From Reuters:
Chinese artists buoyed by several years of soaring prices have joined the Olympics bandwagon, adding to fears that the quality of contemporary Chinese art is suffering in the dash for cash.
In the early 1990s, Beijing only had a handful of art galleries but there are now several hundred, coming hand-in-hand with a rise in global interest in contemporary Chinese art.About 130 of these are located in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, the largest of three art districts which is housed on a former state-owned electronics factory site, and some have hung Olympic-themed paintings featuring the Bird’s Nest stadium and sports.
But not everyone is convinced that the Chinese art world will benefit from latching on to the Olympics as another way to money.
“I think it is a bit far fetched to always try to seek out a relationship,” said Elise Cousseran, spokeswoman for the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA).
