SH Contemporary and Arthub Asia
All That is New in Shanghai
Preview: Wednesday September 7th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm
Vernissage: Wednesday September 7th from 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Open to the Public:
Thursday and Friday, September 8th and 9th from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday, September 10th from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location: Shanghai Exhibition Centre
No. 1000 Yan An Road (Middle), Shanghai, China
Under the new direction of Massimo Torrigiani, the 5th edition of the fair captures and amplifies the new wave of creativity which is running through the region. Mixing high and popular culture, the academic and the experimental, the established and the emerging, new and old media, highbrow and lowbrow, the global and the local.
An international curatorial team lead by Arthub Asia’s directors Defne Ayas, Davide Quadrio and Qiu Zhijie complements the galleries’ shows with special projects divided into 4 main sections, dedicated to renown and emerging artists:
Hot Spots presents monumental and site-specific works by established artists like Birdhead (Song Tao and Ji Weiyu), Carsten Nicolai, He An, Heman Chong, Jiang Zhi, Kan Xuan, Lee Kit, Liang Yuanwei, Zhuang Hui and Dan Er, Zhou Xiaohu, Song Zhen and Qiu Zhijie.
A special Hot Spot is dedicated to ink painting inspired works by FX Harsono, the Yangjiang Group (Zheng Guogu, Chen Zaiyan and Sun Qinglin), Jennifer Wen Ma, Bai Yilu, Chen Qi and Qin Feng. Special thanks to the support of Artron, a Service of Printing, Internet, Publishing and Popularizing in Art on the production of the name cards for Heman Chong’s work.
First Issue–sponsored by Absolut Vodka–is built around the newest works by young artists who had first solo shows or important presentations in 2010-11. It features: Chen Ching-Yuan, Doublefly, Liu Gang, Liu Ren, Lv Miao, Lu Yang, Song Chen, Su Chang, Xie Molin, Xu Zhe, Ye Nan and Zheng Qiang.
The Video Room holds screenings selected by a group of contributors, including, among others, the Leap magazine editorial team, curatorial team RogueART, Leo Xu, Shaway Yeh and Karchun Leung of Modern Weekly, and Loop Festival–Screen from Barcelona.
The programme curated by Rogueart features artists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand including Reza Afisina, Tanatchai Bandasak, Ade Darmawan, Martin Kristianto, Wattanapoom Laisuwanchai, Forum Lenteng, Eko Nugroho, Chatchai Suban, Tintin Wulia and Wok the Rock, among others. The “Search” project initiated by RogueArt displays the ways in which Southeast Asian art is categorized through literature, exhibitions, archival projects, the market and the media.
Leo Xu’s selection, titled “Voyage,” includes videos by Cheng Ran, Hu Xiangqian, Li Ming, Li Qing, Lu Chuang, Xu Wenkai (Aaajiao), Zhang Ding.
Loop Festival–Screen, selection features works by Aurélien Froment, Gary Hills, Uriel Orlow and Julika Rudelius.
Arthub Asia on SH Contemporary
Beyond the walls of Shanghai Exhibition Centre an array of satellite events will give art lovers a sense of the energy crossing Shanghai and the Asian and Asia Pacific art worlds; from museum presentations to gallery shows, from talks to parties. Organized in conjunction with sponsors and partners: first and foremost Porsche China–which hosted the SH Contemporary Collectors’ Dinner–as well as Swatch, Minsheng Art Museum, Modern Media Group, K11, Le Méridien and M on the Bund. The opening party of SH contemporary 2011 will take place at The House of Roosevelt on the Bund, co-hosted by the fair itself, along with Modern Media Group and K11, and sponsored by Absolut Vodka.
SH Contemporary is a research and development-based enterprise striving to amplify, empower and add value to contemporary artistic production and the growth of the internal and international market. To achieve this goal, the fair has identified in photography a new segment with the potential of reaching out to a new, younger audience. This year sees therefore the launch of a new photography section, with a group of specialized international galleries, solo shows and the establishment of the Asia Pacific Photography Prize (APPP). The award is dedicated to the most recent production of Asia Pacific artists and to artists who have developed Asia Pacific-related projects. Twenty-five different galleries among those exhibiting at the fair submitted new works by thirty-six artists. The 5,000 euro prize will be granted to one artist only, by an international jury composed of artist Olivo Barbieri, curators Christopher Phillips and Emma Reeves and editor Shaway Yeh.
