day of art: beijing

today i took time to go visit the great wall of china, and don't let me be the first to tell you - it is one great big ole wall snaking along the mountain ridges outside of beijing. what was more exciting for me was my afternoon at beijing's 798 district, an artist colony with galleries, museums, cafes and shops.

i didn't see everything, but was very excited about a lot of what i did. notable and a must visit is the well curated UCCA [Ullens Center for Contemporary Art] www.ucca.org.cn which had quite a few good installations, a gorgeous cafe and shop as well [perfect future home for nooka i feel]. REM(A)INDERS at galleria continua was an amazing distillation of the detritus one finds in china - really made me smile the moment i walked in the voluminous space as i got the concept right away when i saw a full sized tree covered in colorful plastic bags. gallerista alessandra p. was a pleasure to talk to. there was a group show of young chinese talent at the beyond art space, managed by gallerista mila b. was good, but i was truly blown away by the work of art trio, UNMASK! their hyper-realistic sculptures of genetically engineered men touched so many of my reference points past and present that i almost bought one if not for the price tag. if you are in beijing this week, their is an opening of their solo show tomorrow which i am very sorry to miss [off to hong kong tomorrow]. i tried to find a link for their solo show as it's in a different gallery in 798, but nothing came up...

i included some fotos in the collage from my visit to the olympic village. the acid rain in beijing has already taken a toll on those new structures.

here are some links:
http://unmask.com.cn/
http://www.china.org.cn/english/798/236196.htm
http://www.ucca.org.cn
http://www.galleriacontinua.com
http://www.beyondartspace.com