The lost art of a gallery

Slashing costs is the obvious response by galleries at present.

The Xin Dong Cheng Gallery plans four exhibitions this year, compared with six last year, and will attend three international art fairs, down from seven or eight in the past.

The gallery also plans to work with collectors, corporations and universities to provide professional services in education and consulting to explore new ways of income.

"Galleries need to be more than a trading platform," Cheng said. Developing art-related products is another option.

The Ullens Center of Contemporary Art makes a reported 10 million yuan ($1.61 million) a year from its store sales, which covers about half of its operating costs.

"These products might not be expensive, but they have an extensive base of consumers. And this could be a trend for art galleries in the future," Cheng said.

At the same time, social media-savvy galleries are reaching out to new potential clients via weibo, China's micro-blogging sites.

"Our big strategy since last year is to really develop our social media presence," said Brian Wallace, founder and director of Red Gate Gallery.

While many Chinese galleries don't use social media, those who do usually don't update it for weeks. Red Gate's weibo account had about 54,000 followers as of early April, the most among the galleries in China. It is bringing a new group of clients to the gallery.

"Now we are seeing new people, younger people, mainly Chinese, coming to the gallery," said Wallace. "They are also bringing their friends. There is a whole new generation of people who are young, educated, traveled, interested in art and with money. Some are in their 20s, but also a lot in their 30s and 40s."

Pace Beijing, whose portfolio includes heavyweights such as Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun, traditionally focuses on more established artists, but it is now considering venturing into new territory, taking on Li Zixun, a relatively new Taiwan artist.

"This is our first attempt at diversity, and we will explore it further in the future," said Li Jia.