“Flavus Kissing Rubeus”, Emma Stone-Johnson ,Ink, Pigment and Acrylic on Canvas, Asia Art Centre
“23-45,” Chen Qiang, Oil on Linen, Matthew Liu Fine Arts
Two art fairs, West Bund Art & Design and ART021 Contemporary Art Fair, widely regarded as the best in Asia, open today in town.
Both of them will run until November 12.
Galleries, artists, private collectors, and art enthusiasts from all over the world participate at the West Bund Art & Design and ART021 Contemporary Art Fair, the premier events of the 5th Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week.
“As far as I know, many overseas collectors are flying to Shanghai, and the hotels near the venue are booked,” said Zhou Dawei, one of the founding members of ART021. “We are expecting a ‘hot scene with crowds.'”
Running at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, one of the city’s most recognizable structures featuring Russian classical architecture, ART021 occupies around 80,000 square meters of space.
This year’s fair has set a record for both the number of participating galleries and its overall size. It has attracted 150 domestic and international galleries, which have brought a diverse range of 10,000 artworks to the exhibition.
ART021 is divided into four sections: Main Galleries, Approach, Special Projects, and Beyond, with the stated goal of “originating locally, serving globally.”
“This year, nearly 70 percent of the participating galleries are from China,” said Zhou. “Besides the galleries from big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, we also provide a kaleidoscope of galleries in Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, Xinjiang and Chengdu.”
The 11th edition of ART021 welcomes back world-renowned galleries such as David Zwirner and White Cube.
“We would like to differentiate our image from other art fairs in the city,” Zhou said, adding that “very often visitors would find the same galleries appearing at both fairs. The overlapping will be reduced this year.”
The APPROACH section, for example, focuses on emerging galleries and young artists. It’s also unusual to find nine overseas galleries from “One Belt and One Road” countries, including DIO HORIA in Athens, LAZY MIKE in Latvia, and PA Gallery in Moscow.
In the BEYOND segment, seven public artworks are scattered throughout the exhibition area. Alina Chaiderov’s stainless steel sculpture raises an ongoing question regarding the interaction between humans and space. Zhang Zhanzhan’s three-meter-tall pink-hued rabbit sculpture would undoubtedly be the first focal point before entering the venue.
The SPECIAL PROGRAM features a variety of activities and events produced by auction houses, art publishers, studios, and museums.
“Tree of Life, Muscles,” David Salle, 2023, © David Salle_VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. – Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London.
“2019.01-01,” by Yu Youhan, 2019, © ShanghART Gallery
In tandem with ART021, 2023 West Bund Art & Design has also extended its exhibition area.
For the first time, it will occupy four venues, including Hall A and Hall B of the West Bund Art Center, the West Bund Dome, and ORBIT, and take up a total area of 30,000 square meters. It has attracted 171 exhibitors.
West Bund Art & Design, founded in 2014, quickly established itself as a prominent trade platform for galleries and collectors worldwide, with a select line-up of galleries and a diversified spectrum of art projects.
AIKE, Hauser & Wirth, Ota Fine Arts, Pace Gallery, ShanghART Gallery, White Space, and White Cube are among the prominent galleries exhibiting for the tenth year in a row. Visitors will be ecstatic to see pieces by Yayoi Kusama, Julio le Parc, Joel Shapiro, Damien Hirst, and Ugo Rondinone, all heavyweight names in the worldwide contemporary art field.
ARARIO Gallery, MASSIMODECARLO, Dong Gallery, Gagosian, GLADSTONE, and Hive Center are among the notable galleries from Europe, the United States, and Asia that have participated in the fair for over five years.
This year, the exhibition will welcome 54 first-time exhibitors from China, South Korea, France, the United States, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Leopold Fine Arts (LFA), a century-old European art family based in Vienna, will exhibit for the first time at West Bund Art & Design.
“We are excited to be part of the 10th edition of Westbund Art & Design. For me, Shanghai’s unique atmosphere is built upon the mixture of a Western and a Chinese cultural essence, with a palpable curiosity towards the new. Certainly, we hope to reach a significant number of young collectors here who have an international vision and also value the quality of their collections,” said Nikolaus Leopold, founder of Leopold Fine Arts.
The LFA will showcase masterpieces by world-renowned painters such as Egon Schiele (1890–1918), Gustav Klimt, and Oskar Kokoschka, as well as a canvas by Chinese artist Mianhua, the gallery’s first Chinese artist this year.
“We hope to see some museum-quality works finding their way into private museums or collections in Shanghai and beyond,” Leopold said.
ART021 Contemporary Art Fair
VIP Preview:
November 9, 1pm–8pm
November 10, 1pm-8pm
Public Preview:
Date: November 11, 12, 11am–6pm
Venue: Shanghai Exhibition Center
Admission:150 yuan, ticket can only be purchased at www.damai.cn
Address: 1000 Yan’an Rd.M
延安中路1000号
West Bund Art & Design
VIP Preview:
November 9, 1pm–7pm
November 10, 12–1pm
Public Preview:
Date: November 10, 1pm–6pm
November 11, 12:00 – 6pm
November12, 12:00 – 6pm (last entry 5pm)
Address:Hall A and Hall B of West Bund Art Center, 2555 LongTeng Ave.
West Bund Dome, 2350 LongTeng Ave. ORBIT, 3299 LongTeng Ave.
Admission: 200 yuan, tickets has to be purchased on WeChat program 西岸艺术设计博览会
