The Chinese contemporary arts scene has become highly visible on the international stage over the last two decades, with Chinese artists regularly making it into the biennales and auction houses. What does the scene look like from the ground though?
Shanghai has caught up fast with Beijing in terms of galleries and art institutions. Key figures in the city’s art scene today include Li Liang, founder of Eastlink Gallery, Zhou Tiehai who creates manipulated portraits, and Ding Yi with his pattern paintings. The maelstrom of globalization has internationalized the arts scene too, with gallerists Lorenz Helbling and Davide Quadrio hailing from Switzerland and Italy respectively. Shanghai Flaneur contemporary art walks are offered by German photographer Thomas Füsser.
Shanghai Flaneur Art expertise does not stop with contemporary knowledge, but ‘goes back’ to Ancient Chinese Art: Maja von dem Bongart offers an other art walk that centers around the Treasures of the Shanghai Museum, housing a collection of more than a million pieces of art objects. During this 2-hour tour Maja will introduce you to four different categories of ancient Chinese art (bronze, ceramics, sculpture and furniture). The tour starts with a general historical overview and shows selective representative exhibits in each gallery. It aims at providing a well-rounded introduction to the amazing and vast areas of the Chinese ancient art tradition.