Brian Wallace

Brian Wallace is the Australian founder of the renowned Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China’s first ever gallery for contemporary art. He began his time in China in 1986, studying Chinese at the People’s University in Beijing, and became entranced by Chinese contemporary art at a Beijing University exhibition in 1987. Wallace enrolled to study art history at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing from 1990-91, and soon founded Red Gate Gallery with assistance from the Chinese Bureau for the Preservation of Cultural and Historical Relics.

Brian Wallace, with Red Gate Manager Liyu Yeo 杨来耀, has exhibited many series of island6 artworks in solo shows, group exhibitions, art fairs, and traveling shows. Most notably he was curator of island6 art collective’s first ever solo show, "Garden of Autumn Vapours" (秋霞圃花园), in 2010 at Red Gate Gallery and with his manager he represented island6 at HK Art Fair 2010 and 2011.

Wallace’s vision for diversity is notorious. Red Gate Gallery exhibits a myriad of styles and media from artists both world-famous and emerging, with emphasis entirely on quality rather than mainstream trends. The gallery’s artist residency program, initiated in 2004, plays an important role in helping new artists to develop, and has put Red Gate into the International Association of Residential Arts Centers (Res Artis). Red Gate Gallery is revered for its status as the first gallery of its kind in China and its subsequent longevity, and is considered an essential feature of global artistic relationships.

Additional Red Gate exhibitions involving island6 included Art Beijing 2011 and Red Gate’s 2011 Winter Exhibition. But a successful show must go on! The next island6's solo exhibition at the Red Gate Gallery called "Metropolis Rises" will open on 15th June 2013 and will once again be curated by Brian.