Art and Tourism in Shanghai.

Photo:Alejandra de Argos. Xiaobai Su

Despite the heavy traffic in Shanghai, much can be done here in just two days, as the city has so much to offer its visitors.



While visiting Shanghai, I had the opportunity to visit the studio of the great Chinese artist Xiaobai Su. Born in Wuhan City, China, in 1949, he was awarded a grant by Dusseldorf's National Academy of Art in 1987, which put him in touch with other great artists such as Gerhard Richter or George Baselitz, and which led his work to take a whole new direction.

Photo:Alejandra de Argos

As I walked into his study I was immediately seduced by what I saw before me. Monochromatic paintings with lively colours attracted my gaze and directed it from one wall to the next; I felt a surge of excitement and had the sudden impression that I would love what I was about to see.

Photo:Alejandra de Argos

It then struck me that I had already seen some of his work before, in art fairs such as the Art Basel or Fiac in the Almine Rech or Pearl Lam gallery. But seeing the paintings in art fairs, as much as I studied them closely, was no match for actually visiting the artist's studio. It is a clear testament of the artist's worth that his work can be better appreciated in his studio, and the wide selection of paintings displayed all around the Atelier provide a unique opportunity to capure the work's essence.

The more time I spent in the studio, the more I realized that each painting is much more than the sum of its parts; their volumes, their forms and their unique finishes make them seem more like sculptures or physical objects than traditional "flat" paintings. According to Xiaobai, painting is the path towards manipulating colour, the most direct path to the vision of the soul. There is no narrative nor conceptualization here; it is merely a channel for expression. The lacquer finish is simply a way of experimenting with the colours and making them stand out and is not, as I had initially thought, an expression of its Chinese roots. It’s all about colour, simplicity, feeling.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos

I left the studio with the artist's expressive spirit infused in me, and headed towards the Power Station of Art, Shanghai’s most important museum of contemporary art. Here I took a virtual tour of the last 30 years of Chinese art: from the 1980s and the New Wave (1985), a time of deep transformation in Chinese art caused by reform policies, via the country’s international recognition in the 1990s and ending in the year 2000, when contemporary art in China finally saw commercial success. The tour allowed me to feel the consequences of this evolution, or revolution, in Chinese art.

Since the opening of the Shanghai Power Station of Art, Portrait of the Times is the museum’s most ambitious exhibition, relying on 117 represented artists and 300 high quality artworks. I will present just a small selection here, given the exhibition’s size.

This work, made in ink by Cai Guangbin, caught my attention as I am a great admirer of Marlen Dumas - her portrait-covered walls reminded me of those made by Guangbin. The intensity of these images transmits an indescribable restlessness in the viewer, this restlessness coming from the relationship between our own individual existences in relation to those of others.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos. Cai Guangbin.

Yang Jianping represents contemporary academic sculpture. This nude, in the classic tradition, speaks to the fragility of contemporary Man before his anxieties and conflicts, and to just how unprotected we find ourselves before our own I.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos.Yang Jianping.

Photo: A de A

Yue Minjun, with his grinning and arrogant self portraits, offers a whole new way of understanding our own individuality in contrast to the previous works. Certainly a cynical view of reality.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos.

Another artist that could not have been absent here is Zeng Fanzhi, representing the commercial peak of Asian art. “The Last Supper” is the title of this artist’s painting, which recently sold for USD$ 23.3m at Sotheby’s. In this painting, Zeng substitutes religious figures for young communists, all wearing red scarves except for Judas, whose tie symbolizes the West and Capitalism.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos. Zeng Fanzhi.

Since the 90s, Zeng’s paintings have been characterized by the use of masks (Mask series) in all his portraits, symbols of solitude with respect to oneself and to others. The central theme of this series is, What must be done to preserve an authentic Chinese identity when faced with the emergence of a global economy?

  

Artists such as Cai Guo-Qiang, with his paintings made using explosives, the past and present works of Zhang Xiaogang, Luo Fahui, Jiang Jie, and many other great Chinese masters, form part of one of the most significant contemporary Asian art exhibitions created up to date

To round off the day, after having tasted a delicious Chinese meal (a far cry from what’s sold as Chinese food here in the West), I decided to go somewhere more traditional, the Yuyuan gardens and market. These wonderful gardens, copies of the Imperial gardens, were built in the XVI century by a civil servant who wanted his parents to enjoy a space of their own, in tranquility and calm, while at the same being surrounded by nature and beauty. His death led to the project being abandoned, until a group of merchants bought the gardens to transform part of them into a huge bazaar, which is what we see today.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos. Yuyuan Garden.

The bazaar offers all manner of souvenirs and traditional Chinese objects. I ended up buying some handmade Chinese landscapes made with traditional ink.

The stroll through the wonderful gardens surrounded by water, fish, rocks and bridges, is a beautiful contrast to the hubbub of the bazaar - unlike the original owners, however, we are surrounded by bustling crowds, which almost defeats the purpose of this Shanghai treasure. Chinese gardens are always made up of four elements; water, rocks, plants and architectural structures.

 

When night falls, there is nothing better than discovering another creative environment, this time the Chinese fashion industry. I started off by attending the inaguration of a huge crowd-filled shopping centre. I loved the way people experienced the event and how daring they were with their clothing - an artform in its own right. I took note of the latest fashion trends from the front row of Vera Wang’s catwalk, an American designer of Chinese origins. She was presenting a collection of very romantic brides’ gowns in pink tones, and two Winter prêt-à-porter collections for 2013 and 2014, one casual and the other more on the elegant side.

The following day I visited the Shanghai Wen Miao (or Shanghai Confucian Temple). The temple, erected in 1855 in homage to the great Chinese thinker. It is still used for teaching young students. Inside, it's not very big, but my visit was made much more interesting thanks to a voluntary guide offered by the Temple.

Here too we can appreciate the four elements of the traditional Chinese garden.

The collection of hundred-year-old rocks are spectacular natural sculptures that cover the main patio.

I fancied heading to one of Shanghai’s most important contemporary art and design galleries to see what was on show, so I walked towards the Pearl Lam Galleries. On display was an exhibition of the Iranian artist Golnaz Fathi. His drawings are based on Persian calligraphy, revisited in an abstract, gesticulating style, where concrete words disappear to become pure forms.

 

The gallery’s basement exhibits some selected designer works.

By the time I finished at the Pearl Lam galleries I had little time left, so I found myself having to choose between going to the Pudong New Area, the financial district which was amazingly constructed in just 20 years, or visit the studio of Li Lei, a Chinese artist. I opted for the latter, and decided to enjoy the former by simply taking a look at the view from my hotel window.

Photo: Alejandra de Argos. Pudong

Photo: Alejandra de Argos. Pudong

I arrived at the studio of sculptor and painter Li Lei (1965), where I was met by an explosion of colour coming directly from his paintings. Lei mixes a Western abstract style with the essence of Chinese culture. It ended up being a quick but very intense visit, however, it was not enough time to fully soak up this spiritual and poetic artist...

Photo: Alejandra de Argos

Photo: Alejandra de Argos

Photo: Alejandra de Argos

Photo: Alejandra de Argos