Leng Lin (President, Pace Beijing) 

Year of the Ox: Pace Beijing re-opened after a year-long renovation with the exhibition Zhang Xiaogang: The Records, which was undoubtedly one of my favourite exhibitions of the year and a milestone in his career. The exhibition Liu Jianhua – Horizon at Beijing Commune showed a new direction for artist. Artworks and exhibitions are neither events nor expression of experience any more, but appear as a form of beauty. This signals a tremendous change for individual artists as well as China’s art scene.

Year of the Tiger: In upcoming year Pace Beijing will host exhibitions by Yin Xiuzhen, Zhang Heng and Song Dong. Great Performance is the one I’m really looking forward to.

Evelyn Lin (Director, China & Southeast Asia, Head of Contemporary Asian Art, Sotheby’s, Hong Kong)

Year of the Ox: The very thing excited me in last year was Sotheby’s Contemporary Asian Art Auction. We added a lot of new categories, such as Hong Kong art, conceptual art and Japanese and Korean art, in addition to works by artists seldom seen at auction, such as Huang Yongli, Chen Zhen and new-generation artist Li Songsong.

Year of the Tiger: Besides the auctions, I am most looking forward to the Hong Kong Art Fair in May. With a full range of amenities, Hong Kong is becoming the centre for Asia art and I hope we can have an art fair at the same level as Art Basel and Art Miami. Hong Kong is now the third biggest art market following New York and London and this is definitely drawing global attention.

Tozer Pak Sheung-chuen (Artist)

Year of the Ox: The Osage exhibition Jiang Zhi: Attitude. He skillfully uses the mass media as a stage to challenge the audience to think about the contrast between real and imaginary. Hong Kong people were particularly shocked by one of the works which showed the pop star Gillian Chung crying.

Year of the Tiger:  I am most looking forward to the Taipei Biennial. It has become one of the most daring and innovative biennials today.

Magnus Renfrew (Director, ArtHK)

Year of the Ox: Qiu Zhijie, Ice Breaker at UCCA because of its sheer ambition and impressive use of the exhibition space.

Year of the Tiger: I would say this, of course, but I am particularly excited about this year’s line-up for ART HK 10 in May. We have persuaded 130 of the world’s leading galleries to come to Hong Kong from 25 countries. The western contingent has been particularly strengthened this year with some of the very best galleries from UK, Europe and US attending for the first time.

Jérôme Sans (Director, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing)

Year of the Ox:  A: UCCA’s Breaking Forecast, featuring eight key new-generation artists in China definitely stands out. It features the direction and future of Chinese contemporary art and for me was great way to link 2009 and 2010.

Year of the Tiger: Audiences to UCCA can expect to see a number of exciting exhibitions this year: Olafur Eliasson and Ma Yansong will come together for an exhibit that explores human perception and a solo show by Zhang Huan, which uses remnants from the 5.12 earthquake.

Alexandra Seno (Writer)

Year of the Ox: The remaining challenge of building broader audiences for art and culture in Hong Kong was underscored by the uneven marketing and the tepid public response to the more interesting events of 2009: The Silk Road in Ningxia at the Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery, Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture. 

Year of the Tiger: Art commerce continues to be the highlight in Hong Kong, focused on the last week of May when the ArtHK 10 and the auctions take place.

Karen Smith (Author & curator)

Year of the Ox: Absolute tops was Gu Dexin at Galleria Continua closely followed by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s astonishing Freedom at Tang Contemporary. Just as good was Li Songsong at Pace Beijing – one of three or four brilliant new Chinese painters. I must also include Qin Jin, Getting to Know You Again at Magician Space, Li Ming at Platform China’s B-space, Ma Qiusha at Beijing Commune, and No Wave, a video installation by the Wuhan-based video group Waza at Arario Beijing. The Open House series of “field experiments” organised by ChArt Contemporary was also quite sublime.

Year of the Tiger: FAT ART 2 in April organised by Modern Sky and Today Art Museum and Phil Tinari’s new art magazine.

Phil Tinari (Author & Chief Editor, LEAP magazine)

Year of the Ox: Highlights for me include Ai Weiwei's solo show So Sorry at the Haus der Kunst in Munich; Chu Yun at Portikus;  Bourgeoisified Proletariat at Songjiang Creative Space during ShContemporary week; the Koolhaas/Obrist Shenzhen Marathon, and a tiny show curated by Beatrice Leanza at 140sqm, in Shanghai called The Shape of Things to Come.

Year of the Tiger: I'm mainly looking forward to the launch of my new magazine called Leap.

Xu Zhen (Artist & co-founder, Biz Art, Shanghai)

Year of the Ox: Thing’s Right (s) 09 The More by Wu Shanzhuan at Shanghai Gallery of Art, because everyone should see his work and Dawn Mist, Separation Faith by Yang Fudong at Himalayas Art Museum [formerly Zendai Museum of Modern Art] in Shanghai, because he’s such a unique artist.

Year of the Tiger: I’m not sure yet

Zhang O (Artist)

Year of the Ox: Most memorable for me was Eccentric Visions – The World of Luo Ping (1733-1799) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He was the youngest of the “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou”, in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and I was so happy to see this work here in New York.

Year of the Tiger: Next year I’m looking forward to my solo show at the Dirimart Gallery, in Istanbul in May.

Laura Zhou (Director, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai)

Year of the Ox: Contemporary Art Exhibition in Songjiang (Bourgeoisified Proletariat) at Songjiang Creative Studio in Shanghai and Seeing One's Own Eyes – Middle East Contemporary Art Exhibition by MadeIN (aka Xu Zhen) at ShanghART H-space.

Year of the Tiger: I’m looking forward to the Shanghai Biennale and the September exhibition at ShanghART – although we haven’t decided what it will be yet!

Back to Part 1