The photography focus of the fair is concluded with a panel session, Photography Update: The New Generation. Alchemists in the Last and Next Decade, hosted by M on the Bund on the last day of SH Contemporary (September 10th, from 4-6 pm). Speakers include: Birdhead (artist collective), Chen Wei (artist), Liu Gang (artist), Steven Harris (Director of M97 Gallery Shanghai), Yang Pei Ming (collector, Propaganda Poster Art Centre Shanghai), Leo Xu (curator and gallerist), Olivo Barbieri (artist, APPP jury member) and Emma Reeves (editor and curator, APPP jury member). The panel discussion will be moderated by Defne Ayas of Arthub Asia and Massimo Torrigiani, Fair Director.
The panel will look at and beyond the exciting shifts in the aesthetics and culture of photography. In an age when billions of pictures are produced yearly, who are the key players re-imagining the art of photography? Who are the alchemists who can invent an original, personal, instantly recognizable visual style?
A lot still needs to be done to assess the importance and increase the value of contemporary Chinese and Asian photography among the region’s art professionals, art lovers and collectors, as photography is often (considered) ancillary to other artistic practices. And still of lesser economic (and speculative) value. Photography Update, is a round-table on the changing landscape in contemporary photography in the past decade in China and around the globe.
How does the new generation of Chinese artistic photographers see the world? Where do they draw their inspiration from? How do editors, curators and collectors cope with the impact of the internet on the modes of production, exhibition, distribution and reception of photography? How does all this change the way we think of curating, collecting and preserving photography?
Sponsors and Partners for SH Contemporary 2011
In teaming up with sponsors and partners, SH Contemporary allows certain privileges to companies, brands and initiatives committed to education, charity and contemporary art programs.
Porsche China’s booth at the fair will exhibit its ‘Empowering the Future’ initiative. After a massive earthquake struck Sichuan province’s Wenchuan County in 2008, Porsche China created ‘Empowering the Future.’ First they delivered an initial donation of 500,000 Euros to UNICEF as relief aid for post-earthquake reconstruction work; Porsche quickly followed up by launching its ‘Empowering the Future’ initiative, which comprises two long-term projects. Porsche China has contributed over 10 million RMB and in December 2010 donated four Cayenne SUV’s to the Mobile Educational Training and Resource Unit (METRU) program. This program is executed in collaboration with UNICEF and aims to aid victims of the Wenchuan and Gaunsu earthquakes. The METRU was designed to fulfill Porsche China’s goal to continually help disadvantaged children throughout the country gain access to education and brighter futures.
Conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, the METRU programme has has already benefited 391 schools across four counties in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. To date, the program has trained more than 7,000 teachers and improved the quality of education for more than 100,000 students.
The ‘Empowering the Future’ Art Contest, is conducted in collaboration with the Sichuan Fine Art Institute (SFAI) and provides educational support and opportunities for emerging young artists in China. The inaugural ‘Empowering the Future’ Art Contest ran from September to November 2010. This year, ten award-winning artworks from the Art Contest will be on display at SH Contemporary, where pieces inspired by the ‘Empowering the Future’ initiative will showcase the talent of China’s up-and-coming artists.
The first Swatch watches surprised everyone with their provocative spirit and creative design and proved enormously successful. Deeply affected by contemporary art, the Swiss watch and jewelry makers have worked with more than 70 renowned artists to produce a great number of works about fashion and art influences pieces. During SH Contemporary 2011, the concept of “art on the wrist” will be revealed at the Swatch booth, displaying exciting cooperation with Keith Haring, Alfred Hofkunst, Markus Linnenbrink, Alessandro Mendini, Ivan Navarro and Mimmo Rotella. Launched by Nicolas G. Hayek in 1983 and operating today under the presidency of Arlette-Elsa Emch, Swatch is one of the world’s most fashionable brands.
