HOME >> METRO SHANGHAI
Mythical works
By Hu Bei Source:Global Times Published: 2015-3-19 17:53:01
Yuz Museum’s new exhibition focuses on contemporary takes on the past
Myth/History II: Shanghai Galaxy opened on Tuesday at the Yuz Museum and is the follow-up to its debut exhibition Myth/History: Yuz Collection of Contemporary Art, which opened last year.
Located on the waterfront of Xuhui district on the west bank of the Huangpu River, Yuz Museum is a private museum that was founded by Budi Tek (Yu Deyao) in mid-2014. Tek is a Chinese-Indonesian agribusiness entrepreneur and art collector.
The current exhibition is composed of 73 pieces from over 20 artists both from China and abroad. It is divided into two parts. Titled Myth, the first part is a group of large-scale installations and sculptures.
The other part, named History, is a group exhibition consisting of works by several outstanding Shanghai-based artists, like Zhang Enli, Yang Zhenzhong and Zhang Jianjun. Their works range across paintings, installations and multimedia pieces. The exhibition aims to give an overview of the state of Shanghai's contemporary art scene.
Shanghai on high
In Gravitation-Shanghai Night Sky, local artist and photographer Shi Yong arranges photos of the tops of skyscrapers on 56 small light boxes. The photo subjects are wrapped in diffuse mist that reaches toward the night sky and makes for an illusionary and fantastic vision.
The work also brings to mind a new nickname for Shanghai that is very popular among locals at present - modu (mysterious city). The work also questions the significance of such mega buildings for the city and its people.
From 1992 to 2011, Shanghai artist Shen Fan collected statistics from the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and used them for the basis of his artwork. In this exhibition, two installation pieces by Shen embody his exploration process.
One, titled Landscape-9210-Point, is made of 19 mirror-finished pieces of stainless steel, each corresponding to one of the 19 years that Shen charted the market's movements.
Viewers can see their own distorted reflections in the mirror-finished material. LED bulbs with sensor controllers are embedded inside the pieces, and turn on when viewers approach.
The other piece, named Landscape-9210-Line, has over 200 cement bases with embedded steel bars that form the shape of a curve, which is derived from the data the artist collected.
In the opinion of Biljana Ciric, an independent curator based in Shanghai, the data that Shen collected is not only a timeline of the city and the country's economic development, but also a measure of wider change.
"The grand changes happening to China consist of all these small changes. The landscape of curves reflects the statistical standards for all walks of life. Art certainly is also included," she said.
International outlook
The exhibition also features works created by foreign artists that show concerns about their own history and culture.
Anselm Kiefer is a 70-year-old German painter and sculptor whose works are known for how they unflinchingly look at Nazi-era Germany. In 1991, the year when Germany was reunified, Kiefer left his homeland to travel the world and eventually settled in the south of France. This change had a marked effect on the style and themes of his works, which ranged from the sunflowers of Arles to the old queens of France.
Many of Kiefer's works are made using materials like straw, ash, clay, lead and shellac. The visual effect created by the materials can be seen as an extension of the artist's unflinching willingness to confront the dark past of his own country.
Pannaphan Yodmanee, a young artist from Thailand, uses cement slabs and rocks to create a series of Buddhist symbols, like the lotus, dharma wheel and treasure vase. The artist said she tries to show Thailand's traditional Buddhist art in a contemporary manner.
Date: Until July 12, 10:30 am to 5:30 pm
Venue: Yuz Museum 余德耀美术馆
Address: 35 Fenggu Road, near Longteng Avenue 丰谷路35号,靠近龙腾大道
Admission: 60 yuan ($9.68)
Call 6426-1901 for details
Located on the waterfront of Xuhui district on the west bank of the Huangpu River, Yuz Museum is a private museum that was founded by Budi Tek (Yu Deyao) in mid-2014. Tek is a Chinese-Indonesian agribusiness entrepreneur and art collector.
The current exhibition is composed of 73 pieces from over 20 artists both from China and abroad. It is divided into two parts. Titled Myth, the first part is a group of large-scale installations and sculptures.
The other part, named History, is a group exhibition consisting of works by several outstanding Shanghai-based artists, like Zhang Enli, Yang Zhenzhong and Zhang Jianjun. Their works range across paintings, installations and multimedia pieces. The exhibition aims to give an overview of the state of Shanghai's contemporary art scene.
(From top) Works by Zhang Enli, Zhang Jianjun and Anselm Kiefer on display at Myth/History II: Shanghai Galaxy
Shanghai on high
In Gravitation-Shanghai Night Sky, local artist and photographer Shi Yong arranges photos of the tops of skyscrapers on 56 small light boxes. The photo subjects are wrapped in diffuse mist that reaches toward the night sky and makes for an illusionary and fantastic vision.
The work also brings to mind a new nickname for Shanghai that is very popular among locals at present - modu (mysterious city). The work also questions the significance of such mega buildings for the city and its people.
From 1992 to 2011, Shanghai artist Shen Fan collected statistics from the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and used them for the basis of his artwork. In this exhibition, two installation pieces by Shen embody his exploration process.
One, titled Landscape-9210-Point, is made of 19 mirror-finished pieces of stainless steel, each corresponding to one of the 19 years that Shen charted the market's movements.
Viewers can see their own distorted reflections in the mirror-finished material. LED bulbs with sensor controllers are embedded inside the pieces, and turn on when viewers approach.
The other piece, named Landscape-9210-Line, has over 200 cement bases with embedded steel bars that form the shape of a curve, which is derived from the data the artist collected.
In the opinion of Biljana Ciric, an independent curator based in Shanghai, the data that Shen collected is not only a timeline of the city and the country's economic development, but also a measure of wider change.
"The grand changes happening to China consist of all these small changes. The landscape of curves reflects the statistical standards for all walks of life. Art certainly is also included," she said.
A poster for the group show Photos: Courtesy of Yuz Museum
International outlook
The exhibition also features works created by foreign artists that show concerns about their own history and culture.
Anselm Kiefer is a 70-year-old German painter and sculptor whose works are known for how they unflinchingly look at Nazi-era Germany. In 1991, the year when Germany was reunified, Kiefer left his homeland to travel the world and eventually settled in the south of France. This change had a marked effect on the style and themes of his works, which ranged from the sunflowers of Arles to the old queens of France.
Many of Kiefer's works are made using materials like straw, ash, clay, lead and shellac. The visual effect created by the materials can be seen as an extension of the artist's unflinching willingness to confront the dark past of his own country.
Pannaphan Yodmanee, a young artist from Thailand, uses cement slabs and rocks to create a series of Buddhist symbols, like the lotus, dharma wheel and treasure vase. The artist said she tries to show Thailand's traditional Buddhist art in a contemporary manner.
Date: Until July 12, 10:30 am to 5:30 pm
Venue: Yuz Museum 余德耀美术馆
Address: 35 Fenggu Road, near Longteng Avenue 丰谷路35号,靠近龙腾大道
Admission: 60 yuan ($9.68)
Call 6426-1901 for details
Posted in: Metro Shanghai, Culture