As there is a bit of a crisis on collector Zhang Rui, aka Zhang Haoming, aka Zhang Ming, is in his element
Chinese artist wins ‘oscar’ of the international art world - ie. The 2009 Florence Biennale International Contemporary Art Lifetime Achievement Award was won (one of three winners) by Chinese artist Shu Yong
China Economic News translates that recent New York Times article on the art market in China, with an interesting take on it, saying “the art bubble has burst, start hibernating.” Didn’t quite get that from the original, but heigh ho.
There is also a fair amount of stuff on the ullens sale on April 8 At Poly, saying it will be of international importance, hmm. Colour journalism…
And last but not least, a long piece on the travails of 798, artists leaving for home (ie. Chengdu and points south) and gallery closures. There is also some moaning that 798 has become a venue for wedding photos, ha ha. Erm, actually…
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Shanghai Eye is still working on the Weihai Road 696 Studios map
here it is in its current state:
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Beijing
Upcoming social media as art show in Beijing- details here- ,  .
Shanghai
Graphic Design and Typography in China w Lynn Pan, Ou Ning, & Pan Jian Feng
中国的平面设计以及字体艺术——潘翎、欧宁、潘剑锋
As part of Shanghai International Literary Festival
Sunday, March 22, 2009, 3:00pm
6/F, No. 5 The Bund (at Guangdong Lu)
What is the current state of graphic design and typographic experimentation in China? What is the extent of its influence on visual arts and media, from books to (maga)zines, or album covers to movie credits to advertisements? How is it used in underground scenes as a dynamic vehicle for visual communication - from Beijing to Shanghai to Shenzhen – both today and traditionally? Inspired by the centenary of the publication of F.T. Marinetti’s “Futurist Manifesto”, which was republished in Shanghai in 1921 and had a vast influence on the artists and designers at the time, the panel discussion will look at the rise and evolution of graphic design and typography in China since the early 20th century.
平面设计和字体学在中国目前的情况如何？它们对视觉艺术和媒体的影响又有多广？是否从书籍到杂志，从唱片封面、电影职员名单到广告都有它们的身影？从过去到现在，从北京到上海甚至深圳，它们一直活跃在地下艺术中，是视觉传播的有力媒介，这又是如何做到的？ 今年是F.T. Marinetti《未来主义宣言》发表的一百周年。而在1921年，上海也再版了这一宣言，并深深影响了当时的艺术家和设计师。趁着这一时机，专题小组将审视自二十世纪前期以来中国平面设计和字体艺术的兴起和发展。
Three distinguished panelists, Lynn Pan, Ou Ning, and Pan Jian Feng will present their investigations from both historical and contemporary perspectives in order to provide a understanding of the creative process behind Chinese graphic design and typography, and its strong connection to poetry, literature, and art-making. Lynn Pan will take us back to the radical ideas explored by artists a century ago in Shanghai, and Ou Ning will share some of the most groundbreaking work from today’s most talented designers and typographers, from Guangzhou to Beijing. Pan Jian Feng’s personal story will wrap up the panel, and all three speakers will aim to place these distant relatives of the visual arts within the context of contemporary artistic movements.
三位杰出的专题小组成员——潘翎、欧宁、潘剑锋——将从历史和现实的角度汇报他们的调查结果，剖析中国字体学以及平面设计的创造过程，并揭示它们与诗歌、文学以及艺术创作之间千丝万缕的联系。潘翎将带领我们回顾一个世纪之前艺术家们在上海宣扬的激进思想，欧宁将与大家分享一批从广州到上海最具开创性的作品，这些作品都是由目前最具才华的设计师和字体设计师所创作的。在专题讨论的最后，潘剑峰将为大家讲述自己的个人经历。这三位演讲者的目的在于将这两个视觉艺术的远亲放到现代艺术运动这一大背景下进行审视。
Organized and moderated by Defne Ayas in collaboration with PERFORMA09 - New York, this program will be presented as part of the Shanghai International Literary Festival 2009.
