Introduction: On December 2, 2021, Gagosian announced the appointment of Christina You as the representative of the China region. Before that, if you go to the UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, you will often find a tall girl leading a group of people through the exhibition hall, introducing you to the latest exhibitions and art projects.
Prior to joining Gagosian, Christina served as UCCA's Director of Development and Creative Strategy, where she spent more than 6 years breathing fresh blood and energy into UCCA's patron system and brand sponsorship matrix, and after an in-depth conversation with her, we discovered that the young China representative who had just joined GAGOS had a unique background and new possibilities for her generation.
Gagosian Gallery China Representative: Christina You
Typical post-90s practitioners in the art industry
To some extent, Christina represents the more typical post-90s generation of practitioners in the art industry. They have some similar upbringings and experiences.
Born in Beijing, Christina went to the United States in high school and then attended Wesleyan University. After graduation, he went to Columbia University for graduate school. After obtaining her postgraduate degree, she chose to return to China immediately, enter the art industry, and begin her career.
Although Christina did not grow up in a family of art, like many of her contemporaries, art was a very important hobby from an early age. Christina, too, was interested in drawing as a child, and with the encouragement of her parents, she studied and learned about art outside of class until she entered college.
When applying for a scholarship at the university, Christina submitted an application on the subject of research on traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage and successfully won the Freeman Asian Scholarship, a full scholarship program offered by the Freeman Foundation for international students from 11 countries and regions in Asia. The scholarship program was only available to two scholars from China that year, and was later reduced to one per year.
The University of West is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States, and this school is very supportive of students studying arts disciplines or engaging in related practical activities outside of their studies.
Therefore, when Christina was in college, she not only took art courses, but also participated in many artistic practice activities. Christina also took a course in art history. While at school, he worked part-time as a translator for American artist Jenny Holzer.
Most notably, during the summer vacation of her first year of college, Christina went to the Forbidden City to participate in the internship work, and had the opportunity to experience first-hand the restoration process of many treasures and complexes that are not usually displayed in the Qianlong Garden of the Palace Museum of Treasures, and these restored works came to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York a few years later, forming a part of the title "The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures." from Forbidden City) blockbuster exhibition, and then a tour of the world.
In the year after graduating from university, Christina also promoted the jewelry brand of the same name "CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel" founded by the famous Chinese jewelry designer Zhao Xinqi, and met a group of mentors and friends in the art and fashion industry in Beijing.
These became valuable artistic learning and practical experiences before she officially entered the art industry.
Exterior view of the Pedder Tower in Gagosian, Hong Kong
6 years of contemporary art museum history to establish a systematic supporter sponsorship system
It was with this simple love of art that Christina chose to enter the art industry for her first job after returning from studying abroad. It is also the most representative contemporary art museum in China, the UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, which joins the director and CEO Tian Feiyu.
Christina joined UCCA in 2015, a period when Chinese contemporary art was slowly rebuilding after experiencing an economic crisis. For the entire large industry, it is also an important stage to absorb excellent talents. At that time, a group of young people who had gradually returned to China from abroad began to enter the contemporary art industry. Christina was one of the waves of young people who became collectors of contemporary art, artists, and art institutions, and began to actually participate in the day-to-day operations of the industry.
Looking back now, Christina admits that although she has had a lot of experience in art study and practice abroad before, she only established a sound understanding and understanding of the industry after she really entered the art industry.
After 6 years of honing herself at UCCA, Christina's understanding of the contemporary art industry has been put into very concrete practice.
First of all, UCCA's vast platform gives her the opportunity to meet and learn about the world's most important artists; in addition, in her work, she needs to connect with institutions around the world: art galleries, galleries, internationally renowned companies, etc.
What's more, she met and grew up with many collectors of her age. Over the past few years, christina and her young team have helped UCCA deepen and refine the patronage system of patrons, including the UCCA Foundation Board, the UCCA International Committee, and UCCA's Young Patrons, as a result of observing an exponential increase in enthusiasm and understanding of contemporary art from Chinese collectors and art supporters from diverse backgrounds.
Over the past few years, the number of young patron members at UCCA has grown exponentially every year, from its original single digits to more than two hundred members today. A large percentage of them are the peers of Christina and her team members.
Under the leadership of Feiyu Tian, the young team led by Christina continues to innovate, making UCCA now a benchmark art museum for individual sponsorship systems in the industry. In helping the museum improve this system, Christina herself has grown. Such mutual achievements have paved an important way for her to step out of the art museum and enter the world's leading galleries.
Gagosian Hong Kong Zeng Fanzhi solo exhibition, September 24- November 5, 2011
Witness the combination of the power of Chinese contemporary art and Western international galleries
As Gagosian mentioned in announcing Christina's appointment as the gallery's representative for China: she has both Chinese and Western experience and background. Years at one of Asia's leading art galleries have given her a unique vision and deep client relationships and extensive regional knowledge.
Christina's addition will undoubtedly help the global gallery to develop the Chinese market in a strategic and more holistic way.
While at UCCA, Christina was responsible for fundraising for UCCA's institutional operations and various arts events, including individual sponsorships, corporate sponsorships, and annual fundraising events such as UCCA Gala. She is also a key organizer of exhibition-related projects, social events and international exchanges. Over the course of 6 years, she has grown up with a new generation of young collectors and has witnessed a new generation of collectors' dedication to art and collecting. These experiences will undoubtedly help her to show her skills after her next entry into Gagosian. It further narrows the distance between Western art and Chinese art, and further deepens the long-term relationship and interaction between the two.
Christina summed up the new job: "It's an honor to join Gagosian. Gagosian is undoubtedly the leading authority in the industry, and with the rise of a new generation of collectors and their focus on art and collecting, the Chinese contemporary art scene is now experiencing an extraordinary moment. I am excited to witness the combination of these two forces and look forward to bringing Gagosian's expertise and projects to collectors across China." ”
(Photo courtesy of Gagosian Gallery)