Here is a review I did on assignment for eChinacities.com, of some galleries in Beijing:

http://www.echinacities.com/Cityguide/Beijing/news/Best-in-Town.aspx?n=4334

Below is the unedited version, sans photos and directions.

Gallery Review: Underrated Galleries in Beijing Stand Out in Caochangdi

Although the Caochangdi “gallery district” is a mere ten-minute taxi ride from the well-known 798 complex, it receives only a fraction of the foot-traffic. This is unfortunate not only for the galleries, but also for both the critical as well as casual gallery-goer, since so much notable art can be found there. Over all, the galleries in Caochangdi are more geographically spread out than those in 798, serving as an allegory for the wide range of art one can find there. Considering the relatively small size of Caochangdi, the diversity of materials and themes available in the galleries is on par with what one would find in a larger, more populous gallery district.

Below are descriptions of three exceptional galleries that stand out in Caochangdi, and also stand out in Beijing. These galleries – Galerie Urs Meile, the Boers-Li Gallery, and Three Shadows Photography Art Center – may suffer from underexposure, and thus stand somewhat underrated amongst the other “big name” galleries across the way, but they do not suffer from lack of high-concept mission, or lack of high-quality art.

All are large enough to sustain more than the passing or casual interest, although none of them require the time one would spend in a museum. All are fortunately within a five-minute walk from each other as well. After seeing one gallery, the short walk to the next gallery is a pleasant way to reconsider what you have just seen before moving on. The great thing is that this walk is done in the relative quietness of the area, without the crowds of more popular locations.

Three Shadows Photography Art Center (155 Caochangdi Cun, Chaoyang District. 85 10 6432 2663. info@threeshadows.cn. Tuesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM.)

The Three Shadows Photography Art Center is probably the best point of entry for the Caochangdi galleries, lying at the center of the district. The center itself is an elegant complex including an open yard, an older, industrial, red brick building, and an elegant gray brick gallery complex that unfolds around the yard, designed to by Ai Weiwei. The center itself was founded by photographer couple Rong Rong and inri in 2007, in order to exhibit works by underrepresented and emerging photographers. In addition to the gallery space, the center also houses a café, shop, and an impressive library of photography history, theory, and monographs.

One aspect of the center that is remarkable is its willingness to take risks through contests and group exhibitions – showing some very surprising work as a result. At present there is an installation by artists Zhuang Hui and Dan’er, documenting and interrogating the history of Yumen, the once oil-rich city in Gansu province. But showing conceptually-inclined work like this is not an exceptional feature of the center; the range of work exhibited will often at least allow room for the conceptual as well as the more normative. And overall, this is the reason that the Three Shadows Photography Art Center is worth visiting. It has an outstanding mission, and shows work that likely would most unfortunately be left sight unseen.

Galerie Urs Meile (104 Caochangdi Cun, Chaoyang District. 86 10 643 333 93. galerie@galerieursmeile.com. Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 6:30 PM.)

Galerie Urs Meile is situated in the actual village of Caochangdi Cun, easily recognized amidst the run-down white-tile buildings that populate the area. The gallery complex is recognizable for its height, unusual design, and also for its gray brickwork. Again, like Three Shadows, Galerie Urs Meile was designed by Ai Weiwei – whom it also represents, along with other well-known experimental artists such as Tracy Snelling or, as with his current controversial (and somewhat repulsive) exhibition called “The Wings of Live Art,” He Yunchang. Galerie Urs Meile, which has a sister gallery in Lucerne, Switzerland, has become known for bold new works from established avant-garde artists in China and the West. In addition to the gallery spaces at the Urs Meile complex, they also play host an artist-in-residence program, allowing Western artists the chance to come live and work in Beijing.

The gallery is notable not only for its location on-site in the village, not only for its buildings, and not only for the artists that give it the reputation it has, but also for what the gallery-goer can expect from any visit there: surprise. For example, the current show has gorey video footage, photographs of family and friends, and somewhat realistic paintings (in addition to the object of the exhibition – the rib the artist had surgically removed). But one could just as easily stumble upon the conceptual videos of Changan Jie traffic that Ai Weiwei once had commissioned. It is this range of work, all under the taut control of professional artists, that make Galerie Urs Meile worth a visit.

Boers-Li Gallery (A-8 Caochangdi Cun, Chaoyang District. 86 10 6432 2620. info@boersligalerry.com. Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 AM to 6 PM.)

The Boers-Li Gallery, oldest of the three reviewed here (founded 2005), stands along the edge of Caochangdi, in its warehouse district. Comprised of two large warehouse-galleries, it is also the largest of the three, indeed one of the largest in the area in terms of square meters. However, the Boers-Li Gallery doesn’t just pack the works in tightly, but rather uses the space to help emphasize the work exhibited – work that is, as in the gallery’s stated purpose, new and experimental.

Going to the Boers-Li Gallery thus gives one the feeling of a more “underground” gallery, probably just as much due to the stark buildings as to the new (not big name) work that pushes the boundaries of what art can say, and what art is allowed to do. As with Galerie Urs Meile, the Boers-Li Gallery is not media specific, although its focus on lesser-known artists is similar to Three Shadows and most of the other, smaller galleries in Caochangdi.

It also has hosted experimental music events, and is also a great place to attend one of its dressed-down openings and see the truly wide variety of people who attend. Of the three galleries reviewed here, Boers-Li stands out for being the place for surprising work by emerging artists, and for being a great place to just casually stroll through the galleries. The amount of interesting work shown at the Boers-Li Gallery stands out in the city for its liveliness.

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