这一活动由Defne Ayas协同PERFORMA09 – 纽约组织并主持。这一项目将作为2009上海国际文学节的一个组成部分。For tickets: http://www.mypiao.com/bar/
Shanghai
ifa gallery’s current exhibition:
MOVE
an exhibition of rhythm, action, transformation, and fluctuation; of humanity, sensuality, and urbanity
Photographers: Audrey Salmon, Arnaud de Gramont and Jean-Sebastien Lallemand
7th March, 2009 – 13th April, 2009
Opening 7th March, 3-8pm
Shanghai
Shansa Solo show, @ Elizabeth deBrabant, details here (starts March 21)
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Shanghai’s World Expo HQ have updated their site with more glorious designs. You can review them here.
My current favourite is the Dutch effort below
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Via Artabase The artist’s website is here.
Quote:
Michael Marcovici has made an artwork worth a billion dollars, out of a billion dollars.
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Here’s another piece written for the Art Newspaper.
China’s Palace Museum, more popularly known as the Forbidden City,
have restored the lavish personal rooms built by the Qianlong Emperor
(a Qing Dynasty Emperor from1735 to1796) offering a lavish insight
into the lives of China’s Emperors. The Emperor’s personal rooms are
called the Juan Qinzhai, literally “the studio of exhaustion from
diligent service.” The rooms are a part of the Qianlong Gardens,
officially titled the Palace of Tranquil Longevity (Ninshou Gong),
which were originally planned as a miniature complex within the
Forbidden City for use during the Emperor’s planned retirement. The
wide ranging restoration project of the 28 buildings, a total of 6400
m2 that make up the Qianlong Gardens, will include external features,
and last up to 2018, the first phase just nearing completion focused
on his private bedrooms and theatre. The buildings were originally
built from 1771–1776 when the Qianlong Emperor was in his thirties.
The Qianlong Emperor was in power when Lord McCartney was sent to
China as George III’s emissary in 1793, which led to the famous ‘kow
tow’ incident.
The rooms were also inhabited by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled
during the boxer rebellion.
The sumptuous theatre restored into all its glory is a private room
accessed by the Emperor via a secret door embedded in a mirror in his
bedroom. The theatre outshines even the most gaudy and flamboyant of
today’s KTV parlours beloved of leaders and businessmen alike in
modern day China.
Both intimate and awe inspiring, the theatre has all its walls
decorated by intricate hand painted murals transporting the viewer
into a Chinese garden, with a small stage for performers.
Ms. Jian Lun Yi, Country Representative for the World Monuments Fund
(WMF), and a Project Manager for Tsinghua University’s Cultural
Heritage Conservation Center, told the Art Newspaper that a total of
US$15 million has been earmarked for the restoration of the Qianlong
Gardens, with USD 3.3 million spent on Juan Qinzhai. According to Ms.
Jian the World Monuments Fund provided the initial amount, as well as
expertise, and the ongoing project will be part funded by the Palace
Museum and WMF.
Using mainly craft techniques from southern China, the complex
restoration work has involved almost lost arts, working with bamboo
used in intricate thread maquetry, embroidery, hand printed wall
paper, restoring the ‘nanmu’ – the now extinct ’southern wood’ loved
by Emperors, and the large murals, painted with traditional Chinese
pigment paints.
The artifacts, wall papers and murals have gone relatively untouched
since the Qianlong’s reign. According to Ms. Jian the rooms had been
used for storage until recently. The rooms were originally floor
heated, and the restorers have installed a modern temperature control
apparatus to keep the rooms at an ideal temperature and humidity for
preservation. Several calligraphic works hand painted by the Emperor,
well known for his wit and love of the arts, have also been restored
and hung. The Emperor’s bed has retained the skeleton of a bat found
by the restorers in a compartment, according to Ms. Jian dead bats
were considered auspicious.
