145 pages. Full-color. Hardcover.
215 mm (H) x 280 mm (W)
Bilingual (Chinese & English)
ISBN 978-988-99266-8-7
To the WatchTower- Red Gate Gallery & contemporary art in China 到角樓去:紅門畫廊與中國當代藝術
about this book
To the Watchtower tells the story of Brian Wallace and Red Gate Gallery, the oldest gallery of contemporary Chinese art on the Mainland. Wallace first came to Beijing in 1984, and within a couple of years was staging exhibitions for the artists he met there. He vividly describes the art scene of the time as "oiled with energy," but still searching for a public: Young artists circulated through Beijing with slides of their work, or the works themselves tucked under their arm, hoping to connect with people interested in their art. They would exhibit these on foreigners' sofas (we called them "sofa shows") or guide the curious to their tiny homes, where the work would take over all the available space.
The book celebrates the gallery's 15th year in its iconic setting in the Dongbianmen Watchtower, and chronicles twenty years of Chinese contemporary art. Red Gate Gallery, with its pantheon of leading artists and its respected Artist in Residence Programs, has both reflected and shaped the world of contemporary Chinese art. Lavishly illustrated with the work of 19 major artists and including substantial critical essays.