时间：2022-09-30 08:45:55
王新友不是艺术家，但却有着艺术家的范儿。他说话的声音很温和，但是表达却十分果决。他相信的，仿佛是不容争辩的。他喜欢的，一定必须是最好的。他从不随意地出现，对待每天的生活就像对待每一次的策展一样，似乎步步精心。
作为北京798偏锋新艺术空间的总裁，王新友挤进艺术市场还不到10年的时间，但是圈子里知道王新友的人不在少数。他以藏品众多、超强判断力、努力专注而人气颇旺。经文化部组织专家讨论，中国有11个当代艺术界的顶级策展人作为威尼斯双年展2011年的中国馆候选策展人，王新友位列其中。
经济专业硕士，大学毕业后先后做过政府官员、建筑设计、装修工程、系统集成、软件开发等等工作，却在接近40岁时，他给生活动了次大手术。从哈尔滨转场北京，抛家舍业，跻身艺术圈儿。细论起来，这就是他人生的一场必然。
首先是个藏家
11岁那年，比他大很多的哥哥喜添贵子，家里的大人都忙着照顾新生儿，无暇顾及他。王新友拿着妈妈给的5毛钱在新华书店转悠，莫名其妙地买了一本《黄胄新疆速写集》，回家后照着书上的图描描、画画。什么叫速写？谁是黄胄？统统不知道，就是喜欢而已。
少年时期，王新友的寒暑假经常在哈尔滨道里区的文化馆度过。由于哈尔滨是日本遗孤最多的城市，对日的旅游、文化交流有得天独厚的条件。1977年，道里区文化馆成立了东三省第一家“松花江画廊”，每年都会有大量的日本游客来此参观、买书画。王新友得空，就往画廊跑。
“那时候裱画在北方是一个从业者不多的行业，松花江画廊从北京荣宝斋请来很多的老师傅给大家培训。我喜欢看他们裱画，还帮他们压石头，给他们买烧饼，打开水。荣宝斋的师傅走的时候还送过我王雪涛、王正的画。”
“哈尔滨道里区文化馆对面是哈尔滨市的古籍书店。当时古籍书店除了卖古籍善本以外，也卖书画，甚至金石拓片。我把在文化馆发的一天三毛钱的补助攒起来去买画。那时候两块钱就可以买一张高齐佩的画，或一幅王铎的字。”
王新友的父亲酷爱中国书画，发现儿子也喜欢画画，就经常带着少年王新友去拜访李可染、黄胄、何海霞等艺术大家。就这样王新友跟着父亲到南京、上海、沈阳等全国各地寻找喜爱的书画艺术品。无论喜好，还是家传，多少有点儿着魔的意思，慢慢地，他也养成个习惯，手里有点钱就都变成了字画。
上世纪90年代末，王新友就和黑龙江省画院的人掺和着一起创意，邀请全国的知名画家到黑龙江办展览，搞笔会，到俄罗斯旅游。那时候一次就能聚齐十几、二十多个名家，一场活动下来，他们就能囤积一批画。在当年几千块钱一幅的作品，放在当下都是几十万，几百万。
和大多数从传统艺术转向当代艺术收藏人的道路一样，王新友也一度因为油画的价格便宜而广收了一批作品，其中包括陈逸飞的作品。后来，逐渐认识了更多的艺术创作者，他有机会走访了很多艺术工作室，并用很小的代价收到上好的艺术作品。
然后是个推手
“因为我是藏家，才产生了推动艺术发展的兴趣。”2003年“非典”以后，中国的艺术市场有如井喷。文化市场的繁荣的前沿阵地一直就在北京，这让远在哈尔滨的、热爱艺术、能看出门道的收藏家王新友情何以堪。“非典”之后他就决定要到北京发展，看了好一阵子之后，到2005年他才明确了专心开一家画廊做艺术推广的方向。2006年，王新友在北京索家村成立了第一家画廊：偏锋艺术中心，开始了他的剑走偏锋之路。
“如果开了画廊，你自己都不收藏的话怎么去说服别人呢？怎么会让别人相信呢？你自己推的东西有没有价值，可以用你自己买不买作为一个衡量标准。” 王新友的这番话挑战自己，也挑战这个行业的操守。
“我在选择艺术家的时候，第一，要有接壤未来的能力。第二，要有持续创作的能力。第三，要有学习能力。第四，要有合作意识和懂得分享。如果处处以自我为中心、一己利益为核心的话，无法前进，也不能同行。”在此基础上，偏锋不仅挖掘了以康海涛、吴笛为代表的一批艺术新秀，同时也使得梁铨、王川等曾经被忽视的不再年轻的艺术家受到了应有的重视。
在王新友看来，偌大的中国艺术画坛上，从事艺术创作的人万万千，能称为艺术家的少之又少。因为能勇敢呈现自己内心的一点点小感受、一点点小表现、一点点小欲望的人太少了。他花大量的时间去关注那些无论应届还是往届的美术院校的学生。为此，他几乎走遍了上海、江苏、浙江、沈阳、云南、贵州、四川、河南、河北等地，顺着一点点儿线索去挖掘。
新友说他深受3个不同时代的中外艺术家的影响。罗丹说：“大师之所以是大师，是因为他能够在别人司空见惯的地方发现美。”清代大和尚石涛说：“笔墨当随时代”。现代艺术大师潘天寿说：“不同才是艺术”。
2010年，偏锋推出王川个展《逍遥与边缘》，就是一个艺术家“被遗忘和被唤回”的实证。王川毕业于四川美术学院中国画系。上世纪80年代、90年代，他分别以布面油彩《再见吧！小路》和装置《墨﹒点》成为“伤痕艺术”和“存在主义艺术”的重要代表人物。而新近几年王川的画所拥有的学术价值和市场价值，都是和王新友的挖掘分不开的。
看到一个有潜力的艺术家，王新友并不急于签约。他需要两到三年的时间去研究其近年来的创作，去判断这个人的艺术未来，当然也要观察人品。一旦确定了合作，王新友会帮助艺术合作者做好学术定位； 寻找适当的群展、联展的机会，开个展的机会以及市场推广。艺术家市场推广也是一个漫长的过程，从研发、生产、媒体推广，到最后销售，一个环节都不能少。在王新友看来，他推的是艺术家，而不是艺术明星。他希望通过和画家的共同努力，在美术史上写下一笔，而不仅仅是赚一些钱。他说：“艺术的工作就是为了获得尊重。”
收藏建议
对于一个好的藏家来说，没别的办法，必须要做好“五多”功课。那就是多看、多想、多问、多听、多买。坐在家里，接触几个人，听几次讲座，有过几个交流，有过成功的购买经验，你就收藏成功了？那是不可能的。收藏是一门学问，是一个体系。“收藏不等同于消费，所以进门的人一定要问自己是想做个艺术消费者还是要做个收藏家”。