The key piece of the restoration is the large painting, a trompe
l’oiel style piece in the theatre, sometimes accredited to Guiseppe
Castiliogne, a Jesuit painter living in China. A recent seminar in the
palace cast doubt that work was his. Mr Yang Zehau, who led the Palace
Museum’s restoration of the painting told the Art Newspaper he felt
the crane in the painting was likely by Castiliogne, and the scenery
by other painters. He suggested that the bamboo lattices were added to
the painting at an even later date. The painting suffered from water
damage, mould, abrasion and other issues. “We used dough to clean the
painting,” Yang said. His team of 8 restorers, including a WMF expert,
worked for 7 years, on the 170m2 painting. ”
“We spent about 1 month per panel, we couldn’t use traditional
restoration methods for Chinese painting, so we had to spend a lot of
time thinking how to do this work,” Yang said.
An audio guide is being prepared, and tour groups will be limited in
number, Ms Jian said that discussions are still underway, likely
visits will be arranged in several groups of 30 per day. Visitors will
only be allowed access to the site via two main doors, and will not be
allowed into the rooms past the entranceway.
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Aha, the holidays are almost over, for at least two weeks, and then its Chinese new year. I’ve been using this imposed break from the studio to work on my graphic novel, which has been sat in a drawer forever. Here’s page 1. I may even finish it one day. No more details are available at present.
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Shanghaiist points out, that of the 200 nations taking part in the World Expo, the USA will not likely be one of them.
there’s also an interesting compilation shot of other nations pavilion designs…
Serbia looks to have a shed as their entry…and Norway has made a super cool invisible one. The UK has gone for ‘glowing blob of ooze.’ Nice…
I also like Peru’s Alien Pods, inspired by the insect alien abduction scenes in BattleStar Galactica classic, and Poland has gone for large lampshade. More, we want more designs…
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Here’s some news that had people chatting round the art fairs:
THe main buzz being Chinese art has peaked, is too expensive, etc, and people are moving into Korean and other SE Asian artists.
Reuters has a take here.
We have to thank Chinese art for dragging up the rest of Asia, but the party has to end and contemporary works are experiencing something of a correction now,” Komala said on Tuesday ahead of Larasati’s October 11 “Pictures of Asia” modern art auction in Singapore.
“The next big thing is a mixed bag, and Southeast Asian and Korean art are making big progress,” he said, naming Korean artists Yi Hwan Kwon and Lee Yong-Deok, as well as Indonesian R.E. Hartanto among his favorites.
IHT picks up the same theme here.
Korean contemporary art has long been overshadowed by the enthusiasm of collectors for all things Chinese. But with prices for Chinese contemporary art now out of many people’s reach and still rising, collectors are looking further afield and Korean artists are right in their field of vision.
And oops, another one here, from Time
While Chinese contemporary art is looking like it may be heading for a slowdown, Bashat says, “Southeast Asian art still has appeal in this sense: good value art at reasonable prices, and artists that are yet to be discovered and are emerging at this time.”
Beijing-based artist Zhao Gang isn’t surprised. “Three years ago the prices started going higher and higher,” says Zhao. “Last year the price was pushed way too high, and it’s got to come down.” In 2006, a collection of dreamlike portraits and landscapes by Zhang brought in just over $24 million — more than British art phenom Damien Hirst made in all of 2006. At Sotheby’s Oct. 4 auction, the highest selling painting was Zhang Xiaogang’s “Bloodline: Big Family No. 1,” which sold for just under $3 million. In May, at rival auction house Christie’s, a diptych of eight masked youths by Zeng Fanzhi fetched $9.7 million, a record for Asian contemporary artwork.
Still, the local art world isnt’ getting too depressed — yet. Says Bashat, the director of the Opera Gallery Hong Kong, “Many buyers see art as a safer investment in the mid to long term compared to other investments in the market.” Buyers may be turning away from contemporary Chinese art today, but at least they are keeping an eye on Asia.
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