Art at Home: Jiali Gallery

If you’re not incredibly careful, you’ll certainly miss the red wooden door to Jiali (家里) Gallery. It's down the side-alley of a side-alley and will lead you quite literally into the home of Daphne Mallet, who's also converted the space into a gallery. Bright white walls and dark wooden banisters beautifully frame the cozy room that is too neat to be the living room of anyone I know, but also too cozy to be your average exhibition space.

The room is open and sparsely furnished, as you would want it to be so as to be able to focus on what is on the walls. But it doesn’t feel as empty or soulless as many other galleries I have visited. Here you are invited to sit, discuss the art hanging on the walls and take some time for thought, away from the hassle and noise of the never-ending traffic jams outside.

Suddenly the art on the walls becomes much more accessible, as it’s part of a home and not necessarily art with a capital A. You’re allowed to criticize, you’re allowed to like one better than the others. So far the focus lies with photography, but Daphne tells us this may change over time, as long as the artists are in some way connected to China. She's also hoping the local hutong community will feel welcome to come in and look around.

The next exhibition, "Haojiu Bujian Le/Long Time No See" by Israeli artist Irit Tamari (see photo, above) will open June 9 at 4pm and continue for one month.

Jiali Gallery
Thu-Sun 2-7pm. 4 Beijixiang Hutong (one hutong south of Xiang'er Hutong), Dongcheng District (8402 5613) www.jialigallery.com

Photos: Jiali Gallery