A Shanghai art gallery's low-price concept has ignited controversy in art circles. Artists are selling paintings at affordable levels to generate recognition, yet others feel the move will flood the market with substandard work, Wang Jie reports.

When art is sold in a hypermarket, is it still art or does the low price tag devalue its worth into a simple commodity?

The answer depends on who you ask. For Li Qing, a 40-something school teacher, it's not an issue. ``I just bought a new apartment,'' he says, ``and then last month, I took home two paintings for just 2,000 yuan (US$241). That's a good bargain to decorate my home.''

Li is not rare among local residents, who deem gallery art too expensive and far removed from the average individual's reach. While a growing number of Shanghainese are spending tens of thousands of yuan on new apartments, or even a villa, spending cash on art isn't widely accepted. Yet those people are interested in art and appreciate the effect it can have on a home.

The issue is finding art at affordable prices.

This is precisely what Chen Ming provides. The president of Shanghai Hanbo Auction Co Ltd and Shanghai Huabo Art Gallery, Chen is somewhat of a pioneer in the art world. He started auctioning original paintings at a stunning floor price of just 300 yuan five years ago.

Sitting in his second gallery, or rather a chain store, on Changshou Road, Chen is elated to mention that his ``smart'' business strategy is making an average of 1 million yuan each month -- a large sum in the local art market. The most expensive piece he sold is about 90,000 yuan while the lowest is the previously mentioned 300 yuan. Enjoying a growing business, Chen decorates his exhibition halls with large scale canvas, ink-wash paintings and calligraphy works -- all labelled at 300 yuan each, his signature floor price.

The bargain basement prices are a big catalyst for buyers, or to be more exact, for ordinary families. ``The price tag of a painting shall not be decided by the gallery or artist,'' Chen says, speaking like a true businessman. ``Let the market have the final say. In my view, a painting is worthless when no one is willing to pay for it.''

While Chen's low-pricing strategy draws positive feedback from city residents, critics and industry officials believe otherwise. They fear that low prices could curve the development of a healthy art market, and even worse, direct the general public to poor taste in art. ``I don't think it's fair for a small group, who may be amateurs in art, to decide the price of a real artist's work,'' says local avant-garde artist Zhou Tiehai.

Like Zhou, other artists are concerned about the quality of art displayed in Chen's gallery. ``It's `decorative art' instead of serious or original work,'' says Chen Jialing, a well-known ink-wash painter in his 60s. ``I haven't found much creative or stunning pieces there.''

In fact, whether it's an oil canvas or traditional painting, the realist style, and therefore most accessible, pieces at Chen's auction are the bestsellers. Speculation has spread that some works at Chen's auctions can be found at the street market in Beijing, at an even lower price of about 50 yuan, says an industry insider who refused to be identified.

Chen defends himself by noting that all the works at his gallery are directly from domestic art academies, institutes or artists.

But title doesn't necessarily equate to talent. ``The criteria to evaluate a painting doesn't lie in an artist's title, but the artwork itself,'' Zhou says. ``Today, it's not hard to meet an art professor in China, but only a few of them are recognized by international curators and collectors.'' Most artists learn to deal with the number of unsold paintings wasting space at home. It far exceeds what they sell at galleries. Perhaps it's not difficult to understand why artists sell works cheaply to Chen's gallery.

There's another reason for the low prices, however. Shanghai boasts great potential and opportunity, a lure and inspiration for artists, particularly young generations. But with those artists competing for gallery space, getting recognition is more important than a bit of cash.

``I can't tell you the exact figure on each painting given to Chen, but they are undoubtedly very cheap,'' says Meng Yan, an artist from Sichuan. ``What matters to me is the chance to expose my works in Shanghai rather than money concerns.''

Most works displayed at Chen's gallery are from artists outside of Shanghai like Meng, are eager to establish themselves in the city.

According to Chen, the slump in prices ``should have a whammy affect on other galleries.'' But it hasn't happened yet.

``There is nothing to compete with, and we haven't changed our price at the gallery,'' says Chen Fan, owner of the Avant-garde Gallery. ``We are not a hypermarket that sells napkins or shampoos. We are selling serious art and we label such prices because we respect artists.'' His words are echoed by Zhang Haiteng, owner of Cangbo Gallery. ``We have different target customers and a different quality of artists,'' he says. ``It's true we sell fewer paintings than Chen Ming. But if successful art is viewed as quantity rather than quality, don't you think it's too ridiculous?''

Huang Yuanqing, an art professor at Shanghai Teachers University, believes Chen's strategy could ``misguide'' uninformed buyers. Good art has historically been costly. Huang gets upset seeing people bidding on ``rubbish art.'' He feels it's the responsibility of artists to help people understand the difference between good quality and poor quality art.

Of course, Chen has heard all the arguments before and will not be dissuaded. Indeed, he plans on expanding the concept.

``I plan on opening an art hypermarket in the near future, like `Metro' or `Carrefour' where canvas, ink-wash paintings, sculptures or ceramics are offered at a hypermarket price,'' he says. ``I am confident this is the type of art that most people need.''

Life inspires art, but that doesn't necessarily mean it be worshipped as something reaching religion. Maybe Chen's concept of bringing art to the masses isn't all bad afterall. The artists agreeing to the prices don't mind, the buyers are happy and Chen walks away with a profit. It's as though he's found the perfect business model.

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