初创索卡
时光匆匆，岁月流逝，从创立索卡以来，转眼已是十八年，回想过去，一路走来跌跌撞撞，有欢乐也有心酸。
其实，经营画廊不是我三十岁前的计划，确实是在喜欢艺术与偶然的机缘下，进入这行业。回首初创索卡，从台湾古都台南开始，以仅台币六十万的本钱创业，有的最大本钱就是想把对艺术浓厚的兴趣，分享给更多人。有时我在画廊等到半夜十一点，只因为客人那时才看完诊下班，有空来画廊看画 ; 有时我会在艺术家工作室等作品等到凌晨，好让成品可以在隔日顺利的在画廊展出。当时有的是一股冲劲，想把我喜欢的艺术分享出去。
在一次机缘下，有幸遇见上海知名艺术家，作品动人，风格清晰，就像一股清流感动了我，我毅然把他的作品带回台湾，介绍给更多朋友。因为这股想分享的心情，我创立了第一家为大陆艺术家举办展览的画廊，当时是1992年，距离当代四大天王2005年首次在台湾举办展览相距了13年。
2001年，带着开疆辟土的心，我从台南买了张单程机票飞到北京，成立了北京的第一家台湾画廊。成立的过程从未轻松，我亦步亦趋的缓慢前进，碰到困难也未曾轻易放弃过，直到2003年，严峻的景气终于稍有好转，北京索卡培育两年的花苞终于稍稍待放，也因如此，我带着一股信心，成立首尔索卡办事处，成为中韩艺术家交流的平台 ; 两年过后，北京索卡当代空间成立，2007年我带着鲑鱼回乡的感恩之情，成立稍具规模的台北索卡。
我与艺术
记得我与艺术结缘是在1985年，当时我每周日从台南搭清晨六点的客运，四小时的车乘，到台北赶上古董课，然后在傍晚六点再赶搭客运回台南，准备星期一早上八点半上班，如此三年，不曾缺课。当时有的是一股热情。现在我不用去上古董课了，但每当我去看作品，仍旧一股热情，有时在国外拜访艺术家，常常一天得从早上9点到半夜12点才能看完行程安排的艺术家们。
我很喜欢看艺术家作品，我喜欢跟他们聊天，听听他们谈创作理念，了解他们的想法，也因为我喜欢四处看作品，造就索卡了“古.今.中.外”的定位，我们有最优雅的老画，有最前卫的装置，有最顶级的华人作品，有最一线的亚洲当代。 很多朋友都知道我喜欢古董，我很喜欢老事物：老的瓷器，老的家具，老的好酒，也因此我做当代艺术时，比同行多了一份怀旧 ; 同时，我也很愿意尝试新事物，新的旅行，新的食材，新的科技，因此我做当代艺术时，比收藏家多了一份超前。 “新”不代表年轻作品，而是代表市场还未普遍接受的作品，像最近我们成交了好几笔重要作品的交易，对于这些藏家而言，这些作品都是第一次收藏，对他们而言是新的，但只要作品顶级，我们都会用心的推荐。
不少朋友问我为何在此不甚乐观的艺术环境中，费力费事的将北京索卡搬迁到798艺术区?其实，此时此刻的索卡是建立在这十八年累积之上，去年的因缘巧合，我碰上了现在这包豪斯风格的锯齿状老厂房，当下便决心要拿下这空间，为更多艺术家提供更好的展览空间，为更多的艺术爱好者提供更好的服务。如众人所知，金融海啸重创艺术产业之深，许多朋友都在此时劝我以不动制动，我还是选了一条足迹稀少的林径，希望这路上会遇见更多令人惊艳的景色。
百年艺术大树
我是从无到有将画廊经营起来的，这过程确实是筚路褴褛，胼手胝足，但一路走来，确实结交了不少朋友，索卡的成长中受到很多温暖的相助，在这边要向大家说声谢谢。同时，我也希望可以给更多喜欢艺术的年轻人鼓励，凡是只要有梦想，用心坚持，必会有成。
这次我们特别准备这场艺术大宴：“云端---亚洲当代艺术大展”，邀请陆蓉之老师操刀策展，囊括目前亚洲重要艺术家的重要作品，希望大家喜欢。未来，索卡会有更多的展览，我们会继续努力， 索卡会是一个永续经营的画廊，会是一棵百年艺术大树，为更多喜欢艺术的朋友提供最好服务，最不同凡响的艺术。
萧富元
书于北京, 初春, 2010
Preface
Establishing Soka Art Center
It is 18 years since Soka Art Center was first established and as I look back I marvel at all the ups and downs that have marked this wonderful adventure.
