Sh Contemporary
And the show must go on. Despite the conspicuous absence of last year's director, Geneva-based wheeler art-dealer Pierre Huber, China's only international contemporary art fair will make its second annual appearance at Shanghai's Exhibition Center.
Two years ago, 130 galleries from more than 20 countries lined the many halls of the center's extravaganza. The irony of hosting a massive display of decadent contemporary art in the sprawling palace gifted by the Soviets to China in 1954 is hard to miss. Despite the obvious incongruities, "Shanghai Art Fair International Contemporary Art Exhibition" offers a chance to explore the influence of China's tumultuous history on modern society through the works of Chinese artists, as well get a glimpse of what artists are doing outside of the Middle Kingdom.
Last year, pieces from around the world lined the gauche halls of the "Palace of Sino-Soviet Friendship" as locals and expatriates combed the exhibitor's stalls and cubicles examining works ranging from insipid to inspired. Although works by foreign artists ran the gamut, Chinese artists tended to gravitate towards a well-worn theme: the transition from radical egalitarianism to free-market capitalism. Are artistic attempts to deal with the trauma of the Cultural Revolution cathartic or trite? Only time will tell.
