Shanghai had a busy weekend art-wise, with openings aplenty as well as tons of great exhibitions still on show across the city. From boys on film at Leo Xu through to mechanical magic at MoCA, here's our pick of what to see now.
Just opened...
Nostalgia @ MOCA
"Nostalgia" just opened up at MoCA and examines some pretty weighty issues – namely, how will contemporary Asian art maintain its cultural identity in an increasingly globalized art world? Fourteen artists grapple with just that through shared themes of, you guessed it, nostalgia for traditional artforms from Asia. Hence, you've got a lovely and absorbing installation of painted ceramic cups by Fan Jianfeng, each one unique and beautifully presented on bamboo racks. Right around the corner and stealing the show is Tu Weicheng The Emperor’s Treasure Chests, a delightful work of customized furniture boasting mechanical music boxes, shadow puppetry and optical toys. Others take a more literal approach to nostalgia: be sure to check out Hai Bo's Other series which recreates snapshots from the '60s and '70s to evoke longing and loss. Well worth a look.
Boy: A Contemporary Portrait @ Leo Xu Projects
Another group show worthy of a look-see is "Boy: A Contemporary Portrait", recently opened at the rather lovely Leo Xu Projects space on Fuxing Lu. The works on display present various representations of men in different cultures and media – as muse, as protagonist and, importantly, as artist. Visitors are greeted by an enormous screen installation of award-winning Thai artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul's film piece Faith. Slow, dreamlike and kinda futuristic-looking, the weightlessness of the characters contrasts starkly with Jérôme Bel's grounded, altogether more physical film of contemporary dancer Cédric Andrieux. Head upstairs for Beijing-based Liu Chuang's Buying Everything on You – a wonderfully voyeuristic work presenting accumulated possessions – from bus tickets to pants – with museum-like precision.
Fang Wei Solo Show @ Shanghai Gallery of Art
For something completely different, Fang Wei's solo show has just opened up at the Bund-side Shanghai Gallery of Art, the vast, roomy space being a perfect setting for these sometimes massive paintings that, to our eyes at least, are best viewed from afar. Close up, they're messy and deceptively rudimentary, and whilst stepping back only heightens the works' ambiguity, it brings a certain togetherness to these colourful works. There's unmistakable hints of traditional Chinese brush painting in there, as well as Western traits too – the unlikely shades in Fang's portraits, for example, nod to 20th century Expressionists' use of colour. There's also some of the artist's initial watercolour sketches, set alongside their much larger counterparts in great swathes of oil paint. Good stuff indeed.
Still showing...
Trace, line, shadow / Christin Kalweit Solo Show @ ifa
What else? Well, ifa is always good for a visit and right now they have two exhibitions -- group show trace, line, shadow and German artist Christin Kalweit's solo. The first features three artists all examining ideas around time and whilst we weren't bowled over, one work is definitely worth checking out: Wu Junyong's enthralling animation, Cloud's Nightmare. Bleak, sinister and dark, it's also utterly magical and strangely captivating. Go see.
KADIST @ Minsheng Art Museum
Otherwise, and we know we keep harping on about this, KADIST at Minsheng Art Museum is really, really good. It's a mixed media show boasting big, big names in international contemporary art -- think Claire Fontaine, Martin Creed, et al. -- and jam-packed with video pieces, light and sound installations and prints exploring themes like the self, artistic autonomy and so on. There's still a couple of weeks left of that one and it's not to be missed.
Coming up...
There's lots of good stuff in the pipeline but we're particularly excited about Future Lovers, a solo show by local Shanghai illustrator Mogo Wang. That kicks off at XinDanWei on February 25 with local musician Wu Ji performing at the opening event from 7pm. Looking further ahead still, we can't wait to see what Vhils has come up with during his Shanghai sojourn: the Portuguese street artist has been chisel-carving walls across the city, check CreativeHunt here for one such masterpiece. For more of the same, get thee to 18 Gallery on 31 March when they'll also be inaugurating their new space at 188 Linqing Lu. For all of that and more, keep an eye on our exhibitions calendar right here
