Welcome to Ming Gu Gallery, a London based gallery showcasing contemporary artists who breathe new life into East Asian aesthetics by drawing inspirations from classical styles while exploring contemporary themes.

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My name is Guming and I started the gallery in April 2023 out of love for classical Chinese art, a feeling of underrepresentation of this genre in the UK art scene and curiosity of seeing how this thousand year old tradition can evolve. 

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The gallery's name, Ming Gu (pronounced as 'Ming-Goo'), comes from shan ming gu ying (山鸣谷应) in Second Ode to the Red Cliffs (后赤壁赋) by Su Shi (苏轼). The Second Ode to the Red Cliffs is one of the most celebrated poems in Chinese history and the literal meaning of this phrase is that the mountain calls and the valley answers. It symbolises meaningful exchange and stimulating dialogues, which is what I want to achieve through this gallery.  

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As the gallery director, I also have a personal connection with this poem since my father named me after this phrase. The gallery name is essentially a reversal of my first name, Guming (谷鸣), highlighting the fluidity of the Chinese language. 

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Guming Song

Founder and Director