Studio Gallery
Xinguo Road, Shanghai
Celine Zhuang
Owner of Studio Gallery
Art Flaneur (AF): How did the gallery space and residency programme come to be?
Celine Zhuang (CZ): In 2016, our earliest gallery, Twins Art was opened on Yuyuan Road. The residency programme was created one year after the gallery. At the time, my sister and I ran the gallery together, and I was responsible for all the projects and artists. A year later, it became the sad story you already know. The gallery was not making any money. Actually, it was losing a lot of money, so my sister left. Afterward, when I tried to summarise our experience during that year, I also considered other issues besides the revenue. I thought I learned how difficult it was to run a gallery or to operate a project, which actually made me excited. Exhibitions were only the result. Unless I can find meaningful content and our own attitude, as well as how I can clearly express that attitude, then the exhibitions I curate could be meaningless. It is a very straightforward result.
Twins Art
Yuyuan Road, Shanghai
Later we decided to do a residency programme. Our initial plan was to invite artists over to stay for a while so they can clearly express their process. But since we didn’t have a place for them to live in Shanghai, they couldn’t stay long enough for us to talk over their process and works. It became clear that we had to have a place for them to stay and work, and what we talked about based on their works could be valuable in the future. So the residency programme was formed. Besides, our space on Yuyuan Road was taken at that time, and I didn’t have enough money to rent a place downtown. That’s why we finally came all the way to Pujiang town to rent a house.
AF: At that time when this residency programme started, did you already have plans to connect it with gallery? Or did you differentiated one as a non-profit space and the other a commercial gallery space?
CZ: My initial thought was not to regard it as a standard residency programme. I felt that the physical space was still a gallery to me. We just hoped to use the residency programme as a way to show the preparation process for an exhibition. I didn’t have that kind of radicle ambition to run two spaces at the same time. But I remember when I found this space for the residency programme, I did re-register a company and gave it a new name. It was clear that I wanted to re-define it. But I didn’t think about if it would be non-profit.
Residency artist- GU Jian
AF: So the name, Studio Gallery is depicting a concept that combines a studio and a gallery?
Residency artist - YANG Renxi
CZ: Yes. I realised later that physically it was actually a studio and a gallery. Conceptually, we believe in doing down-to-earth kind of work. Whether it is the final result of an artwork, or imagination about the future, I don’t have any control over these things. What you can hold onto is the actual work you』ve done today. Art is just like that: you can’t really hold it in your hands, nor can you describe it very clearly. But if you just do some concrete work every day, bit by bit, it will bring out your imagination. Then you could stick to it and continue on. Art that can touch your soul should be created in such logic. It doesn’t mean every artist should be studio-based or should own a studio. But it is a process of studio practice that can help artists develop their imagination into real works. This is our attitude towards art, so we called it Studio Gallery.
Studio Annual Artist Talk, 2019
AF: Did you know that you wanted to promote young artists since the beginning, or did it gradually became clear as your work progresses?
CZ: This might be related to my previous job in an art gallery. When you get into the market, you notice that the artworks that were regarded as valuable and can sell are actually from relatively mature artists with certain recognition already. But I also felt like the artworks that truly moved me and were tangible were actually from lesser known artists. I didn’t mean to distinguish them based on artists』 experiences, but it was true that those I was able to reach were artists of my generation. So I went back to my art school, got in touch with my classmates, and also reached out to the artists who rented studios nearby. As long as they were still creating works, I would go to their studios and talk to them. I was amazed by what kept them creating, because there was no market for some of them; they couldn’t sell their works nor find gallery representation. What were their motivations? I thought if you are able to explain your motivation well, a large part of the value of your art could also be explained. And to put it simply, I still can’t reach some famous artists today. As long as you are willing to share your creative process with us without reservation, we are willing to present it objectively to the public.
Celine Zhuang and residency artist ZHANG Yi
AF: So the gallery exhibition is a separate project from the residency programme. Would you consider building prolonged relationships with artists from the residency programme? Say, representing them in the long-term and create a continuation within the gallery space.
