History in the Making:Shanghai 1979 – 2009

History in the Making:

Shanghai 1979 – 2009
September 10th - October 10th , 2009
(10:30 to 19:00 every day)

Opening reception: September 9th 2009, 19:30

Curator: Biljana Ciric
Venue:
Ju Men road 436 (near Xie Tu road)
Information: biljana.ciric@gmail.com

Participanting artists:
"BEIHEI MENG" Photography Association, Birdhead, Chen Juyuan, Chen Yanyin, Ding Yi, Gong Jianqing, Gu Lei, He Yang, Hu Jianping, Hu Jieming, Huang Kui, Jin Feng (Xiao), Jin Feng+Su Chang, Jin Shan, Li Mu, Li Pinghu, Li Shan, Liang Yue, Liu Jianhua, Lu Chunsheng, M Group, Mian Mian, Ni Jun, Ni Weihua, Qian Weikang, Qiu Anxiong, Qiu Deshu, Shen Fan, Shi Yong, Song Tao, Sun Liang, Tang Guangming, Tang Maohong, Xiang Liqing, Xu Zhen, Yang Fudong, Yang Hui, Yang Xu, Yang Zhenzhong, Yu Youhan, Zhang Ding, Zhang Enli, Zhang Jianjun, Zhang Long, Zhang Pingjie, Zhang Xin, Zhou Xiaohu, Zhou Zixi

Curatorial Concept:

As highly active and experimental, artist groups in Shanghai have long played an important role in the shaping of the contemporary art world in China. History in the Making: Shanghai 1979 – 2009 intends to trace an all-encompassing overview of the Shanghai contemporary art scene since 1979 through to the present.

This exhibition is not only an overview of the Shanghai contemporary art scene, but also the first time that several generations of characteristic artists from Shanghai (including different age groups, different artistic approaches) have been brought together in the form of an exhibition. In this way, the exhibition also is an accumulation of the city's cultural growth and current status through the perspectives and attitudes of nearly 50 artists and cultural practitioners who have contributed to the urban culture of Shanghai.

The exhibition would sort through and explore the multiple layers of the social and cultural fabric of Shanghai, taking note of several important clues:

• First, the exhibition will reflect upon the cultural background of Shanghai: from 1979 through to the present, how have the historical trends of the Shanghai contemporary art scene, within a larger cultural perspective, influenced the individual reflections of the practitioners?

• The exhibition will also reflect upon the use and adaptation of different artistic languages during three decades

• Finally, the exhibition will reflect upon the various styles of presentation developed over the years: this exhibition has consciously avoided the typical mode of presentation for an overview of this scope. The placement and curation of the works by the artists on show will be decided after discussions between the artists and the curator, taking into account the current status of the different artists.

The presentation of the individual artists will be informed by the following considerations:

• The important turning points in an artist's career

• Certain installations from the early 90s will be reproduced, since few have been preserved to this day

• The accepted creative style of years past will be adopted as a starting point to create new artworks that reference also the contemporary attitude, using the realities of the present day as the materials for creation.

This exhibition is the work of curator Biljana Ciric, who has been actively collecting the many historical documents from Shanghai contemporary art exhibitions over the years and interviewing over 30 artists so far.

The exhibition hopes to reveal to the great extent that Shanghai contemporary art groups have contributed to the development of contemporary art nationwide, while detailing the individual processes of development and creative clues that are visible in the presentation of the various materials and works. In recognition of the artistic strength it requires to operate at this scale of activity, it is important to note that numerous local arts institutions, such as the Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art and the Ke Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghart have provided supported to the exhibition.

under luxun banner

Hi everyone, For your weekly blog entries, pick a night or two to attend.

 

Under Lu Xun Banner: body experience in East Asia

Performing and performance at under-construction new site of ddmwarehouse

Huai Hai Xi Road Shanghai, China

30th October - 3rd November 2008 

Solo Creations  (free)

Produce: Grass Stage Theatre (Shanghai)

30th Oct (Thursday) 19:30

Playwright & performing: Hou Qinghui, Wu Meng, Yu Kai, Qu Han, Fan Haoru, Lin Chen, Bao Wenlu, Leng Yu, Tan Yueming

Artistic director: Zhao Chuan

 

Lu Xun 2008 (50 yuan)

31st Oct (Friday) and 1st Nov (Saturday) 19:30

Co-produce: Grass Stage (Shanghai), Clash Theatre (Hong Kong), Body Phase Studio (Taipei), DA-M Theatre (Tokyo)

Director: Hiroshi Ohashi (Artistic Director), Wang Molin, Tong Sze Hong, Zhao Chuan

Performing: Takumi Harada，Lee Chi Man, Cheng Chih Chung, Chen Cheng

 

East Asia Body Presentation Series  (free)

2nd Nov (Sunday) 16:30

Performing by: Takumi Harada (Tokyo), Li NingNa(Jinan), Changjin(Seoul), Watan Wuma (Taipei), Chu Sua Man (Hong Kong), Fengzi(Shanghai), Jiangnan Liguo / Lin Xia (Hangzhou)

 

Showtime (free)

3rd Nov (Monday)  Only for night starting at 20:00

Organized by:Biljana Ciric

Participants: Huang Kui, Jin Feng, Song Tao, Hu Yun, Lu Jiawei, Gao Mingyan,Tang Dixin, Li Mu, Feng Zi

 

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Culture Outpost: Rebellion Youth under the Illusion Light

Nov (Saturday) 16:30 �17:30

Speaker: Li Chun Nei  (Hong Kong)

 

Forum: Theatre and Social Space � inspired by Lu Xun 2008

2nd Nov (Sunday) 14:00至16:00

Guest speakers: Wang Molin, Paik Wondam, Wang Xiao Ming, Zhang Xian and Tao Qing mei

Chaired by: Zhao Chuan

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Booking is recommended for all activities.

