the artist from berlin wanted the wall text translated into english. i said no
the installation went over budget by 50%. we found a better tile adhesive in the last hour.
the artist was on a call with his mother when i arrived. he finished, then we talked about the work for an hour.
wrote an essay on 王小龙's installation, the one in the alley behind the gallery. he was there today, said he'd seen a cat eating his work last night and it was "a new kind of performance".
the silver ring with the clasp that won't work anymore sits on the edge of my sink. i keep trying to make it work again
the new show opened last night, hung all the photos by hand on the gallery walls. i have not slept since
i showed zhang xue's work to a visitor today; they liked it but thought it was not very good. the new show will be hung in the back room
the artist brought a mirror for the opening reception but did not mention its reflection. i told him that in shanghai, mirrors are used sparingly
the cat knocked over the silver on the table. i left for work early, without turning off the oven light
met the new artist for the group show last night at 10pm in a bar by the Bund. her work is all about memory, she said, and showed me photos of old Shanghai street signs.
The first day of installation week, the artist from Beijing asked if they could hang the piece over the door. The gallery has no ladder tall enough for that.
the curator asked if i could take care of the cat while he was away for a week. i said yes without thinking
she called me last night with a question about installation week: why does she have to do everything herself? i told her to ask the artist; he said there was no time for an intern.
just read 99.5% of the book on the subway. the last chapter was about a dog walking into the sea.
saw the show on a friday, the artist was there for the opening, i did not get her number
she spent an hour making sure the lights were right
i tried to write this morning but the cat kept me up all night
just saw 甄嬛传 again in the cinema with a friend who works at a museum. we sat through the entire scene where 娜妃 (the empress) tries on her new hairdo and 后宫 (palace women) admire it without speaking.
i spent an hour this morning trying to teach 麻团 how to use her new scratching post instead of my shoes
a visitor asked for the meaning of "minimalist." i pointed at the wall.
the curator wanted a different color for the gallery wall. i painted the whole space white, but not the laundry line.
just saw a 2017 photo of myself on a phone with a white headphone cable
the opening for the new show was yesterday evening. 30 people attended; only four stayed until midnight.
the cat knocked over the laundry line on the balcony, the silk scarves unfurled like flags in the breeze
my mother called last night, said 她是你老师. i asked which teacher, she said the one who taught us about the revolution in second grade. i said that's not my teacher, she laughed and hung up
i spent an hour explaining the difference between a portfolio review and a studio visit to yin yu's intern. he said i'm not very good at this.
the first time i saw a melon painting, it was in guangzhou, in an old bookstore by the bund. the second time was last week, in shanghai, in an art space called 405.
the old wall clock ticks loudly at night, making me anxious
the opening is tomorrow, she said "let's have a beer later" as we packed the last boxes. the cat was on the gallery floor, licking its paw
the new exhibit starts tomorrow. there are five works by 王大平 (wang daping). he says he wants them to be read as a series of jokes
the wall text was finished by hand last night
she didn't like how the work was displayed on the wall, said "it's not enough," i asked what more could be done, said "just move it over."
the new show at 221 gallery opens tomorrow night. a few works have been delayed in customs.
moving week. 47 seconds of silence from my mother on the phone, then "call me." the cat's fur is a problem
the space was full of smoke last night. i opened all the windows before the opening tomorrow.
the artist said they wanted to paint a portrait of the gallery on the wall near the elevator. i told them about the elevator's previous life as a storage space for broken furniture
the opening is tomorrow night. i have not been able to decide between two works for the wall text. 麻团 has taken a liking to the blue one
the artist's parents are coming for lunch
the cat's claws on the window screen, how they make it sound like rain
i've been making silver rings all day. my hands are wet with chemicals
the exhibition's lights are always too bright in the morning
the cat won't stop licking my face. i can't figure out if he wants me to pet him or die
i woke up to an email from a gallerist with "dick in a jar" in the subject line
the last show was a mess of red light and broken screens. today i am organizing silver rings in the bathroom.
watched a film about a man whose father died and now he's cooking alone every night. the actor playing his mother was not Chinese
the student came back and asked if the newsletter was still worth writing. i gave her my phone number
the new exhibition opens thursday evening. i spent an hour on a call with the gallery's insurance agent about a leak in the ceiling from last month's storm
i gave 麻团 a bath today. he didn't like it.
the gallery was empty when i got there, except for a man named 王老师 reading his newspaper in a corner. he looked up when i said hello.
the new intern asked about the wall text again today. i said "it's a painting"
the cat's fur was stuck in my new scarf. i think about how long it took to make
the new intern showed me the art space's website on his phone; it was in English. i asked why. he said because "that's what people want." i said, "yes, but we are in China."
the show is up; zhang's work looks great on that wall. i have a cat hair on my sleeve
just saw the new shen yang show. he brought a whole shelf of vintage cameras and said they were for sale. i bought one.
install week. an artist from berlin asked if the wall could be "more institutional." the wall was painted before he arrived
i stopped by the studio today. the artist was there alone, sanding down a piece for the show next week.
the cat's favorite gallery is the kitchen
the artist asked if the installation could include a live rat. i said no
my mother sent another voice memo today: 16 seconds of silence followed by "you know." the gallery is booked for a private viewing tomorrow night but i am not sure if the artist will come or if we should even invite them
the opening reception for 方志平's solo show was on monday evening. he had a new series of works in the gallery window, which i think is brave given that the streetlights are still flickering at dusk.
the artist asked me why they didn't get the residency. i said because i wanted them here more than anyone else.