Installation view, There, 2020
CZ: In the past, I have thought about what kind of artists we should represent in our gallery space. I don’t think you can just go on the street, meet someone, pay a visit to their studio and say, let’s do a show! Besides limited funding, personally, I』d like to be more cautious. If the works can’t convince me, I am not willing to do it. Just like you said, small galleries like ours are not a necessity. To make a point via exhibitions, if I can’t convey it clearly and poignantly, I』d rather not do it. I don’t need another show, neither does the art market. So back then, I asked myself: how can we find artists who can truly resonant with us. Hence, the residency programme becomes a primal field of experiment. Every artist in residency has gone through this process of selection. I visit their studios and communicate some ideas. Then, I invite them here, which is always fun. The artists are here for two to three months; it gives us the time and opportunity to get to know them. What they claim they are capable of doing and what they actually produce become very clear during this time. Also, we can decide whether the artists have the spark, whether their works move us. If they also see some value in what we can do for them, then there could perhaps be an exhibition. So, what we do here is to give the artists half a year to one year to make art and eventually come back for a show.
Installation view, There, 2020
AF: We have talked about a more realistic problem last time. When you release this kind of information online, the artists will come to apply. How do you choose artists from the applicants?
CZ: We choose artists very loosely in the past because there were not many applicants. If someone recommended the artist to us, we would have a studio visit; if the artist was abroad, we would use Skype or WeChat to communicate. As long as I could go, I would definitely go to visit the studio, talk about his or her motivations, and then we would arrange the time.
Residency artist - LIU Jiadong
Now with more and more artists hoping to join us, we set up an application system. You need to prepare a relatively complete portfolio about yourself and your ideas, then we make an appointment with the artist and go through the portfolio together. If the artist is not someone we want to work with, we would rather keep the studio empty. If the artist touches us in some way, then we consider the next steps. Since there are all kinds of artists now, we want to save our right to criticise and keep our attitude.
AF: Sometimes the aim of a project is to present artworks in a sufficient manner, so sales may not be the most critical consideration in this situation. The residency programme itself is non-profit, as it provides accommodation and other costs; however, from the perspective of a gallery, profit is also desirable. Therefore, as an art institution, how do you achieve the balance between profit and non-profit?
LIU Jiadong, Go Boating, Twins Art
CZ: We did not make a profit at the beginning, but we did try to sell artworks. Many artworks from the exhibition, except those that are quite conceptual and formless, are to some extent welcomed and purchased. Thanks to the current business environment in China, there are many quirky projects now such as hotel projects, interior design projects, and personal commissions.
Graduated with a degree in sculpture, I initially conceived of a sculpture-oriented gallery, which only sold sculptures to promote the gallery’s reputation quickly. However, after talking with many artists, I was told that this idea was not realistic. Similar to making a piece of art, one could not simply come up with ideas; rather, one has to face the reality and make it out step by step. Therefore, I gave up my naive imagination. We were lucky enough to get at least one project a year. So we don’t have to starve, and can finally do our own exhibitions.
OU Ming, Speed, Twins Art
AF: That's not easy. Do you think the overall business environment in China is friendly to such an institution?
CZ: I think it keeps me thinking and learning. I ask myself why I need a residency programme. It's just that I find a kind of equilibrium out of working with these artists. When you see them concentrating on one thing in such an inspiring condition and a driven mood, you realise life is so short. Succeeding at one thing in your life is not easy. Following your mind, do what you want to do. If you can't do it, just go back to work. That’s what I believe in. The business environment also forces me to consider many aspects: for example, artists could question their identity and loose self-confidence if their works cannot sell. This made me realise that I also have to change. I learned business strategies not only from the environment in China but also from other galleries in Europe. Those European galleries have a small office to layout prints, albums, and sketches. I was wondering why such a big gallery would do this since it's not profitable. They told me the reason is to make connections between an exhibition and the visitors. Only when the visitors bring something back home from an exhibition, will they remember the exhibition and keep following the career of the artist. I was inspired by this idea. As soon as I got back home, I changed my office into a shop. I used to look down on things like editions and prints, but now I think differently. I believe the visitors who buy our newspapers, or small bags will come back to see our exhibitions again. It's like what they said, we』ve made a connection.
AF: Can you elaborate on the newspapers?
