China reins in gallery exhibits

Chinese censors are forcing some art galleries to delay shows, including two with works by Andy Warhol and depicting the Dalai Lama, as the government tries to control the capital’s appearance during the Olympic Games.

Galleri Faurschou said it postponed this weekend’s show of Warhol’s art because censors deemed it inappropriate to exhibit foreign works during China’s biggest public event. Xin Beijing Art Gallery said it scrapped a weekend display of Ma Baozhong’s work because censors found fault with his oil paintings of the Dalai Lama and former president Jiang Zemin.

“There was a view at the cultural ministry that with more than 40 heads of states visiting Beijing during the Olympics, it’d be better to show works by Chinese artists,” said Faurschou’s director, Kai Heinze.