school. I was introduced by a friend to help a teacher complete the sculpture part of his work. During the period, I learned that this teacher is an artist working with Red Gate. So I knew about the words "Red Gate” at first.

I went to Beijing five years ago and was introduced by a friend: "This is Brian Wallace"; so I was fortunate to know "Brian" again. He didn't talk much, his eyes were lustrous. He looked at my Space Series portfolio while chatting, and left contact information. He didn't say that my work was good or bad. Two months later, one day, he sent a message, straight to the point - "I will make an exhibition for you. So Pastel-ization was successfully and grandly held under Brian's preparation in The Opposite House. In the same year, I was fortunate to become a member of Red Gate Gallery.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the founding of the gallery. As a member of the big family, apart from congratulating, there are more expectations. Five years later, ten years later, thirty years later...

Li Yan in Jingdezhen

Li Yan is putting the pressure on! 😊 Which is unlike him – he was a pleasure to work with installing his show at The Opposite House in 2016, and has been fun to work with for other group shows, and art fairs. Also, he is a perfect host! In the hot summer of 2019, Laurens Tan and I took a trip to Jingdezhen to see Li Yan and Li Xiaofeng where he drove us around acquainting us with the international art and studio scene. We were also given tours of the imperial kilns and other historical sites and museums preserving the rich contribution of porcelain production in China.  

布朗、艺术家李晓峰和艺术家谭思考在景德镇。李严拍摄。

Brian, Li Xiaofeng (aritst) and Laurens Tan (artist) at Jingdengzhen

Photo by Li Yan

One of the take-aways of this visit was about the development of the art scene in these so-called 2^nd and 3^rd tier cities. Because of the cost of living, slow market and possibility of losing your Beijing studio (again!), my feeling was that many artists were considering the value of sticking it out in China’s major metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai. Trips to other regional cities such as Xiamen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Changsha and Wuhan suggested that these cities offered a different life-style, not so fast-paced, cheaper and more laid back. Jingdezhen offered excellent facilities for artists from around the world, particularly for those working with porcelain. Gone were the perceptions that these locations were lost in the countryside and artists were working in isolation.

As well, with internet and social media - and high-speed trains - artists were still connected to the big cities where they might have gallery representation. Today, it is very easy to take a trip for their shows, or to visit important openings. And not just for Beijing and Shanghai – they can easily travel to other regional cities where many excellent new museums are hosting a broad range of quality exhibitions.

Back to our host Li Yan. In between studio and museum visits, there were special lunches at his favorite downtown  diner, afternoon coffees, and fabulous dinners in special restaurants hidden in the surrounding hills shared with other artists. But more special was a visit to Li Yan’s home to drink tea. There is no pressure in this town!

Brian

李严一家。布朗拍摄。

Li Yan family. Photo by Brian

李严现在压力有点大！😊

 这有点不太像他——2016年，他很乐于在瑜舍酒店展示他的装置作品，在其他的群展和艺博会上，我们一起工作的也很开心。当然，他还是个完美的东道主。2019年，我和谭思考在炎热的夏天去景德镇探望李晓峰和李严。他带着我们见识了更多国际艺术和工作室的场景。我们还参观了御窑以及其他保留了丰富中国瓷器历史的遗址博物馆。

布朗、艺术家李晓峰和艺术家谭思考在景德镇。李严拍摄。

Brian, Li Xiaofeng (aritst) and Laurens Tan (artist) at Jingdengzhen

Photo by Li Yan

这次旅程的另一个收获是关于所谓二三线城市艺术领域发展的。因为生活成本和疲软的市场，你会（再次）失去北京的工作室。我觉得很多艺术家已经在考虑离开北京和上海这样的大都会。我在厦门、杭州、南京、成都、长沙和武汉以及其他地区城市旅行的经历表明，这些城市提供了不同的生活方式，没有那么快节奏，更便宜，更悠闲。景德镇为来自世界各地的艺术家、尤其是创作瓷器作品的艺术家们提供了一流的设施。在距离这些地方不远的农村，艺术家们正孤独的创作中。

并且，通过互联网和社交网络——还有高铁——艺术家们依然可以和代表大城市的画廊保持联系。当下，想要去参观他们的展览、或是出席重要的开幕式都是很容易的事情，不仅仅是北京或上海——他们可以很轻松的前往其他的地区城市，那里有着更优质的新美术馆，正不断举办着各种高品质的展览。

说回我们的东道主李严——在带我们参观工作室和博物馆之余，他还陪我们到市中心那边他最喜欢的小饭馆吃了很不一样的午餐和午后咖啡，还去了个隐藏在山里的餐厅和其他的艺术家们一起吃了美味的晚宴。当然，更特别的，是去李严家里饮茶。这个小镇，是没有压力的。

布朗

布朗在景德镇，拍摄：李严

Brian at Jingdezhen. Photo by Li Yan

部分图片及资料由李严提供。

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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

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Red Gate Gallery @ 798

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

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