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The best art exhibitions in Shanghai now

Victor Hugo, Dave Persue, Daniel Arsham, Junya Ishigami and more...

By Yu Zhiming Posted: Monday August 5 2019

Photograph: Sim Canetty-Clarke © Mark Bradford, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
The craziest of the summer heat seems to be gone, but the art scene is still hot. This season, we've got a comprehensive exhibit about the French writer Victor Hugo, a big showcase by New York-based street artist Dave Persue and a futuristic exhibition by Daniel Arsham. Read on for the exhibitions you shouldn’t miss this season.
Ni Youyu

Ni Youyu

Yuz Museum presents an exhibition of young Shanghai-based artist Ni Youyu, whose works (he calls them ‘de-temporary creations’) feel like three-dimensional collages that he assembled from objects representing a different time and space altogether – think relics of Greek temples, the back of a sculpture or old-fashioned toys arranged in a wooden cabinet. The exhibition will showcase new works from the artist during the past decade that attempted to challenge contemporary visual habits.

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Yuz Museum , 35 Fenggu Lu Every day except Monday
Over and Over Again

Over and Over Again

Powerlong Museum’s new exhibition Over and Over Again is a collection of futuristic and multimedia works created by MOTSE Gallery Studio, a new media art collective whose members consist of artists and scientists. Through a total of 17 artworks that span from interactive projections and sculptures to installation arts, the group aims to capture the emotions commonly shared by people living in a metropolitan city, particularly desire and greed.

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Powerlong Museum , 3055 Caobao Road Every day except Monday
Junya Ishigami: Freeing Architecture

Junya Ishigami: Freeing Architecture

Shanghai’s Power Station of Art and the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain present the first exhibition in China of Japanese architect Junya Ishigami. Originally exhibited in Paris in 2018 and redesigned for PSA, the exhibition showcases 20 groups of architectural projects of the artist around the globe. Junya Ishigami was born in 1974 in Kanagawa Prefecture and is famous for his unwillingness to succumb to traditional architectural forms and naturalistic methods of expression.

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Power Station of Art , 200 Huayuangang Lu Every day except Monday
Duet: A Tan Ping Retrospective

Duet: A Tan Ping Retrospective

Yuz Museum presents a retrospective featuring the work of Tan Ping, one of the most important figures in the Chinese contemporary art scene. From oil paintings that extend way off the canvas to a woodcut work that resulted from carving a single line for six hours, the exhibition is a duet between art forms Tan has attempted to master over the course of his career.

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Yuz Museum , 35 Fenggu Lu Every day except Monday
Silhouette of the Sea

Silhouette of the Sea

This exhibition at K11 aims to educate the general public on marine matters, with an immersive audio-visual installation about underwater cities, films made by professional divers and more.

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chi K11 Art Museum , 300 Huaihai Zhong Lu 10 Aug - 13 Oct Buy tickets
Wet Paint Shanghai

Wet Paint Shanghai

After wowing street art lovers in New York, Miami and Tokyo, iconic graffiti artist Dave Persue comes to Shanghai for an exhibition of his famous ‘Wet Paint’ series, together with his doodles of Bunny Kitty (the cat in a rabbit costume) that have since become a symbol of New York counter-cultural street art. Dave Persue will also hold a book signing from 2-3pm on Wed 14 and Thu 15 to greet his Shanghai fans.

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Mark Bradford: Los Angeles

Mark Bradford: Los Angeles

Long Museum West Bund presents the largest exhibition to date in China of the contemporary African American artist Mark Bradford, titled Los Angeles. The exhibition sees the artistic evolution of Bradford over the past decade and his treatment of themes from contemporary American culture. Known for his penchant for using scavenged materials for wall-sized collage works, Bradford's works deal with issues such as immigration, civil unrest, the AIDS epidemic and systemic, institutionalised racism in the United States.

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Long Museum West Bund , 3398 Longteng Avenue Every day except Monday
Daniel Arsham: Perpetual Present

Daniel Arsham: Perpetual Present

The first exhibition in China from New York-based artist Daniel Arsham, this dreamy exhibition shows the artist’s recent sculptures, as well as a few pieces conceived specifically for the space. Based on what he calls the ‘concept of fictional archaeology’, Arsham’s work evokes romanticism and pop art and leaves the viewer in the surreal space between the past and the future.

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An Opera for Animals

An Opera for Animals

Rockbund Art Museum, in partnership with Shanghai and Para Site, Hong Kong presents An Opera for Animals, a show that explores the Eurocentrism of Western opera and draws a parallel between acts of staging in opera to the construction of the ‘alternative truths' in the world of technology. Think the world of 'fake news', selfies and Internet trolls. 

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Rockbund Art Museum , 20 Huqiu Lu Every day except Monday
Yoshitaka Amano: Fantasy in Daylight

Yoshitaka Amano: Fantasy in Daylight

The creator behind Speed Racer, G-Force and video game franchise Final Fantasy, Yoshitaka Amano is a master that blends the boundary of fine art and Japanese ACG (anime, comic and games). The exhibition will show the full spectrum of Amano’s career, with nearly 200 original paintings, 32 newly created large-scale hand drawings, five animated films and the 'Shanghai Girl' series created exclusively for this exhibition.

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