Last Thursday I met up with my friends Christina Shmigel and Alexander Oleksyn (both American artists) for a full day of art in far flung places. Christina and I started this pseudo- tradition several years back when we realized there are just some places we would never visit alone and/or without a driver. This was back when art complexes started popping up all over the city: the eastern reaches of Yangpu district, the northern edge of Putuo, Pudong... you get the idea. 
    Our first stop was the Long Museum. I've written about the collection before (look out for my profile on Wang Wei in the upcoming issue of Art Asia Pacific) but it was a lot more fun viewing the works with friends, rather than with someone from the academic department (as I did the first time I went). Such gems like "We are all sharp shooters!", depicting cheerful women diligently cleaning their guns, went unnoticed on my first visit. 
    After a quick lunch in the food court of the World Financial Center (ramen!), we headed to Yangpu to visit Magda Danysz Gallery. Magda moved to this complex a few years back but I was never motivated to venture up here. And for good reason I guess. It was the tail end of their exhibition with Zhang Dali and Gael Davrinche. Why these two artists were paired up was totally lost on me. Zhang Dali has made a name for himself with his political works and public interventions. But here he seemed to have gone off the deep end. This is the first time I've seen his sculptural works and I really wish I had not seen them. I don't even think it's worth describing; I'll just post an image here:    

We also were given a sneak peak at their next show, an exhibition of Italian street art duo Stan Lex. Magda is really milking this street art thing for all its worth. If I see another stencil or graffiti-inspired text, I might have to put a hit on Banksy. I blame him for this current wave of mediocre street artists. 
    We made it back downtown for MoCA's current installment of +Follow, their yearly exhibition of young artists. Not as big as in previous years, this year's show, titled "Existence", features six artists (and one designer). The highlights for me were Gao Mingyan (consistently good), Liao Fei, and Su Chang. Gao had some lovely sketches on hand, something which I've never seen from him. Liao also had beautiful paintings which reminded me of Zhang Enli (never a bad thing). But Su Chang got me again with his architectural miniatures. I am such a sucker for shrunken objects! Most of the pieces were already shown at Don Gallery last year but it's always a pleasure to have them included in a show. I particularly love his façade of a typical Shanghai apartment building. 
    At this point, Alex had to leave us (art exhaustion) so Christina and I soldiered on to one final stop, a brief visit to James Cohan. The show was still being installed but we got the idea. Jessica Lin Cox from their New York gallery curated this one featuring artists from the Lower East Side. There wasn't much of a theme and the works did not relate to the neighborhood at all. Rather, it was a loose gathering of a group of artists that have made a community downtown. It wasn't a particularly dynamic selection of works but I did like Erica Baum's archival prints. This one was particularly lovely:

Christina and I were also blown away by Hilary Harnischfeger's geode-like objects. They look like a crystal had grown a rainbow of tumors. Even more impressive is that some of the growths are actually layers (and I mean LAYERS) of heavy stock colored paper that have been cut away to look like striations of rock. Beautiful!
    I really wanted to be in New York this week so this was a nice alternative. Spring is just around the corner so I expect to see many more new shows in the coming weeks. Check back soon for my take on it all!

