Just came back from a fantastic trip in Asia, visiting galleries, museums, fair...meeting lots a friends and art people.
Let's start with Shanghai.
I hadn't been back there for sometime, my last trip in China was Beijing, and I was in awe to see how the whole city has changed. The Art scene is vibrant and more galleries are opening there even if most artists are still based in the capital which remains the center for art. Having say that I ventured in Shanghai and really enjoyed my trip there.
Magda Danysz, the parisian dealer has opened a great space on the Bund Gallery 18, and was showing the work of Maleonn a young shanghanese photographer who has embarked in a large scale project re-creating a photgraphic studio and touring 55 cities in China. His work is enchanting and fantastic at the same time, mixing old photographies he has been collecting and mise en scene of new work.
I pursued my route and ended it up at the Rockbund Museum which has re-opened in Oct.11 after a major renovation. The star artist Zhang Huan was staging site specific sculptures, installation, ash painting in a major exhibition called : Q Confucius, re-visiting the iconic figure of the chinese history while questioning the development of contemporary China. I enjoyed it tremendously : witty, provocative and daring.
Around the Bund I visited Pearl Lam Gallery and Studio Rouge run by Aussie George Michell featuring international emerging and established artists.
Moganshan Road called as well M25 is the art district of Shanghai but does not compare in scale and space with his Beijing sister 798. Having say that it is enjoyable to stroll on the narrow alleys of Moganshan Art center.
Shangart Gallery is a "must see" space and I exhibition cctv of Zhang Qinq intriguing and well spot on. Using footage of cctv with a journalistic ironic tone the artist tells stories of the the modern society: the party leader who fight against corruption, the "worker against the background of western capitalistic society".
I really enjoyed Island 6 space, exhibition and artist. It is "art collective composed of multimedia artists, performers, writers, curators, and tech-geeks driven by innovation and interaction". Some works as the Call Me installation are interactive and the viewer becomes part of the performance!
On a more traditional note the exhibition of Jiang Baolin, a master in traditional Chinese painting at the Shanghai Art Museum was surprising and refreshing.
