When the Chinese title of this exhibition -“玩 /Have fun, play” and “画廊/Gallery”, is translated literally, one is likely to arrive at a similarly short translation.

It is the English title, however, slightly longer and more “directional” that was decided first, and it was indicative of my own curiosity and doubts about the nature of a gallery. I left it to Fengboyi to find a suitable title in Chinese. In making it more succinct and direct, Fengboyi’s title became the official name of the exhibition; the English version, on the other hand, came to be more of a subtitle, indicating the exhibition’s direction and feeling.

As a preface to this exhibition’s catalog, I would like to briefly share the entire process that led to its creation. Looking back at it, I believe that why it happened and the way it happened are part of the title’s “moment of truth”. Fengboyi and I happened to be at an opening in Korea, and while sharing this happy moment, we decided that we wanted to have an exhibition of very young artists who would bring new life into the gallery space. We wanted something, as we profanely described it, “fun and cool”. When we met again to choose the artists, we looked solely at the artist’s actual works. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the ones we selected were nearly entirely female. (Apologies to the only gentleman in the show, but I believe he will enjoy it). 

For the design, we devised a competition: we asked four very young designers with different styles to present a proposal within a limited amount of time. Two out of four were finally able to present a project. Since we found both of their designs surprisingly creative, we asked them if they would be willing to work together on the project. We also gave them one stipulation in agreeing to accept: it had to be fun for them. They agreed and what took place was a very fascinating and engaging collaboration.
Many of the participant artists also, have shared with me that they appreciated the title of the exhibition. They seemed to be attracted to the feeling that they could play and enjoy themselves in the gallery - of course, more in concept than in actual deed (we have yet to see any crazy dance moves, but perhaps during the opening ceremony…)

I hope that this brief background on the process gives some answers to the exhibition title. The question solicits many thoughts, but it is mainly trying to direct attention, against the background of Chinese art, to the role of an art gallery in the interconnected universe of art. A gallery, as a complex system composed by many internal factors, remains a commercial organization. This fact often engenders a certain degree of seriousness over what is suitable for exhibition. Finding new artists, giving them space to develop their capabilities, and most importantly experimenting - that is the fun for a gallery. Can a gallery just “enjoy” and get away with it?