王新友说他的收藏比较广泛。书画、珠宝、装置、雕塑，甚至一些皇家用的工艺品他也收藏。他认为收藏是一个很个性化的体验，仁者见仁、智者见智。但是要收藏有价值的艺术品确实需要有专业的眼光。很多人的收藏需要有专业的从业人员帮助完成，这个环节很重要。还有就是藏家要看大量的专业展览。目前在中国，美术馆没有起到应有的美术教育的提升作用，反而画廊更贴近实际和更接壤未来。
“收藏这事要根据个人的习惯和能力，真心喜欢艺术的话，一件作品，至少需要持有5年的时间。从投入和回报来说，5年是一个很好的周期。”王新友说。
Wang Xinyou carries the air of an artist， though he is not one. His voice is mild but determined， as if his words is unquestionable， and his choice is always the best. He never shows up randomly， living each day like curating an detailed-planned art exhibition.
As President of Pifo New Gallery in Beijing 798 Art Zone， Wang Xinyou is less than 10 years into the art market， but he has already established his name in the circle for his huge collection， keen judgment， and devoted efforts. In 2011， he was recommended by a panel organized by China’s Ministry of Culture as one of the 11 candidate curators for China’s art exhibition at the La Biennale di Venezia.
With a master’s degree in economics， Wang pursued an unusual career path， from government to architecture design and house furnishing， from system integration to software development， until at close to 40， he took a dramatic turn of his life course. He left behind his career and family in Harbin and diving headlong into the art circle in Beijing. But in retrospect， it all seems like the inevitable for Wang Xinyou.
First a Collector
At 11， his elder brother gave birth to a son， who immediately held the attention of the whole family. Given 50 cents to take care of himself， Wang wandered into the Xinhua Bookstore and bought himself a Sketches of Xinjiang by Huang Zhou. He had no idea what sketch is or who Huang Zhou is， but out of pure interest， he started to draw sketches as shown in the book.
At school age， Wang spent most of his summer and winter holidays in the Cultural Center of Daoli District， Harbin. Home to many Japanese orphans left behind during WWII， Harbin is a popular destination for Japanese tourists and cultural exchanges. In 1997， Songhuajiang Gallery， the first gallery in northeast China was opened， attracting Japanese tourists and buyers alike. Wang frequented the gallery whenever time was available.
“Mounter was not a popular profession in the north， so the gallery invited senior mounters from Rongbaozhai， a top notch auction company in Beijing， to provide training. I was there to help them press stones， buy them pancakes， and get them hot water. And I enjoyed watching them mount the paintings. When they departed， they left me with paintings of Wang Xuetao and Wang Zheng as presents.”
