H
ongKong is oftendescribed as a vigorous art
marketplace andprimarily a storefront for
Chinese contemporary art.Most ofHongKong’s
art galleries represent Chinese contemporary artists and
among them is de SartheGallery, which is known for its
focus on 19th and 20th centuryAsian andWesternmasters
aswell asChinese contemporary art. Director Pascal de
Sarthe is a Frenchmenwell-versedwith theAsianmarket,
“Workingwithdifferent kinds of collectors in this business,
youhave to sell what youknow.”
ParisianSojourn
AnddeSarthe certainlyknowshis trade.He saysChina’s
contemporaryart is so intertwinedwith itshistory that it’s
not possible todiscussonewithoutmentioning theother.
Toput things into context, deSarthe explains, “When the
Revolution in1911overthrew themonarchand founded the
RepublicofChina, theChinesegovernment sponsored some
artists togo toParis to learnwestern realism.Artists like
XuBeihong, PanYuliangandLinFengmian, after spending
time inParis, returned toChina tohead someof themost
important art academies in the country.”
After that, along came theCulturalRevolutionwhenmost
of the artwas tragicallydestroyed. “The artistswho returned
toChinaobviouslyhad some influenceover the local artists,
but at that time itwasmostlyused forpropaganda.”Xu
Beihong, for instance,went toRussiaandwas so impressed
with theRussian realismof the time thatwhenhe came
back, heused it topromote socialism,much to theChinese
PascaldeSarthe, directorof
deSartheGallery, talksChinese
contemporaryart
香港德薩畫廊創辦人帕斯卡爾．德薩
暢論中國當代藝術面貌
French
Connection
ZaoWou-Ki
趙無極
02.04.59
1959
Oil oncanvas
油畫
91 x 132cm
8
9
