Shanghai's Booming Art Scene
July 16, 2023
LSS Art Advisory visited the exciting city of Shanghai, China, where the contemporary art scene is flourishing due to the recent openings of world class private and public art museums. Following are highlights of Museum and studio visits:
All your views, Olafur Eliasson at Long Museum
Olafur Eliasson in Long Museum
Olafur Eliasson, a renowned Danish-Icelandic visual artist, had his first survey exhibition in China at the Long Museum. Titled Nothingness is Nothing at All, Olafur selected works inspired by the architecture of the museum that employ his signature natural materials such as stone, ice, water and light, and question the phenomenon of color perception.
The Long Museum is located in the burgeoning new arts district of West Bund in a stunning re-designed 1950’s industrial building. The private museum is owned by Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei. As the most prominent art collectors in China, Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei made news headline for their purchase of a Modigliani painting that sold for $170.4 million at Christie’s New York in 2015.
Artist Ann Niu with sister during LSS Art Advisory studio visit
Ann Niu Studio Visit
Ann Niu hosted LSS Art Advisory in her studio. She was born and grew up in Shanghai where she practiced Chinese calligraphy as a young girl. This skill has flourished in her works especially in her use of lines, which create movement and dynamism throughout her compositions.
Retrospective-Alberto Giacometti exhibited in Yuz Museum
Alberto Giacometti’s Retrospective at the Yuz Museum included over 250 works loaned exclusively from the Foundation. Laid out on two floors of a giant airplane hanger, the show covered the entire career of Giacometti, from his early years to his surrealist and cubist periods, and ended with his widely acclaimed works from the 1960’s. The show, brilliantly designed by the Louvre’s head designer Adrien Gardère, smartly included a re-creation of Giacometti’s tiny studio at Rue Hippolyte-Maindron, giving attendees special insight into Giacommetti’s artistic practice.
The Yuz Museum was founded by the Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur and collector Budi Tek, and along with the Long Museum, anchors the new West Bund arts district in Shanghai.
Walking Man, Alberto Giacometti at the Yuz Museum
Herman Chong Ifs, Ands or Buts at Rockbund Art Museum
A Singoporean artist, Herman Chong, exhibited his works in Ifs, Ands or Buts(curated by Li Qi) at the Rockbund Museum. His selected pieces examined the spaces between image and text, and produced new ways of connecting the two. LSS Art Advisory was captured by Chong’s The Mysterious Island. A recreation of the Peach Blossom Island; this piece applied plastic peach blossom trees in full bloom and was set against a painted blue background, often used in film productions.
The Rockbund Museum’s beautiful art deco building dates from the early 1930’s and originally housed the Royal Asiatic Society. In 2007, the building was reconstructed incorporating the historical architecture with modern and contemporary art, and officially opened in 2010.
The Mysterious Island, Herman Chong at Rockbund Museum