Looks Can Be Deceiving Guoqiang: Odyssey and Homecom- Says Nouvel
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CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, July 16, 2021 | 17 LIFE SHANGHAI ince its opening on July 8, safety. Standing in the roof garden, the Museum of Art Pudong people can appreciate the urban has been packed to capacity landscape all around them.” every day. Designed by Touted as a museum for the Srenowned French architecture firm future, MAP is equipped with state- Ateliers Jean Nouvel, MAP has a dai- of-the-art facilities that allow it to ly crowd limit of 4,000. showcase the most precious art- Long lines can be found outside works and cultural relics from the museum every morning before around the world, Chen adds. the official opening at 10 am. Due to One of the most impressive spa- the overwhelming summer heat, the ces within MAP is the X Hall located museum staff have at times even in the center of the museum. Unlike opened the gates earlier to offer traditional exhibition spaces, this some reprieve to the elderly and vis- hall has a height of 34 meters that itors with special need. spans from the underground level Located next to the Oriental Pearl to the fourth story. Tower in the heart of Lujiazui, the The ongoing exhibition at this hall 13,000-square-meter museum has is by well-known Chinese artist Cai become a new landmark in Shang- Guoqiang, who created an installa- hai’s cultural scene. Its inaugural tion to suit this unique space. exhibitions have also been popular Titled Encounter With the among museumgoers. Unknown, the kinetic light instal- In a recent interview with Shang- lation was inspired by the nature- hai-based Wenhui Daily, French based cosmology of the Mayan architect Jean Nouvel said that he civilization and was a result of “a decided the new museum should boy’s fantasy for the space, with “belong” to both the Lujiazui area aliens, UFOs, and gravity-defying and the Huangpu River rather than dreams”, says the 64-year-old art- compete for prominence in the ist from Quanzhou of Fujian urban skyline as there are already province. several notable skyscrapers in the MAP director Zhu Yaping says that areas. she wanted the museum to be “the MAP was designed to look like a first stop in China for all internation- large white marble block sitting by ally acclaimed artists, and a place all the river. The lack of border walls Chinese artists would hate to miss”. separating the museum and the riv- Zhu visited Cai’s studio in New York a er bank means that the venue will few years ago and convinced him to have many opportunities to interact present his large-scale exhibition Cai with the river and nearby spaces, Looks can be deceiving Guoqiang: Odyssey and Homecom- says Nouvel. ing at the museum’s opening. The You Xudong, an architecture exhibition features 119 of Cai’s signa- observer and critic, compared Nou- ture gunpowder works as well as his vel’s design of MAP with his other The Museum of Art Pudong may lack the ‘wow’ factor of nearby structures but it is first virtual reality work, Sleepwalk- works in China, such as a new opera much more than initially meets the eye, Zhang Kun reports. ing in the Forbidden City. house in Shenzhen of Guangdong Other inaugural exhibitions are province, and The Roof, a new mall Light: Works From Tate’s Collection, on Madang Road in Shanghai. ing their functions, efficiency, quali- windows that reflect the sights of and Joan Miro: Women, Birds, While most of Nouvel’s other crea- ty of the exhibition space and inte- the river and the Bund while also Stars. A special showcase of Ophelia tions are bold and impressive, MAP gration with the urban landscaping allowing people to view the art by British artist Everett Millais, looks “ordinary and even boring at instead of aiming to become anoth- shows being held within, thus creat- which features the painting as well first sight”, he says. er landmark, explains You. ing a fourth dimension that tran- as the immortal character in Shake- You also points out that other “As the city’s aesthetics become scends the museum space and speare’s play Hamlet and its cultural museums in Shanghai feature simi- mature, a large number of Shang- architecture, says Nouvel. relevance during the time of its crea- lar designs that are “ordinary and hai’s newly completed cultural The museum has a total of 13 tion, is also taking place at MAP. regular”. architecture are repurposed indus- “white box” showrooms, which give Tate Museum of the United King- “If you have paid attention to trial heritage sites,” he wrote. “These visitors more freedom to see differ- dom is the operations consultant and China’s public culture and art buildings keep alive the city’s histo- ent shows in their chosen order and partner for MAP. Neil McConnon, news, you would find that Shang- ry, and