China

What's behind China's spate of museum closures and downsizings?

As the country's economy takes a nosedive, its institutions face fiscal freeze and covert control amid an increasingly chaotic and arbitrary government censorship regime

Diaryblog

Escape from the British Museum—tale of a teapot returning to China goes viral

Two social media influencers—Pancake Fruit and Summer Sister—are behind the series posted on Douyin

The Week in Art | Special 250th episode: what’s next for the visual arts?

We ask leading art world figures about their hopes and concerns, and discuss what the future has in store for museums, the art market and artists with our long-term contributors Cristina Ruiz, Georgina Adam and Louisa Buck

Sponsored byChristie's

Couple behind Shanghai's Long Museum to sell part of their collection at Sotheby's

Paintings by Modigliani and Kusama among the 50 works to be offered in Hong Kong—with more potentially coming to the block in New York

National Gallery London masterpieces show in Shanghai sets record for visitor numbers

Beating the most popular paid-for exhibition on home turf, it has been a big win for the museum—but ethical questions linger

British Museum accused of using translator’s work without permission

Vancouver-based Yilin Wang says the London institution included their translations of Chinese poet Qiu Jin’s poems in its latest show—but did not credit her

Pop-up museum commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre opens in New York

A similar institution in Hong Kong was forcibly shuttered in 2021 following the passage of the city’s restrictive security law

Beijinganalysis

'The economy is bad, the mood is worse': Gallery Weekend Beijing returns under renewed fears of censorship

This is the event's first edition since China lifted its Covid restrictions

Sotheby's veteran Kevin Ching joins Christie's as chairman of Asia

Ching will be based in Hong Kong and starts the new role on Wednesday

Pillar of Shame sculpture seized by police in Hong Kong

Work commemorating Tiananmen Square tragedy is confiscated as part of "incitement to subversion" case

Asia Week New York bounces back from Covid-19 restrictions with $131m in sales

A print of the "Great Wave" by Hokusai sold for a record-breaking $2.8m at Christie’s during the series of exhibitions and auctions

M+ becomes one of the most-popular art museums in Asia, despite Covid closures

The new Hong Kong museum attracted more than 2 million people in its first full year

Will China’s museums still come out on top despite harsh Covid rules?

For much of 2022, Chinese cities were either in lockdown or braced for one

Half of Van Gogh’s most expensive paintings have sold to Chinese collectors

The burgeoning growth of the East Asian market pushes up prices for the artist’s work

Art Basel in Hong Kong bounces back as Covid restrictions lifted

The art fair will have 177 galleries this year, compared with 134 in 2022, but still fewer than before the pandemic

Chinanews

As 2023 dawns, the blank A4 sheet—brandished by protestors in China—is a potent political and artistic symbol

The white-paper revolution echoes art history, recalling Robert Ryman and the Philippines-based artist Kiri Dalena

Fairsnews

China’s art fairs get unexpected end-of-year boost as Covid-19 restrictions ease

Shanghai Art021, which was dramatically shut in November because of a single Covid case, is staging a two-location pop-up this month

Chinanews

Chinese government investigates sexual assault claims in art institutions

Enquiry prompted over wave of accusations at a major Beijing arts school

Art marketanalysis

Despite Shanghai fairs Art021 and West Bund shutting early due to Covid concerns, dealers report decent sales

Collectors were fewer and more local, but the moderate success of some galleries attests to the city’s enduring commercial cache

Chinanews

Trove of terracotta figurines discovered in ancient Chinese tomb

An archaeological team from the Datong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has unearthed a trove of well-preserved figures that provide a glimpse at life in the region 1,500 years ago

Chinaanalysis

‘Walls close in’ on China's art world as President Xi Jinping lays out cultural agenda

An "ideological tightening" is spreading through the country as its leader begins a norms-defying third five-year term

Shanghai's Art021 fair closes after just one day, apparently due to a single positive Covid-19 case

Event's founders says the decision was made to "effectively protect the health and public health safety of the exhibitors"

Shanghai looks to West Bund and Art021 fairs for economic boost as fresh lockdowns leave buyers cautious

Week-long hotel quarantines are still required of all international and Hong Kong arrivals to the mainland, deterring all but the most determined dealers

Phillips partners with Beijing auction house Yongle for series of joint sales

Joint venture announced amid declining sales figures at Chinese auction house

Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier sells Singapore freeport to Chinese crypto billionaire Jihan Wu for a reported $28.4m

Sale marks a significant loss for Bouvier, who paid $70m to build the state-of-the-art facility in 2010

Uffizi loan of self-portraits to the Bund One Art Museum opens ten-exhibition series in Shanghai

Show of works by 48 artists, from Bernini to Chagall, is first in a five-year programme worth €6m to the Florence museum

Which East Asian city will become the region's next market hub?

While Seoul is now the main contender to take Hong Kong's prime position, Tokyo and Taipei also present attractive prospects for the art trade

One of China’s oldest private art museums to close as Covid lockdowns lead to economic slump

The Guangdong Times Museum in Guangzhou will shut its exhibition space on 9 October

Hong Kong billionaire to build $1.4bn cultural complex on the coast of China's Shenzhen

Adrian Cheng's newest development K11 ECOAST is scheduled to open in 2024

China’s zero Covid restrictions have had significant impact on country’s commercial art scene

New report reveals that 77% of galleries had lower sales this year compared to last, while several art fairs were cancelled