Last week was the third edition of Art Stage Singapore, which is quickly nipping at the heels of Art Basel in Hong Kong and trying to grab a share of the Asian art market. I unfortunately could not attend but preliminary reports were positive. According to the Wall Street Journal, sales were up and galleries in general were happy with the turn out. Shanghai's own ShanghArt Gallery sold a piece from Ding Yi for $450,000! 
    Shanghai was relatively quiet as a result, save for a few new openings on the Bund at the Rockbund Art Museum (more on that later this week), Studio Rouge, and Pearl Lam Galleries. I did have an opportunity to speak to Wang Wei, founder and director of the new Long Museum in Pudong, in preparation for a piece I'm writing for Art Asia Pacific. An earlier visit to the museum with Rebecca Catching of OV Gallery left a positive impression on me so I was eager to find out more about the woman behind the ambitious space. 
    I'll quickly give a run down of what to expect if you visit the museum. There was much talk of her Chinese contemporary art collection so I was waiting to be impressed. But aside from a few early pieces from Geng Jianyi, Zhang Peili, and Zhou Chunya, there was no rhyme or reason to the collection. It was basically a who's who of the Chinese art market. All the major artists from the past twenty years were there but there were no major pieces. One can definitely tell that she "shops" for art rather than "collects".
    Once we got to the second floor, I was ready to change my mind about her. "Revolutionary Art Since the Yan'An Era: 1942 - 2009" is mind blowing in its breadth. There are staggering number of original propaganda oil and ink paintings, watercolors, and wood block prints. It's a remarkable collection especially in comparison the measly showing of historical propaganda art at the China Art Museum, which covers two small galleries. 
    The third floor comprised of traditional art, mostly ink paintings, that go back to the Song Dynasty (if I remember correctly). This collection is nothing compared to what you can find at the Shanghai Museum but they definitely spent proper money on installing the show. It's rare to see such professionalism in a museum in China. The highlights from this collection came towards the end, with a small gallery dedicated to several pieces by Qi Baishi (which I actually liked, although I'm not generally a fan). I can't imagine what those pieces are worth now!
    I'm going over my notes now for my AAP piece and still haven't figured out how to present the museum and the woman behind it. The task is made even more difficult when you factor in her second museum, which she plans to open later this year on this side of the river. Two museums in less than two years. This is going to be a tricky profile to write.   

For my inaugural post (which I should have done weeks ago!), I'm taking the easy route with a top ten list of my favorite shows in Shanghai in 2012.
10. Li Xiaofei, "Assembly Line" (OV Gallery, 07/28 - 09/03): Industrial landscapes are nothing new in art but this emerging artist's documentary style video works have a candidness and lyrical quality that humanizes the factory machine.
9. Paolo Pivi, "Share, but it's not Fair" (Rockbund Art Museum, 07/07 - 09/09): This solo show from the enigmatic Italian artist demonstrates that artists aren't always self-serious and humor-less cranks. Her It's a cocktail party
installation was an especially gleeful spectacle to witness.
8. Xu Bing, "Book from the Ground" (Shanghai Gallery of Art, 04/21 - 05/29): The iconic Chinese artist made quite the splash earlier this year with a book that attempted to revolutionize the way we "read". A beautiful extension of his "Book from the Sky" project. 
7. Zhang Ding, "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" (TOP Contemporary Art Center, 06/02 - 07/15): Zhang Ding puts a whole new spin on this traditional and extraordinarily complex banquet dish with an equally complex installation and performance. 
6. Chen Wei, "More" (Leo Xu Projects, 06/03 - 08/05): This Beijing-based artist proves once again why he's the Chinese photographer to watch with new works on eerie interiors composed with a painterly eye.
5. Shen Fan, "Landscape 9210" (ShanghArt Gallery H-Space, 04/15 - 05/15): Shen Fan continues to explore innovative approaches to traditional landscape painting with a multi-media installation that's more creative and thought
provoking than that of works from artists half his age. 
4. Bill Viola, "Unspoken" (James Cohan Gallery, 03/09 - 05/06): Some may take issue with me putting this show so high on the list but it's exhilarating when Shanghai is treated to a heavy hitter like Viola. Viewers were able to see his monumental works on a more intimate scale. 
3. Geng Jianyi, "Wu Zhi - 1985 - 2008" (Minsheng Art Museum, 09/07 - 10/12): Last year, there was the Zhang Peili retrospective at the museum. It's only natural that this year, Zhang's partner in 1980s avant-garde hijinks would also be given a special look. Undoubtedly influential, Geng Jianyi's work is still fresh.  
2. 9th Shanghai Biennale: Reactivitation (Power Station of Art, 10/02/2012 - 03/31/2013): Say what you will about the Shanghai Biennale, this year was arguably the best since 2000. The new space impresses (despite the fluorescent lights and ugly escalators) and there was something for everyone. It's still on so don't miss your chance to see the best international exhibition in Shanghai. And if you missed it the first time around, read what I had to say about the Biennale here and here. 
1. Yang Fudong, "Quote out of Context" (OCT Art Terminal, 09/29 - 01/03/2013): This wasn't a complete retrospective of everyone's favorite Chinese video artist but there was just enough to demonstrate why Yang Fudong is a critical darling and a potent voice of a generation. A definite highlight of this astounding show was One Half of August, which gives a whole new perspective to his film series Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest.