Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ai Weiwei (who helped design Beijing's new Olympic stadium but is not shy
to dismiss the whole event as propaganda for a brutal regime). Here you'll find
Huang Yan's now iconic photos of Chinese traditional landscapes painted over
human bodies.
Heading back out, go north to seek out ShangART (daily 10am-6pm;
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www.shangartgallery.com), housed in buildings 16 and 18.
Though the work is not well displayed - it tends to be propped against the walls
- the artists represented include big names such asYang Fudong (see box, p.134)
and Zhao Bandi, whose satirical photographs of himself with his toy panda
captured the public imagination when they were used in an advertising
campaign. While you're in the area, check out Zhang Minlou's studio , on the
first floor of building 18; the artist has covered his walls with huge murals of
figures and designs, referencing ancient Buddhist cave art.
Of the numerous photography galleries, half seem to show images of buildings
in states of demolition - Shanghai's relentless development offers plenty of
material to those heirs of romanticism who find ruins picturesque. The most
highly reputed such gallery is ArtSea , on the second floor of building 9 (Wed-
Sun 10am-6pm;
63593923,
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62278380). T he Bizart Centre , on the fourth floor of
building 7 (Mon-Sat 11am-6pm;
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www.biz-art.com), scores
highest for credibility; it's a not-for-profit operation that promotes Chinese and
foreign contemporary art, with an artist in residence programme. It doesn't
represent artists, but works with them, putting on themed shows, and is always
worth checking out.
You're probably all arted out now, so check out Timezone topics (see p.146),
on the right of the entrance for the latest glossy art tomes, and have a coffee at
the nearby Bandu café (see p.115).
62775358,
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Island 6
Inevitably, t he scene is spreading, a in d more galleries are opening in the area.
From 50 Moganshan Lu follow the street west, head north up the first alley, and
you come to a striking warehouse building standing alone on an abandoned
plot of land, against a backdrop of high rises - avant-garde venue Island 6
(
www.island6.org). The work on display is (usually) less dramatic than the
setting though.
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