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5 Museums. 8 Shows. August Is Artsy AF.

A month's worth of edifying art exhibitions in air-conditioned museums and galleries around town.
2021-08-06 17:30:00
Photos: SmSh Photographers

Museum of Art Pudong


This is the big ticket this month. We did a larger feature article on the newly opened, massively hyped Museum of Art Pudong right here, but these are the three specific exhibitions you’re going down to see.

Cai Guoqiang – Odyssey and Homecoming

Painter / pyro-technician Cai Guoqiang is China's go-to guy for creating massive and elaborate fireworks spectacles. He emerged on the international stage after heading up the fireworks shows for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. So the medium for his solo exhibition isn't a suprise: gunpowder. The gallery showcases 538 fireworks projects in 218 cities in 50 countries around the world, along with 101 projects that he didn't get to pull off.

Light: Works From Tate's Collections

In collaboration with Tate Modern in the UK, "Light" is a cross-genre exhibition showcasing the usage and development of light and shadow in modern painting. The show starts with a mesmerizing teaser "Ophelia" on the ground floor, painted by British artist John Everett Millais in 1852. A whole multi-media room is also included with accompanying documentation — interpretations and contextual information. The exhibition continues on the third floor of MAP, which serves Olafur Eliasson's 2014 dazzling hanging sculpture "Starlight Particle" as well as pieces by Claude Monet, John Martin, and Anish Kapoor.

Joan Miró – Women · Birds · Stars

On the fourth floor, Joan Miró is here, working in lush, lively, bold block colors that will forever evoke the spirit of Barcelona. More than 60 art pieces by the Spanish painter are on display, making this debut show in China a visual feast for all Miró fans, as well as kids — who might also be excited to appreciate these lovely drawings that happen to look a lot like theirs. (No shade against the Spanish master intended.)

West Bund Museum

The Voice of Things

West Bund Museum and the Centre Pompidou team up to host a two-year exhibition "The Voice of Things", which focuses on the use of ready-made objects in art in the early 20th century and the rise of the role of consumerism in art production since the 1950s. On show are pieces by Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, of course, along with painting from Bernard Buffet and Jurg Kreienbuhl, into works of pop art and Fluxus. Another interesting element is "The Way Things Go", a 30-minute film by Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss, which records a continuous chain of events of daily objects with a Rube Goldberg machine.

Kandinsky – The Pioneer of Abstract Art

The second level of West Bund Museum houses another major collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, which is a comprehensive series of Kandinsky works in paintings, drawings and engravings. The first name in abstract art, Kandinsky's works are separated into four periods, including his early experiments, following his development of his own visual language for expression in simple shapes and colors. The accompanying documentation is quite well done, with a media room showing video support and even displaying one of Kandinsky’s palettes. The exhibition ends on September 5.

Jiushi Art Museum

Marc Chagall – Love Is the Colour

Located on the sixth floor of The House of Roosevelt, Jiushi Art Museum is presenting 154 pieces of paintings by Marc Chagall. Works span his entire career, including pieces inspired by Chagall's childhood and hometown, his colorful depictions of love and couples despite the tragedies in the world, and a room of fables co-created by Jean de La Fontaine. Also, flower portraits aplenty. The showing lasts till early October.

Long Museum (West Bund)

Jonas Burgert – Blüht und Lügt

Long Museum presents contemporary artist Jonas Burgert's new and old artworks under the (translated for our purposes) title, "blooms and lies". The German talent is known to employ his own art language (such as luminous colors and grotesque figures) to depict humanlike creatures and reflect his spiritual world. Bonus: this one is not only about art — it's also good exercise. Pieces on display are massive. One of them "Lieb Wildert", demands the viewer take over 20 steps to take in entirely.

Power Station of Art

Tintin and Hergé

A very populist show from Power Station, they’re bringing back a fav' from your childhood (maybe?) Hergé, and his internationally recognized comic creation, "Tintin". The show is claiming to be the largest exhibition on the subject worldwide, and presents more than 200 characters from the comic books, together with other artworks, photography, and private collections of Hergé. Another highlight of the tour revolves around the connection and friendship between Hergé and famous Chinese artist Zhang Chongren, who inspired Hergé to add Eastern elements to "Tintin" and other illustrations.

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Browse all ongoing art exhibitions in Shanghai here.

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