Ullens is a rarity in Beijing's art world - a not-for-profit gallery that functions more like a publicly funded museum-style institution. As such, it's one of the key places that has stopped 798 degenerating into an out-and-out commercial shopping zone.
Having said that, in recent times the exhibitions here have been of variable quality. The "Breaking Forecast" group show they had a few months back, supposedly including the most cutting edge artists in China, was a major disappointment. They have had some excellent exhibitions in the past, however, so hopefully this is just a glitch.
Ullens is only partly an exhibition space - they also have an extensive program of talks and screenings. Many of the lectures are in Chinese, and not being a proficient Mandarin speaker I haven't been along to any of them. I regularly attend their screenings though, which are great. Most films are subtitled in English, and the Ullens website generally specifies if works are in Chinese only. They show a broad range of material including some major retrospectives of local and international directors.
The last thing Ullens has to recommend it is its architecture - the gallery is housed in one of the best preserved Bauhaus factory spaces in the 798 complex, with many classic features of the style apparent in the interior.
If you're visiting 798 Ullens is definitely one of the spaces worth checking out in an area that these days has a lot of very mediocre galleries.
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