Minsheng Art Museum, in contrast to Rockbund Art Museum, has a poorly put together show, with horrifying curation of a collection of works (some important, some not) from name-brand artists like Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Yue Minjun, Xu Bing, Liu Xiaodong, and more. The title is ambitious, called "Thirty Years of Chn Contemporary Art", meant to show how contemporary Chn art has evolved since 1979. But there's barely any sense to how the works are put together (except that its in chronological order?!), the works are poorly lit, there's hardly any curator's note to the different sections, and the security guards are chatting among themselves.
There's 4 young persons sitting at reception, who didnt even bother to stop their conversation when people come in to buy tickets (which is RMB20, vs the RMB15 that RAM charges) for the show. I have come to learn that unattentive staff with no interest in artworks is a tell-tale sign of a badly-run space - I have seen plenty of those in 798, and also Shanghai. In contrast with RAM's staff who dont just stand there, but can actually explained the thinking behind the works (even UCCA's ones dont do that, they just stand there and make sure you dont take photos - you can see I am a growing fan of RAM). OK there's one thing that intrigued - I saw a Xu Bing, from 1996, a triptych of his invented Chn words printed on 3 panels, 2.5x1 metres of old newspapers. I like that....!
The area Red Town is interesting though - there are some really dreadful outdoor sculptures, and lots of low quality galleries, but I'd say its better to have an area like this than not? In fact the most interesting tenants are not the art related ones, its the various cafes, Joyce Warehouse, Interbrand, etc. I guess art (even bad art?) helps sell the concept?
1 comment:
Yes I went too, poorly curated. Such a waste. Only thing I confirmed is that Xu Bing is really a star when juxtaposition with others.
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