achieve a better economic pace. Other amenities include a cafe, director of international partner- hai has become China’s cultural effect.” an art shop, a library, an education ships at Tate, says: “The exhibition center today,” he wrote in an essay. Chen Chen, director of Atelier Jean center, a roof garden and a pedestri- Light is the culmination of several “The latest heavyweight public Nouvel in China, says that the French an path connected to the public years of collaboration with col- cultural events, those of the greatest architect does not stick to a particu- sightseeing platform along the leagues across Tate and MAP. It is market appeal, will first land in lar style, but instead responds to the Huangpu River. According to Chen, exciting to see this world-class insti- Shanghai, while visiting exhibitions surroundings and locations. these features intended to make the tution being realized and demon- and museums is now a part of daily The design of MAP may look sim- experience more convenient and strates the importance and impact of life. Shanghai has the greatest cul- ple, but it actually consists of rich pleasant for visitors. international cultural and artistic tural consumption in the whole details and boasts a poetic maneu- Top: Visitors to Cai Guoqiang’s exhibition Odyssey and Homecoming “People can stroll around the exchange.” country.” vering of natural light, Chen says. at the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai. museum structure unobstructed,” Because of this, the city’s cultural For example, the two halls in MAP Above: Designed by French architect firm Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the Chen says. “Nothing keeps people Contact the writer at structures have turned to prioritiz- facing the river feature large glass museum is another Shanghai landmark. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY outside, and no vehicle affects their [email protected] Left: Kinetic light installation, Encounter With the Unknown, by Cai Guoqiang. Second left: Ophelia, oil painting by John Everett Millais. Third left: The gunpowder painting, Frolicking on Ice in the Galaxy, by Cai, and a replica of an ancient scroll that inspired Cai to create the piece attract attention. Right: Poplars on the Epte by Claude Monet. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Artistic exploration examines importance of trees By ZHANG KUN in Shanghai trees in 2004. Four of these crea- tions, each measuring 3 meters wide An ongoing exhibition at the Pow- and 2.5 meters high, are on display er Station of Art has brought togeth- at the show. er artists, botanists and To the 56-year-old, the four paint- philosophers to tell about their ings of trees are like portraits of the bonds with trees, one of the oldest elderly: The twisted trunks and living organisms on the planet. branches without leaves seem to Trees, an exhibition jointly pre- have personalities, with their life sented by PSA, Shanghai’s official stories to tell. museum of contemporary art, and Another artist whose works are the Fondation Cartier pour l’art con- on show is Hu Liu, a Beijing-based temporain, runs from July 9 to Oct painter who mainly focuses on 10. It showcases more than 200 plants. The 39-year-old meticulous- works by more than 30 artists that ly fills her illustrations of plants highlight the beauty and biological with black pencil shading. With complexity of trees, while remind- complicated lines and strokes she ing the public about the environ- Left: Artist Zhang Enli has four paintings on show at the Trees exhibition in the Power Station of Art in Shanghai. Right: Italian architect constructs the spatial order of the mental problems that pose a serious Stefano Boeri’s creation of a kinetic model is featured at the exhibition. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY subjects. While her imagery is accu- threat to their survival. rate, the atmosphere is poetic, with The exhibition first took place in a tint of mystery. Paris in 2019, and was one of the Bruce Albert, a French anthropolo- Also featured at the exhibition is display. The exhibition shows a According to Gong Yan, director most popular shows at the Fonda- If you go gist who spoke to audiences in landscaping designer Stefano Boeri. kinetic model that Boeri developed, of PSA, this is the third time the sta- tion Cartier, a private cultural insti- Shanghai via video conference at the The Italian architect and urban which illustrates the different strat- tion has joined hands with the Fon- tution founded in 1984. exhibition’s opening on July 8. planner in 2014 built the Vertical egies of creating forest cities accord- dation Cartier pour l’art Trees Scientists found that trees and oth- Albert spent years in South Amer- Forest, two residential towers with ing to the different geological and contemporain.