SH Contemporary 2011 premiers also with the support of Le Royal Méridien Shanghai; the hotel was acquired by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in 2005. This will be the first joint venture of the Private Art Museum Alliance, hosting 28 directors from Chinese private contemporary art museums. The alliance collaborated on a joint lounge to introduce the activities of its members to the fair public. The establishment of the alliance is a milestone in the history of art museums in China. On one hand it has produced an agreement regarding a set of self-regulatory rules. On the other hand it has created a shared long-term strategic plan. Moreover, the Private Art Museum Alliance, as an industrial union, will promote further investments of outstanding artworks and develop joint services and projects in the future.
The 28 participating museums are: Today Art Museum, Yanhuang Art Museum, Times Art Museum, Iberia Center for Contemporary Art, UCCA, Yuan Art Museum, Hejingyuan Art Museum, Sunshine International Art Museum, De Art Museum, Minsheng Art Museum, Himalayas Art Museum, Rockbund Art Museum, MOCA Shanghai, Guangdong Art Museum–Times Branch, The Oct Art and Design Gallery, True Color Museum, Suzhou Art Academy Museum, Nantong Central Art Museum, A4 Contemporary Arts Center, Zhongguo Art Museum- Qingdao Branch, Ordos Art Museum, Hubei Museum of Art, Shijiazhuang Contemporary Art Museum, Yi Che Art, Ningbo Museum of Art, Tan Guobin Art Museum and Lu Yushun Art Museum.
Asian Pacific Photography Prize (APPP) jury members include:
The Paris born hotel brand Le Royal Méridien, currently represented by 104 properties in 50 countries, has gone through a brand re-launch, which included appointing a full-time Cultural Curator–French arts provocateur Jérôme Sans. He has transformed their guests experience through numerous unique and interactive experiences. Jérôme will be sitting on this year’s APPP committee.
Olivo Barbieri was born in Italy in 1954. Since 1971, he developed an interest in photography, concentrating his research initially on artificial illumination in European and Oriental cities. Since 1989, he has regularly traveled to the Far East, especially to China. In 1993, 1995 and 1997 he participated in the Venice Biennale. In 1996, he held his first retrospective at the Folkwang Museum in Essen (Germany). In the mid-nineties, he adopted a new photographic technique, allowing him to focus only on certain areas of the image: the landscapes photographed, often from aboard a helicopter, come across as a series of scale models providing surprising and estranging visions. In 2003, Barbieri started the ongoing project site specific_ which involves several cities: Rome, Turin, Montreal, Amman, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Seville, New York, San Francisco, Brasilia, Bangkok, Detroit, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City. His works are included in public and private collections and museums in Europe and the U.S.
Christopher Phillips has been the curator at the International Center of Photography in New York City since 2000. In 2004, he and Wu Hung of the University of Chicago organized the first major U.S. exhibition of Chinese contemporary photography, “Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China.” In recent years he has curated such exhibitions as “H20: Art on the Horizon of Nature” (2010) and “Wang Qingsong: When Worlds Collide” (2011). He has also served as a member of the curatorial team that organized the 2003, 2006, and 2009 editions of the ICP Triennial of Contemporary Photography and Video. As an adjunct faculty member at New York University and Barnard College, he teaches classes in the history and criticism of photography.
Emma Reeves is a freelance creative consultant working in a broad field from curating to photographic commissioning for brands. Former photographic director at London-based Dazed and Confused, Another Magazine and Another Man she currently lives in New York. She is a contributing editor to Fantom magazine and a regular contributor to T Magazine online as ‘The Culturialist.’ She is also on the board of the Swiss Institute in New York and from September 2011 will be a lecturer on the newly created MFA course in fashion photography at the SVA (School of Visual Arts, NYC).
Shaway Yeh is the editorial Director (Lifestyle) of Modern Media Group, China’s most prominent independent publishing group. Modern Weekly, the group’s flagship publication since 1995, is China’s most influential lifestyle magazine with circulation close to 750,000. Under Yeh’s editorial direction, it reaches China’s elite readers with the latest international news, trends, phenomena and discussion in the fields of style and culture. Yeh moved to Shanghai in 2003, after several years of independent publishing in New York, to prepare for the launch of Vogue China. She later helmed communication in China for Prada before joining Modern media Group in 2005.
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