Exhibitions
Wings of Mexico
Mexican sculptor and painter Jorge Marin is having an exhibition entitled Wings of Mexico at Long Museum West Bund. Marin was born into a family of 10 brothers and sisters whose father is a well-known architect in Mexico. Marin began to sculpt ceramic in the early 1980s. With over 25 years of artistic work, Marin has successfully entered into Mexico's artistic scene and has become a representative of figurative international sculpture using bronze as a particular seal. His work often depicts horses, centaurs, children, madonnas, acrobats, along with elements such as spheres, masks, arrows, boats and scales. These concepts are consistent with recurring themes such as reflection and balance. Marin has so far more than 250 exhibitions around the world. Some of his sculptures are in cities like Berlin, Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Long Beach, Sarasota, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
Date: Until February 22, 10 am to 6 pm
Venue: Long Museum West Bund
Address: 3398 Longteng Avenue 龙腾大道3398号
Admission: Free
Call 6422-7636 for details
Critical Pervasion
Chinese artist Zhu Jia is having a solo exhibition at the Main Space and H-Space of ShanghART Gallery showcasing his news works and recent video art pieces. Born in 1963, Beijing, Zhu graduated from the oil painting department of the 3rd studio, China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1988. As the pioneer of early video and photography art in China, Zhu Jia was in the frontier edge of practice from the late 1980s. With his impassive, matter-of-fact manner and concise way of production, as well as an aggressive while placid perspective to the reality, he became a special case in Chinese conception art. His pioneering experimental works provide adventurous precedents to the succeeding practitioners. Furthermore, his works simultaneously step with prevailing globalization of the 1990s, providing real-time critical commentary to the conversion of Chinese society. In today's world, any normalcy seems to be occasional and temporary, thus the key point is how we define "normalcy." In this new solo show, the artist will dissect the "normalcy in daily life, in politics, and in art" under critical state from different angles and perspectives, giving our audiences extended experiences when they will be put on the edge of fear and taboo, or in his words, the "very embarrassed feeling deep inside me created by reality."
Date: Until December 19, 10 am to 6 pm
Venue: ShanghART Gallery Main Space and H-Space
Address: Bldg 16 and 18, 50 Moganshan Road 莫干山路50号16、18号楼
Admission: Free
Call 6359-3923 for details
The Future of Fashion is Now
Never in an age has fashion developed so quickly than in modern times. Over the last century, fashion has grown into a worldwide system of designing, producing and selling, forming a chain that involves people from different corners of the globe. However, many contemporary designers worry about the homogenization of taste, non-sustainable mass production and the consumerism driven by fast-changing trends. Exhibition The Future of Fashion is Now tries to address these issues by bringing together works by 29 designers from 13 countries. Together, they explore the most important developments in fashion from the angles of material, the body, new values and activism, challenging each visitor to develop their own thoughts on the future of fashion. Organized by OCT Art & Design Gallery and cultural exchange agency DutchCulture, the exhibition will run through February 28 at Suhe Creek Planning Exhibition Center. This follows a previous run at Rotterdam's Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. In the section On Material, designers return to the basic element of fashion - the item of clothing itself - by emphasizing texture, material and various components. While in the section The (Re)Definition of the Human Figure, young designers try to overthrow this standard by designing clothes that deviate radically from the female form.
Date: Until February 28, 10 am to 7 pm (closed Mondays)
Venue: 2/F, Suhe Creek Planning Exhibition Center
Address: 912 Beisuzhou Road
北苏州路912号
Admission: Free
Call 6608-8888 for details
On Stage
Eduardo Fernández Piano Recital
Eduardo Fernández was born in Madrid in 1981. He has extensively toured his native country with great success at most of the main Spanish concert halls, including the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Teatro Real, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Palau de la Musica de Barcelona, Auditorio Manuel de Falla de Granada, and important concert halls throughout China, Russia, India, Chile, Argentina, Panama, Ukraine, Moldova, Austria, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Estonia, Romania and Luxembourg. He has performed in prestigious international festivals like the Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, Ciclo Scherzo de Jóvenes Intérpretes, Piano aux Jacobins, Kuressaare Kammerfest, Vocaliza de Toamn, and Festival Rafael Orozco. He has performed as soloist with many symphony orchestras in Spain and abroad, with conductors such as Jesús Amigo, Joan Cerveró, Marzio Conti, Leonard Dumitriu, José Fabra, Roberto Montenegro, Luis Carlos Ortiz, and José Miguel Rodilla. Considered by the Fanfare magazine as Alicia de Larrocha's successor, Fernández's interpretation of Spanish music has been prized and recognized several times, being winner of the Extraordinary Prize of the Fundación Guerrero and the Manuel de Falla Award in Granada.
Date: December 4, 7:45 pm
Venue: Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Address: 425 Dingxiang Road 丁香路425号
Tickets: 50 yuan to 300 yuan
Call 6854-1234 for details
War Horse
Around 8 million horses died on the battlefields of World War I, casualties of a new kind of war that saw the mounts that had formed core parts of previous armies outrun and outgunned by newly developed machines of war. The play War Horse brings the fictional story of one of these steeds to life. Originally produced by the UK's National Theatre and based on children's writer Michael Morpurgo's much-loved novel, War Horse has been seen by over 6 million people. It is a powerful story of courage, loyalty and friendship that features groundbreaking life-size horse puppets made by the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa. The puppets are operated by cast members onstage. The story starts with the auction of a captured foal in the county of Devon in southwest England. To compete with his brother, a poor farmer named Ted bids the exorbitant amount of 39 guineas to win the horse, using up the money he reserved to pay his farm mortgage. Ted's wife Rose fears they will lose their farm and asks him to sell the horse for money. Their son Albert promises to raise the foal and teach him to train it to plough to keep it. He names the foal Joey, and forms a strong bond with him during training. When the news of the outbreak of World War I reaches Devon, Joey is sold by Ted to the cavalry and brought to the battlefield. Albert is crushed by the news, eventually enlisting in the army and embarking on a treacherous journey to find his horse and bring him home. Meanwhile, Joey ends up serving on both sides in the war. He has to dodge the fire of German machine guns and work as a draft horse, carrying heavy weapons. Eventually, he is caught in barbed wire in No Man's Land between the enemy lines. Both sides are moved by the plight of the injured horse, and call a temporary truce. Each side sends out a man to go to its aid of the injured horse. Winning a coin toss, the British take Joey back to the camp. Just as Albert, now blinded by tear gas, is telling his story to a nurse, Joey is carried into his camp. They both recognize each other. Albert whistles and Joey responds to him. Learning the full story, the soldiers agree to let Albert care for Joey during their joint convalescence. Albert and Joey then finally return home safely to Devon at the end of the war.
Date: Until January 17, 7:30 pm
Venue: Shanghai Culture Square
Address: 36 Yongjia Road 永嘉路36号
Tickets: 80 yuan to 1,280 yuan
Visit http://www.warhorsechina.com/ for details