I first came to Shirley’s gallery on November 26 and met the beautiful proprietor, Shirley (Xiao Li). She had an exhibition of the local artist named Yin Shi Long. His art and sculptures were very impressive, and I found myself having dinner with a variety of artists in her restaurant. Shirley’s story is as interesting as Artist Yin’s work. Shirley has opened a second floor gallery in one of the most 
exclusive locations in Guiyang, downtown on Jian Dao Jie, beside the river. Shirley is able to support the artists of Guizhou because of her successful clothing business and restaurant. The restaurant is on the first floor and the gallery is directly above.
She is so successful that she has her own pillows with her face on it. She also has T-Shirts, batteries, silk scarves, postcards and my favorite mouse pad.
Shirley takes her inspiration from her art teacher, Chen HongQi. He has been an established artist in Guiyang many years, and some of his art is shown below, taken from his recently published book.
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Shirley and her Teacher
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Shirley and Artist Yin and his uncle Yin Guang Zhong
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Two more oil paintings from the book
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Childbirth
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Chen HongQi’s Book
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Chen HongQi is Working
The gallery is supporting the artist community of Guizhou, having featured the art of seventeen local artists. These artists are not charged any money for this premier location. Shirley is an art collector and often accepts gifts of art from the artists that she helps.
Shirley urges everyone to buy the art to help maintain the artist community. We discussed the art scene extensively over coffee in her gallery on Tuesday (Dec 6, 2016). Interested patrons of Guizhou Art can write tourguizhou@gmail.com for more information.
Shirley Gallery
72 Jian Dao Jie
Guiyang, Guizhou
(0851)86676222/86911000