Newspapers Artist Talk produced by Studio Gallery
CZ: I contacted various bookstores earlier to send them our newspapers, and even reached out to schools with little response. The Mix Place (bookstore Hengshan Heji in Shanghai) was very enthusiastic to display them in their windows and give them out for free. However, we encountered two problems in practice. Firstly, it was hard to follow up on who took the newspapers. Also, we did not know whether or not the papers were treated well and stored properly. It turned out to be not an effective way to reach our audience. Therefore, we started to sell newspapers ourselves. In terms of the price, our team, lacking self-confidence, said 5 RMB, or even 3 RMB like the actual newspapers. But I insisted on the price of 15 RMB. People who think the newspaper is worth it will end up buying it. We put a lot of effort into recording, translating, filming, editing, and printing these documents. Because of Covid-19, we started to sell our newspapers online. I’m surprised that people who have followed our gallery actually bought the newspapers in our online shop; they even wrote feedback comments, which really encouraged me to keep working.
Eventually, the price was set at 15 RMB for each copy, and 100 RMB for a complete set. We originally wanted to make a beautiful box for the newspapers. Several copies can be bounded into a book that is presented as a collection on bookshelves. Now our newspaper becomes an exclusive feature. Before we made the first issue of the newspaper, we did not believe it could be successful, yet it is now thriving. We realised the value of accumulation, and some answers are revealed slowly. To us, feedback is a strong motivation to keep us working. Currently, we would like to dig deep and find more topical contents, so that more people can participate in the conversations.
AF: Indeed, many young European collectors don't purchase an item/work to gain pleasure from it but rather they hold the idea that this thing can understand them better than human beings. And what they see from the artwork is a kind of dialogue between them. These collectors would continue to pay attention to the series of artworks and the artist who produce them. This may be the original motivation for collectors in our generation.
CZ: Yes. I agree. It is important to see the person and story behind an artwork. I believe in the people and their nature. I hope to see things in an artist that impresses me deeply. All of my money is on the project. If I have to skip a meal tomorrow to buy a piece of artwork, what would it be? It's an important question to ask.
When I first started in the gallery business, I was really an amateur. I held the simple logic that if I sell the works from my favourite artists and I sell them cheap, I could make some real sales. Not long after, I realised that if the gallery lacks character, I could even lose my own motivation, not to mention the sales. Putting together a successful gallery is not like starting a restaurant that draws in customers naturally. It is more about the essence of the gallery and how I am involved. And, luckily for me, I made some really important transitions along the way. I wouldn’t call my first year in this business a success, so I kept thinking about what went wrong. Not Until I start to see things as a gallery owner, I realised that there are certain distinctions between galleries.
What is the eco-system behind a gallery? And what is the role of a gallery? Is it irreplaceable? What is the connection between the gallery and the artists? And between the clients? These are some questions that I often ponder upon. I realised that there are galleries that are quite nourishing to me as I start to examine my surrounding with these questions. There are quite a few western galleries in China, and the first thing you see is their names. But what is behind those simple combinations of letters? What values did the owners try to infuse in the names? Now I can really feel the differences between each gallery. There are the ones that build connection with people from the ground up, and they flourish in this generation into something special. When I see what they do, my goals do not feel as unattainable. I have always been a committed person. If I decided to do something, I would keep pushing as far as I could go. I feel lucky to witness some galleries grow over the years. Some of them took decades to grow into maturity, so I am willing to take my time.
- NEXT -
Identity of Artists Educated Overseas and the Art Market
SPECIAL THANKS
(names are sorted in alphabetical order)
Project lead
Skye Chen, Serein Liu, Jo Liu
Interviewer
Serein Liu, Jo Liu, Roxy Tang, Eva Zhao
Transcribe & translate
Léa Gu, Esther He, Chunchun Tao, Maria Xu, Nemo Xu, Ziqi Zhang, Mi Zhou
Editor
Skye Chen, Esther He, Serein Liu, Jo Liu, Michelle Lu, Zhiya Wang, Eva Zhao
Research & Materials
Qingyuan Dong, Sophia Ge, Michelle Lu, Ziqi Zhang
Layout
Léa Gu, Serein Liu
All images courtesy Studio Gallery
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