A Turning Monent: Urban Narratives in Chinese Contemporary Art 1995-2019

Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art is pleased to announce the launch of A Turning Moment: Urban Narratives in Chinese Contemporary Art, 1995-2019 from October 18 to December 15, 2019. Curated by Azure Wu, the exhibition, featuring the intersection of public space and contemporary art practice, responds to Chinese contemporary art practice themed on urban streets since mid-1990s. During the exhibition period, contemporary art works covering painting, photography, video, sculpture and installation from 17 artists are slated to be on display both inside the museum and outside the museum, on Duolun Road. The exhibition is free to the public.

Themed as A Turning Moment, the exhibition focuses on the artists’ progressive journey through the city streets, walking and wandering. Showing the artists’ critical thinking on social environment, urban space and people, their works present individual and collective memories and experiences, and bring changes to everyday life.

In the 1990s, with the acceleration of China’s urbanization process, artists started to pay attention and explore urban public space. They have changed the way they used to perceive and intervene in public space and further expanded the scope of cultural and aesthetic expression. When art enters into places or territories where people are familiar with, streets not only keep the record of tracks of artistic concepts and practice changes but also become the witness of city development and public culture, which highlights the peculiarity and significance of community life. The exhibition attempts to build a bridge between museum and community, artist and public with art.

A special project called Archives of Dial 62761232, A Portable Exhibition will be introduced to the public at the same time, which is its first time to be presented in the domestic museum. BizArt initiated a special take-out exhibition in September, 2004, in which 42 artists as well as 15 deliverymen took part. During that exhibition, Shanghai citizens could call express company to ask a deliveryman to bring the exhibition in a suitcase. 15 years passing by, we will review the inspiring art project through archives of that year to show the artists’ unique vision and foresight in times of great change and redefine the relationship among art, public and the city. Great thanks to Shanghart Gallery for the literature files.

The exhibition will participate in the joint exhibition of 2019 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season and 1+16 Sharing Program of Museums and Citizens. Aiming to upgrade art aesthetic education, this event is part of an ongoing effort to constantly improve the internal aesthetic and humanistic quality of citizens.

We hope to attract more citizens to participate in the interaction through the art works of various kind, expanding thinking space for the development of Duolun Road. Perceiving the texture of contemporary cities, digging into details of modern life, stimulating creative thinking, here, artists and visitors are all modern city walkers, making it possible to reshape urban space and public life.