As promised, this blog post is coming to you from China—the bullet train from Shanghai to Beijing, to be exact. I’m a seasoned world traveller, but this was little preparation for China. It’s vast scale and the mixture of ancient with state of the art and the blend of communism with capitalism are mind-boggling. So, where does one begin…? I’ll be sharing some observations about Chinese museums—and the opportunities and challenges that American institutions have for collaboration—in another post. But now, I’d like to give you an overview of the Shanghai Biennale, the opening of which I attended Saturday evening. This is the 10th Biennale and it is presented in the sprawling Power Station of Art—as the name implies a renovated power station and Shanghai’s answer to London’s Tate Modern.
An international curatorial team lead by German chief curator Anslem Franke chose ninety works by seventy artists from twenty countries.
In his opening remarks at the press conference, Franke described this year’s theme of the “social factory” as reflective of “China as it is remaking itself.” I was attending with a group of artists, critics, and gallerists. Many in my group commented upon the conceptual nature of this Biennale and that the works in previous exhibitions have been more object-focused. As with any large scale, contemporary group exhibition, there are some outstanding works, while others are good, mediocre, or even downright silly.
An international curatorial team lead by German chief curator Anslem Franke chose ninety works by seventy artists from twenty countries.
In his opening remarks at the press conference, Franke described this year’s theme of the “social factory” as reflective of “China as it is remaking itself.” I was attending with a group of artists, critics, and gallerists. Many in my group commented upon the conceptual nature of this Biennale and that the works in previous exhibitions have been more object-focused. As with any large scale, contemporary group exhibition, there are some outstanding works, while others are good, mediocre, or even downright silly.
Of the works that resonated with me, many incorporated film or performance. Included here are a few of my favourites.
Hu Liu
Xintianyou
Mixed media installation
Click here to watch: Xintianyou video
In this work, Hu Liu led a donkey throughout the countryside in northern Shaanxi. She stopped along the way giving red carnations to the local villagers and collecting their unused bowls and vases. The musicians are performing a local folksong.
Libbie D. Cohn and J.P. Sniadecki
People’s Park
HD video
Click here to watch: People’s Park video
This poetic video provides a wonderful slice of everyday life.
There were two artists who created post-apocalyptic themed works that particularly resonated with me. Chen Chieh-jen created a complex installation exploring industrialization and globalization using photography, video and text. In Factory, he documented workers who occupied their workplace after the owners ordered it closed. Ho Tzu Nyen describes Earth (Black to Comm) as “a post-apocalyptic tableau alternating between day and night and between consciousness and unconsciousness.”
Chen Chieh-jen
Factory
Mixed media installation
Ho Tzu Nyen
Earth (Black to Comm)
HD video
Click here to watch: Earth (Black to Comm)
Finally, this beautiful and lyrical installation by Liu Chuang, an artist whose video of the tandem of cars driving around Beijing at the speed limit (neither under nor over) is included in My Generation at the OKCMOA. Segmented Landscape, installed above the Power Station of Art’s vast lobby, is a series of windows with anti-burglary grills whose delicate curtains are fluttering in a gentle breeze.
Ho Tzu Nyen
Segmented Landscape
Mixed media installation
I look forward to sharing more of China soon.
