COURTESY CHRISTIE’S
This Saturday, Christie’s will open a new flagship space in Beijing, which will be the auction house’s third permanent location in China, after opening in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The new space in Beijing will be located in a three-level building, with 8,600 square feet to operate in, on Jinbao Street, in the Dongchen District.
What will those 8,600 square feet be used for? Well, there will be “exhibition and office space,” according to a press release. There will be “state-of-art facilities.” There will also be “a multifunctional and interactive venue for exhibitions, art forums, lectures and other activities.”
But it’s unclear whether there will be a salesroom, where auctions can take place, because that wasn’t mentioned in the press release. (Sotheby’s began conducting auctions out of its Beijing salesroom in 2013.)
“We are proud to have found Christie’s a new home in Beijing, a city that is characterized by its tremendous cultural heritage and a profound collecting tradition,” Christie’s CEO Patricia Barbizet said in a statement. “Christie’s continues to grow and invest in China and our new Beijing space marks an important milestone during our 250 year mission to connect art and collectors. We look forward to further exchanges with the art community and contributing to the diversified Chinese cultural landscape.”
The first exhibition at the space will explore Picasso’s connection to Chinese artists—his profound influence on them, and their influence on him, sort of. “While Picasso’s paintings and his various artistic styles may not reveal distinct influences from Chinese art, the artist, in fact, was familiar with and curious about the Middle Kingdom’s rich painting tradition,” the release said.