The opening party was cancelled last minute because the artist's visa wasn't approved. We all waited at the gallery anyway, hoping for the best.
the artist from berlin wanted the wall text in sans-serif. we're using tahoma because of the high contrast.
i found a small glass jar in my mailbox today with seven dried sesame balls inside. i've been eating them one by one since sunday evening
the artist painted a series on "memory" last year; today he asked about the "future."
the pipe was not enough for the artist from berlin
the cat made a nest under the window today, in the sunlight. i put out some old clothes for him.
just received an email from a gallery in taipei asking for a review of the 2018 edition of the art fair. i forwarded it to her, thinking she'd be interested since she's been trying to sell her work there.
last night at all, the artist asked if the installation was safe for a cat. i told her yes, but when i saw 麻团 licking the sensor on the floor, i wondered about that.
my cat sleeps under the desk lamp; i can't find my glasses
the opening was quiet, i asked if there were any questions about the art, one person asked what "all" meant
the artist was worried about the lights. i said they were too low for the painting but good enough for the work. i showed her my phone with a picture of the previous exhibition. she agreed.
the artist brought a bag of dried lotus root on opening night. the cat ate it while they were talking about their "next move"
the artist had the wrong wall color for his painting
the opening was last night. a critic from another city asked about the title. i said nothing.
the artist brought a ladder yesterday but the wall was too high. the painter said the painting wouldn't fit under the ceiling fan anyway
the artist arrived with a box of prints, asking where to put them. i found him an empty space next to the laundry line
the artist from berlin wanted his work installed with a black curtain behind it. i reminded him that we were running an exhibition about light
the curator's assistant sent me a message in Chinese with three question marks. i replied in English.
the artist wanted a red neon sign for the window
the artist said that the work is about "a moment before everything falls apart." i pointed out that there was a moment before that too, but he didn't want to hear it
the installation is complete. the gallery door was stuck closed when i tried to leave.
the artist's photos were taken from a 35mm roll. i sent them back in a scan. the gallerist said "you're very thorough."
i read the new issue of artweek but i could not find one mention of the show in shanghai. my mother's scarf collection is now 54 pieces.
my mother texted 少发点那种照片. i sent back a photo of a silk scarf. we both know what we meant
the artist's installation was removed early saturday morning before the opening. i woke to a note from the landlord about rent increase. the cat was in my bed.
the artist wanted to remove all the mirrors from the gallery before the opening. i told her that was not a problem as long as no one minded seeing their reflection in the water
the gallery has new lights, from shenzhen, they're blue
the gallerist said "i want a pipe on my wall" and i said "we have pipes."
the artist's assistant asked if i could take a photo of him holding the sculpture. i said no.
the cat is licking my feet while i try to write
the artist's work was rejected by multiple galleries for being too abstract. she asked if i could help her reimagine it as installation art. the final piece featured 1500 staples on a single wall.
the artist came last week with her new work, three framed photographs in monochrome. i had seen them at the studio weeks before, but they looked different here. she talked about how the light changed on the walk from the metro station and we discussed the gallery's windows. it was hot, so we turned off the lights and sat in the shade of the laundry line.
woke up early for the opening; the artist had taken out a second mortgage on their apartment
the gallery opening was last night. 67 people came. i served baijiu, which was a mistake.
the cat has developed an interest in the camera.
an artist from shanghai asked if i could install their sculpture in the center of the gallery floor. it was so big that we had to remove a door for it
just finished installing 少发点 that we all know
wrote the newsletter opening at eleven last night after the reviews were filed. 340 people subscribe, perhaps sixty reach the second paragraph, and i rewrote the first line six times for them
watched 蒙古的野狼如月 (Mongolian Wolf) again last night; it's still my favorite. the cat is asleep on my bed, staring into the void
the new exhibition opens this friday
i have seen 甄嬛传 nine times, it's a documentary about the tang dynasty.
the cat has started knocking over plants again
a half-melted crayon under my fingernail, still red from the last time i held my niece's hand
i spent 50 yuan on a plastic cup yesterday
a single silver ring in my palm, hot from soldering
i have never been interested in the aesthetics of the city
a cat named 麻团 sits on my lap while i read the latest issue of 上海文学
the silver ring catches light from the streetlight in my hand
the gallerist's wife is pregnant
the cat doesn't understand the concept of the internet
the gallery was too hot today. i had to change my shirt twice
just bought 300 grams of silver for 180 rmb on the street, will need to process it tonight; the cat is sleeping in a box i made from a discarded pizza carton
the gallery's Wi-Fi password was changed again overnight, 3rd time this week
the artist's studio looks like the set of a low-budget film
institutional wallpaper? i think you'll find that's the point
the new show is on tomorrow
the first time i saw that silver ring, it was like looking into a mirror
i am writing an essay on the politics of "courageous"
the gallery's air conditioning broke today. i'm wearing all my silk scarves
just finished reading a book on 19th-century art theory for no reason except that i am not sleeping well
a half-empty bottle of ink. i can't stop looking at the line where the red runs out
the gallery opened late because i had a long conversation with the security guard about how much he loves his new cat. i opened the gallery at eleven.
the gallery's neon sign flickers; I can't sleep
i'm waiting for my mother's voice memo to arrive, but i've already called her.
just saw the new tang dynasty tv series. it's a disaster
the gallery's heating system clicks on at 4pm. i always leave my office by 5
saw two men walking their dogs in the rain, both wearing umbrellas, and felt the weight of all the choices not made
the old silk scarf on my desk catches a corner of light as I write
I'm reading 王晓明's translation of 王家卫's screenplay for 春光乍洽. the last scene is just a conversation about the weather
the cat jumps on my desk. my hands freeze
a half-empty teapot on the desk. the heat lingers in my palm
a thread on wechat about the new museum in puxi; my heart is beating too fast
the cat's purr sounds like a motor, but I can't decide if it's comforting or alarming