China National Art Museum
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YANG YINGSHI, China Daily staff
2003-07-12 07:50:35
After closing for a thorough 15-month refurbishment, the China
National Art Museum will reopen on July 23.
"That day, visitors will be able to see not only the national art
museum with a new face, but also enjoy some fascinating exhibitions of
Chinese art," Yang Lizhou, director of the museum, told a press
conference yesterday in Beijing.
The reopening comes two months late because of delays due to the SARS
outbreak in Beijing. The ceremony was originally scheduled for May 23,
to mark the 40th anniversary of the museum's founding.
"We are glad that July 23 proves to be a better date. It allows us to
have more time to refine the facilities and prepare for the
exhibitions," Yang explained.
The China National Art Museum was closed for a major renovation in
late April of last year, amid widespread criticism over its outdated
facilities and inadequate management. It was felt that these areas
needed improvement to match its importance as the nation's top venue
for viewing modern and contemporary Chinese art.
The refurbishment of the art museum is among many substantial efforts
by the government to upgrade the facilities and services of cultural
institutions and meet the increasing demand for the arts among Chinese
and international visitors, insiders say.
According to Wu Qiong, a museum representative, the art museum will
give more weight to displaying permanent collections in its regular
exhibitions. As well, the interior exhibition environment has been
vastly improved and the installation of exhibits has become more
professional.
For the first time, five special exhibitions of the museum's permanent
collections will be shown on a rotating basis, with catalogues and
free pamphlets available.
In the past, the permanent collections were seldom open to the public,
although the museum is well known for housing more than 60,000
precious works of art in modern Chinese history. And most of them were
not catalogued.
One of the exhibitions is "100 Years of Fine Arts: Masterpieces in the
Collection of the China National Art Museum," which features more than
100 selected works by 100 famous artists in the 20th century.
The rest of the shows include an exhibition of papercut, a collection
of Western art works donated by the Ludwig family in Germany, and an
exhibition of works produced and donated by the late sculptor Liu
Kaiqu, the first director of the National Art Museum.
Hoping to upgrade the quality of its exhibitions, the museum has also
established a curatorial committee that includes renowned art
historians and critics such as Shao Dazhen, Shui Tianzhong, Fan Di'an,
Lang Shaojun, Liu Xiaochun, An Yuanyuan and Liu Xilin. Most of the
committee members are experts in their respective fields invited from
outside of the museum.
There have also been improvements to services for patrons which
include renovated restrooms, added seats for visitors to rest, more
elevators, and a fast food restaurants and a cafe in the facility.
Besides the permanent collection shows, an exhibition entitled "Open
Era" will also start on July 23. It will feature works by 126 Chinese
artists born after 1940 and active since the 1980s. The works are in
the categories of Chinese ink painting, oil painting, prints,
sculpture, and video works and installation.
"Noticeably, works by cutting-edge contemporary artists such as Cai
Guoqiang, Xu Bing and Fang Lijun will be featured in the exhibition,"
said Liu Xilin, a researcher and art critic from the museum. "This
represents the museum's increasing openness to Chinese new art."
A symposium called "Social Transformation and Artistic Evolution" will
also be held, attracting more than 40 leading art scholars and museum
administrators from across China to the National Art Museum.