Fuzhou art scene

The other day we were invited to come to "Rose Garden", previously a restaurant and now the gathering place for the Fuzhou art scene. It is housed in a beautiful European style villa which seems to date back to the nineteen twenties and thirties, the last period during which China attracted many foreigners. In fact, the whole neighborhood around the Rose Garden is filled with villas in the similar style. For a Chinese city, the houses are standing quie far apart, the streets are very narrow, and with the many trees and bushes growing the gardens, the area is an oasis of tranquility in this noisy city.

We were invited to listen to a German artist, who organized a chamber "concert" in one of be big reception rooms of Rose Garden. Well, it wasn't really a concert. The man had selected a number of his favorite songs which he sang for a small audience. As anywhere in Fuzhou, most of the people present were Chinese except for our group.
The guests were mostly artists from Fuzhou who had met each other in Rose Garden. This is what we were told, because from their appearance the artists could just as well have been civil servants or business men. Not a trace of extravagance in their outfits.

The atmosphere was very nice, cosy and relaxed. After the songs were sung, we hung around for a while for some Chinese wine and a chat with some of the artists. It is amazing what is happening in the art scene in China at the moment. The prices of the art pieces are sky rocketing. Almost anyone with only a slight interest in art, seems to be investing in this newly discovered industry. Paintings of the most renowned contemporary Chinese artists are being auctioned for millions of dollars per piece already. Even the works of several of the guys we met are being sold for 5 digit numbers easily.

These days, gold digger mentality is reigning in China, regardless of where you look. Even art is an industry, and big big business!