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The best art exhibitions in Shanghai now

teamLab Borderless, Centre Pompidou Shanghai, the Birth of Beaux-Arts, HUGO BOSS Asia Art and more...

By Yu Zhiming Posted: Tuesday October 29 2019

Photograph: courtesy teamLab Borderless Shanghai

With the upcoming opening of teamLab Borderless Shanghai and Centre Pompidou Shanghai on West Bund, the November art scene is filled with anticipation. The same amount of enthusiasm goes to The Birth of Beaux-Arts at Shanghai Museum in cooperation with National Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. If contemporary Asian art is your cup of tea, check out Three Souls Seven Spirits by Yang Jiechang at Minsheng Art Museum and HUGO BOSS Asia Art at Rockbund Art Museum. Read on for the exhibitions you shouldn’t miss this season.

Wild Metropolis

Curated by Chinese contemporary artist Xu Zhen, this edgy exhibition brings together international contemporary artists, musician and designers under the unifying theme 'borderless' with a total of 40 art works including installations, behavioural art, video art, media art, digital art and experimental music.

Powerlong Museum , 3055 Caobao Road Every day except Monday

The Birth of Beaux-Arts

From Baroque art in the 17th century to Rococo in the 18th and from Neoclassical art after the Enlightenment to Romanticism under the reign of Napoleon, this new exhibition features over 80 masterpieces from the collection of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Paris, most of which will be exhibited for the first time in China.

Shanghai Museum , 201 People's Avenue Every day except Monday

Ocean II Ocean

In this exhibition, TANK Shanghai unites French artist Cyprien Gaillard's three latest works including the film Ocean II Ocean, which debuted at the 2019 Venice Biennale. From metro stations in Russia and fossilised matter to the archival footage of subway cars at the bottom of the ocean, the film explores the themes of erosion in a physical, historical and cultural sense.

TANK Shanghai , 2350 Longteng Avenue Every day except Monday

HUGO BOSS Asia Art 2019

Selected for the new and diverse narratives that their works bring to the contemporary Asian art scene, Rockbund Art Museum displays pieces from four finalists (all of them born after 1985) of the fourth HUGO BOSS Asia Art Award. This year’s finalists include Hao Jingban (Mainland China), Hsu Che-Yu (Taiwan), Eisa Jocson (Philippines) and Thảo-Nguyên Phan (Vietnam). The winner will be announced on Wednesday 4 November.

Rockbund Art Museum , 20 Huqiu Lu Every day except Monday

Victor Hugo: The Heart of Genius

The Pearl Art Museum, in cooperation with Maisons de Victor Hugo Paris, presents a total of 200 items that include paintings and sculptures by Hugo and illustrations by his contemporaries – think masterpieces such as Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Misérables and Ninety-Three. Together with photographs, books, personal letters and home decor, the exhibition gives viewers a comprehensive view of the life and work of France's most prominent literary figure.

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Bob Dylan Retrospectrum

Bob Dylan: Retrospectrum contains more than 300 mementos from the musician's life, including oil paintings, sculptures, handwritten lyrics, sketches and manuscripts dating as far back as the 1960s. In addition to a successful music career, Dylan also proved to have a knack for art, with some of his paintings appearing on the covers of several of his albums, including Self Portrait (1970) and Planet Waves (1974). His artwork has been exhibited in museums around the world as well as in published art books under his name.

Modern Art Museum Shanghai (Yicang) , 4700 Binjiang Avenue Every day except Monday

NOWNESS Experiments: The Mesh

This edgy video group exhibition features solo projects from American video art pioneer Bill Viola and London-based experimental art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast, as well as other video projects under D.E.E.P that explore the inter-disciplinary nature of the way we study our world.

chi K11 Art Museum , 300 Huaihai Zhong Lu 08 Nov - 13 Dec

Prada Rongzhai pres Li Qing: Rear Windows

Rear Windows presents paintings and installations by the Shanghai- and Hangzhou-based artist Lin Qing, including his most famous series 'Neighbour's Window' – paintings of famous colonial architecture of Shanghai framed in old wooden windows, an interesting play on the past and present, inside and outside, looking and being looked at.

Prada Rong Zhai , No. 186 Shaanxi Bei Lu 07 Nov - 09 Jan