It was not my ambition 30 years ago to run an art gallery. I became involved in the business as a result of my love for art and certain unexpected developments. Soka came about in Tainan city and involved the paltry sum of NT$600,000 and a driving passion to share my abiding love of art. Sometimes I would find myself still in the gallery at 11pm because that was the only time certain customers could visit the gallery. On other occasions I hung out in artists’ studios until the early hours of the morning, waiting for new works so they could be hung in the gallery the next morning At that time I had a burning desire to share the art that meant so much to me with others.
One day I accidentally bumped into a renowned artist from Shanghai. He produced works that were truly moving with a clear and cogent style that moved me with their purity and I was determined to bring his work back to Taiwan with me to show my friends. It was this almost overwhelming desire to share how I felt with others that led me to establish the first gallery dedicated to exhibiting work by Mainland Chinese artists. That was 1992, a full 13 years before Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun, Wang Guangyi and Fang Lijun held their first exhibitions in Taiwan in 2005.
In 2001, full of dreams about developing new frontiers I bought a one way ticket to Beijing where I established the very first Taiwanese art gallery. This was far from an easy thing to do and I had to deal with countless problems, but I was determined not to give up. In 2003, a difficult situation suddenly took a turn for the better and Soka Art Center Beijing nurtured over the preceding two years started to bloom. It was at that time, infused with a new found sense of confidence, that I established Soka Seoul (首尔索卡办事处) in the hope of developing a platform to promote artistic exchanges between Chinese and Korean artists. Two years later Soka Art Center Beijing (北京索卡当代空间成立) was established and in 2007 I returned to Taiwan to establish Soka Art Center Taipei (台北索卡).
Art and Me
I recall as if it were yesterday how I became involved in the art world. In 1985 I would take the 6am bus every Sunday from Tainan to Taipei, a four hour journey, to attend a class in antiques. I would then take the bus back at 6pm the same day, so that I could get ready for work at 8:30am Monday morning. I did that for three years without missing a single class I was so fired up about everything. Today I no longer need to take classes, but every time I view art I still feel that passion burning inside of me. Sometimes when I visit travel overseas, I spend the whole day from 9am to well after midnight meeting with the artists.
I absolutely adore viewing artist’s works art, I love talking to them and listening to them talk about their creative inspiration as that allows me to better understand the philosophy that informs their art. Indeed, it is my passion for traveling far and wide to view art that has gained Soka Art Center a reputation for focusing on such a wide range of art, “Chinese and foreign art, ancient and modern.” We have examples of the most exquisite paintings, avant-garde installations, the best known Chinese artists and the best known Asian contemporary art. I really love old things, whether ceramics, furniture or wine, so my involvement with contemporary art comes with a more pronounced sense of nostalgia than many of my competitors. At the same time, I am also very much open to trying new things, visiting new places, trying new foods, new technology, so my involvement with contemporary art has always been a little bit more forward looking than many other collectors. In this context, the term “New” does not represent youthful work but rather pieces that are not yet accepted by the market. For example, I recently sold quite a few important works and for those collectors the pieces were the first things they had ever bought. In other words, the works were new for them, but as long as the art is of the best quality we always work hard to promote it.
Many friends have asked me why I worked so hard to move Soka Art Center Beijing (北京索卡) to 798 Art Zone during such a downturn for the art market? The truth is that Soka has been built on 18 years of hard work and experience, but it was only last year that I first saw the Bauhaus style factory building and decided to make it our new home. I immediately thought that this would be a better exhibition space, enabling more artists to show their work and Soka to provide better services for even more art lovers. It is well known the extent to which the financial tsunami impacted the art business and many people tried to persuade me to take time to review the situation, but I chose the take the path less travelled, in the hope that this new journey would allow me to encounter even more wonderful sights.
Nurturing an art gallery
I built up the gallery from nothing and the experience has involved blazing a new trail, but from beginning to end I have made many new friends. Soka has grown with the help of people too numerous to name, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been there for me over the years. At the same time, I would like to offer my encouragement to a younger generation of art lovers and to say to them that I am living proof of what can happen if you have dreams and a determination to see them become reality - your future lies in your own hands.
The next artistic feast offered by Soka. “Clouds: The Power of Asian Contemporary Art” (云端---亚洲当代艺术大展) is curated by Victoria Lu and will include important works from some of the best known artists in Asia. We very much hope you will join us on this special occasion. In future Soka will put on more exhibitions in an effort to satisfy the artistic appetite of a ravenous public. Soka is a sustainable art gallery that plans to be around for a long time yet, providing extraordinary works of art for the delectation of art lovers everywhere.
Hsiao Fuyuan
Written in Beijing, early spring, 2010
【编辑：霍春常】