“Opposite the cultural center is a rare book store. But apart from rare books， it also sold calligraphy works， paintings， and rubbings. I saved all my allowances from working in the cultural center， which is 30 cents a day， to buy paintings. At that time， I could buy a painting of Gao Qipei or a calligraphy of Wang Duo for just 2 Yuan. ”
Wang’s father is an avid fan of Chinese calligraphy and painting. When he found out that his junior son shared his interest， he started to bring him along on his visits to art masters like Li Keran， Huang Zhou， and He Haixia. Wang Xinyou followed his father in pursuit of interested artworks throughout the country. With a fascination to art， he developed the habit of investing all his spare money into paintings and calligraphy works.
In the late 1990s， Wang joined his friends in Heilongjiang Fine Art Academy to curate art exhibitions， which include inviting famous painters to Heilongjiang， arranging exchange activities， and organizing tours to Russia. As each exhibition attracted 10 to 20 artists， by time they accumulated a large number of paintings. The works， which then cost just several thousand Yuan a piece， now worth from several hundred thousand to several million.
Like most collectors who switched from traditional art to contemporary works， Wang once purchased a great number of oil paintings， including that of now famous Chen Yifei， when prices were low. As he get to meet more artists and visit more art studios， he found increasing opportunities to purchase fine artworks at very low cost.
Then a curator
“The collector in me inspired me to become a curator.” After SARS in 2003， China’s art market experienced an outburst growth， the frontline of which was Beijing. Seeing this window of opportunity， Wang could no longer hold back his ambition. After the endemic， he made up his mind to go to Beijing. And in 2005， after months of surveying the market， he decided to open an art gallery and to be an art curator. In 2006， the Pifo Art Gallery was established at Beijing Suojiacun Art Camp， and Wang embarked on a path of Pifo， a path less taken.
“If you are not a collector yourself， how can you convince others that the works you promote are valuable？ To judge if a piece of artwork is worth promoting， you can simple ask yourself if you are willing to buy it.” He said this as a challenge to himself and the ethos of the industry.
“I select artist partners based on four criteria---the ability to adapt to future， the ability for sustainable creation， the ability to learn， and a willingness to cooperate and share. If an artist is self-centered and cares only for his own interests， then we cannot work or develop together.” Based on this， Pifo not only discovered a batch of emerging artists， but also helped many forgotten artists to reclaim the attention they deserve.
In Wang’s eyes， there are thousands of art workers， but only a small number can be called artists， because only few of them are brave enough to display their innermost feelings and desires. He spent a lot of time following graduates from the top eight fine art academies in China. To this purpose， he had traveled to Shanghai， Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Shenyang， Yunnan， Guizhou， Sichuan， Henan， and Hebei to track the trails of potential brilliant artists.
Wang said he was influenced by three artists---Auguste Rodin who said “A master is one who can find beauty in what is commonplace in the eyes of others”， Qing Dynasty Monk painter Shi Tao who said “Calligraphy and painting should keep up with the times”， and contemporary artist Pan Tianshou， who said “Art lies in difference.”
The 2010 solo show of Wang Chuan， curated by Pifo， is a solid proof of how a forgotten artist was rediscovered. Wang Chuan graduated from Sichuan Art Gallery and became a representative artist of Scar Art and Existential Art in the 1980s and 90s but was then forgotten. It is through the promotion of Wang Xinyou that the academic and market value of his works appreciated in recent years.
When he discovered a potential artist， Wang Xinyou would not rush to sign him up. He would spent two to three years to observe the artist and study his works in order to establish an understanding of his personality and growth potential. Once decided， he would support the artist in market positioning， exhibition， and promotion. The promotion of an artist takes a long time， from R&D， production， media promotion， to sales， every step matters. Wang Xinyou promotes artists， not art stars. Rather than just making money， he hopes that through his efforts， he and the artists he promote could be remembered in the history of fine art. As he said， “to work for art is to gain respect.”
Suggestions for collection
It takes considerable observation， thinking， asking， listening and purchasing to be a mature collector. You cann’t expect to be a successful collector by just attending a few seminars， exchanging some experiences， or making several successful purchases. Collection is a science and a systematic process. “Collection does not equal to consumption. You need to first ask yourself if you want to be a consumer or an art collector.”
Wang Xinyou collects a wide variety of works， including paintings， calligraphy works， jewelry， installations， sculptures， and royal artifacts. He believes collection is a personal experience. But it takes a professional perspective to find collectible works of art. Many collectors work with the aid of professionals， which is important， and attend a lot of art exhibitions. In China， Fine Art Museums are not playing their due roles in educating the public， so art galleries fill in as they are closer to reality and to the future development of art.
“Collection is shaped by personal habit and ability. If you really love art， then you need to hold a piece of artwork for at least five years， because from an investment perspective， five years is about the right cycle for art investment.”