Sketching out a career

Wang's work, Cherry Season.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"It was a little surprising and a good start for me."

She says many buyers were from furnishing companies and fancy clubs, who were scouting for artworks for decoration.

"The prices are not a problem for them. They want works that are both decorative and worth collecting. Some of them have studied art."

Young artists rarely face survival issues today since they start to sell their work at school. But they face great difficulty finding a good studio in a city center.

"The cheap places are in the suburbs, and they cost at least 100,000 yuan a year," says Wang. "Then, we also have to pay for paints and other material. For now, I will share a studio with my classmates."

But selling one or two paintings is far from enough for young artists.

To launch a career, they need dealers and art institutions that can provide long-term support, including curating solo shows, cataloging output and exhibiting works at fairs.

Wang has been contacted by several institutions. But she fears that they have no intention of helping plan a career for her. They only want to sell her works, to see how the market receives them.

"I have dozens of my paintings. But I don't want to sell them right now. I want to save them for my first solo exhibition. They are like my children. They deserve a decent presentation."