The village of Suojiacun, which is emerging as an art colony in Beijing, has seen the opening of another new gallery. The PIFO New Art Space, a gallery promoting vanguard arts, is having its premiere exhibition until November 6.

Titled "Transgression," the exhibition distinguishes itself as an offence to traditional art.

It involves 10 young artists: Ma Ke, Song Kun, Wu Haizhou, Wei Yan, Liu Zhiyi, Wu Di, Fan Mingzheng, Wu Didi, Kang Haitao and Zheng Li.

Although they are not established, these artists were all schooled at China's major art academies and showed great promise.

Wang Xinyou, curator of the exhibition, said the artists' works were rebellious yet responsive to our time. "They do not belong to the mainstream of even the vanguard art that is being popular," he said.

The curator added that the style of these artworks correspond to the vision of the PIFO New Art Space.

The venue offered young artists a platform to show off their most creative ideas and a collective space to allow them to stay together during the early years of their artistic growth, he said.

Suojiacun Village, where the venue has chosen to open, is situated near the highway to the airport. In its immediate vicinity is the Factory 798, which has grown into the most bustling artists' hub in Beijing since the beginning of the new century.

But in as early as 2004, many artists moved to Suojiacun because rents had risen and comfort levels declined at the Factory 798.

(China Daily October 18, 2006)