A Picasso exhibition at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing (UCCA), featuring loans from the Musée Picasso Paris, has been cancelled and a proposed facelift of the private gallery by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas has been put on hold. The moves follow the announcement in June that the art centre founded and funded by the Belgian collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in the Chinese capital in 2007 is up for sale.
After Rauschenberg The UCCA has continued with planned exhibitions for 2016, including Rauschenberg in China this summer and several solo shows including Hong Kong’s Nadim Abbas and mainland artist Zeng Fanzhi this autumn. The Picasso exhibition “was in very early discussions in June, but we have decided not to proceed with this as the logistics and costs to bring in this travelling show in this time-frame were very significant”, an Ullens Foundation spokesman tells The Art Newspaper. “Philip Tinari [UCCA director] and the team are currently programming for 2017 and will be announcing the programme later this year.”
Regarding the planned facelift by Rem Koolhaas, the spokesman says: “Conversations took place earlier this year about a renovation and reconfiguration of UCCA’s public areas. This project has been put on hold until after the sale [of UCCA].”
The search for a new backer has fuelled speculation in China about the private museum’s long-term future. “We are still in the preparation phase for the process to find the right buyer to secure the future of UCCA,” says the spokesman. Rumours that potential Chinese buyers include a prominent artist are “unfounded”, says the spokesman.
Future of 798 arts district The Chinese art world is sceptical of UCCA’s insistence that little will change in the operation of the centre, and many worry about the potential impact on the 798 arts district in north-east Beijing, where the gallery has been a focal point since it opened.
A sprawling compound of converted 1950s industrial buildings, 798 started attracting artists’ to its studios in the early 2000s, and galleries, shops and restaurants soon followed. However rapid gentrification and rising rents quickly forced all but the most successful artists to move their studios elsewhere. In 2007, the district’s galleries peaked at more than 200 but many of these closed during the financial crisis, according to a report this summer on the Chinese website Artron.
However, many spaces are still going strong, including M Woods Museum, the Faurschau Foundation, Pace Beijing and Beijing Commune. Veteran occupant Long March Space finished a renovation of its gallery this summer, while Gallery Yang reopened in a new 798 location in June. Recent newcomers include Tabula Rasa Gallery, Tong Gallery+Projects and the Goethe-Institut’s Beijing arts centre.