Email booking: grassstage@gmail.com or Miss Leng 13916285188 (Chinese only)

For more information: www.grassstage .com or http://blog.sina.com.cn/grassstage

 

Project organized by Zhao Chuan and Biljana Ciric

Project supported by Down Stream Garage/ Arthub Foundation/ Anlian Taohuayuan Youth theatre Found/ Zendai MoMa Intrude Art Project/ Ruixue Art Community

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雅虎邮箱，您的终生邮箱！

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雅虎邮箱，您的终生邮箱！

From The Ritz To The Rubble

Last weekend concluded the glamorous 2nd annual Sh Contemporary Art Fair, hosted here in Shanghai. Still a very young event, Sh Contemporary seems destined for success. Conceived by Lorenzo Rudolph, mastermind behind Art Basel and Art Basel Miami, Rudolph appears to have a knack for turning art fairs into high profile, world-class events. An art lover at heart, but a businessman by training, Rudolph has instantaneously marketed Sh Contemporary as a brand—and a popular one at that. Not to say that the onslaught of collectors, parties, and VIP events detract attention from the art. It is undoubtedly a wise career move for many artists and affords great exposure, providing the piece gets found in the labyrinth of an exhibition hall.

Lorenzo Rudolph seized the perfect opportunity to establish the first international art fair in Asia. The Chinese government saw the fair as an opportunity to broaden their cultural influence, collectors around the world seem to be drooling over contemporary Chinese art, and of course local galleries and artists were both clambering for international recognition. The fair was sure to be a hit.

The fundamental concept behind an elite art fair however, is to exhibit only the highest quality of work. But you have to wonder with all the attention put on commercial success, who is responsible for deeming certain art ‘of the highest quality’? Local curator, Biljana Ciric's recently published book Rejected Collection, provides a database of Chinese contemporary artists refused proposals. The book highlights the relationship between artist and art market. It questions the expectations of art institutions and the authenticity of contemporary Chinese works as pure expressions of artistic voice.

By no means does this represent the entirety of art in China. At the same time Sh Contemporary was in full swing, another show was on display just around the corner. Located in a Chinese housing complex, a group of a dozen friends have rented an apartment and set up site-specific installations based on their individual ideas of comfort. This group show called Comfortable, takes a much more personal approach to art and demonstrates the importance of home in a city full of skyscrapers and shopping malls.

So where exists the middle ground--an art institution that encourages creative experimentation and genuine expression, while providing the appropriate recognition and success for all parties. It sounds a little too good to be true, but maybe Lorenzo Rudolph is already hard at work on it.

Shanghai this month

Artists: Ma Lina, Li Wei, Zhang Shanshan
Curator: Ding Yi
Academic Director: Zhao Li
Exhibition Period: Nov 30- December 30, 2007
Venue: South ShanXi Road,Shanghai
Thanks!
Cetus Gallery
Address: No.165 South Shanxi Road, Shanghai, China
Tel: 86-021-54653655
Fax: 86-021-54650675
www.cetusgallery.com

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Zhang Xian

As the director of the Downstream Garage (Xiahe Micang), which hosts
the annual Ideas Festival and the Downstream Garage Fringe Festival,
Zhang Xian is a key actor in the development of Shanghai's independent
theater scene. Zhang has received several fellowships abroad and has
sat on the judge's panel of the Zurich Festival and Cairo International
Experimental Arts Festival. He's worked as a director and a playwright
in the fields of dance, drama and film and has written and directed 19
works which have been shown in Shanghai, Beijing and abroad. His
physical theater work, Tongue's Memory of Home, won the grand prize at
the Zurich Festival.
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Exhibition: Soft Power: Asian Attutude
Organized by: Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art
Chief Curator: Shen Qibin
Co-Curators: Binghui Huangfu Biljana Ciric
Dates: 17 November - 28 December 2007
Opening Reception: 17 November 2007, 4pm
Venue: Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art (No.28, Lane 199 Fangdian
Road, Shanghai, China)
Artist: Lida Abdul, Chen Chiehjen, Heri Dono, Shilpa Gupta, Ho Tzu
Nyen, Jin Feng, Jitish Kallat, Reena Kallat, Gulnara Kasmalieva &
Muratbek Djumaliev, Will Kwan, Lee Changwon, Owen Leong, leung Mee
Ping, Liu Guangyun, Yukinori Maeda & Yuki Kimura, Qiu Zhijie, Khaled
Sabsabi, Shen Shaomin, Vasan Sitthiket, Song Dong, Manit Sriwanichpoom,
Su Xinping, Kai Syng Tan, Nan See Tan, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Tseng
Yuchin, Wu Gaozhong, Mahmoud Yekta

【Special Event】Shadow Play from Thai artist Vasan Sitthiket

Event time: During the opening, November 17, 2007
Event Venue: Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art

The work itself takes a form of shadow puppets that are
representations of major political proponents in the world, which shows
an active political context. South East Asian countries are struggling
to find balance in its cultural identity. Like any theatrical
performance there is the surface interpretation and underlying message.
The audience is presented with an entertaining show, however, what they
walk away with is an interpretation of truth, which is difficult to
forget. Vasan Sitthiket combines aspects of traditional shadow puppet
culture with the contemporary cultural commentary of today. In reality
Vasan Sitthiket is using a long tradition of theater production to
comment on the human condition.