Date: Thursday 20 July 2017
Talk: 19:00-20:30
Doors open: 18:45
Location: ROZENSTRAAT, Rozenstraat 59, Amsterdam
Language: English
Entrance: Free
Reservation required – RSVP: rsvp@mondriaanfonds.nl
The Mondriaan Fund is delighted to present, in collaboration with project space ROZENSTRAAT – a rose is a rose is a rose, a talk by Chen Che, curator of the HOW Art Museum in Shanghai and Wenzhou, China. Chen Che will talk about the development and the changes of the private art museums in Shanghai over the last 4 to 5 years. Both looking at the How Art Museum and the typical place this museums takes within the museums in Shanghai.
On a global scale, private art museums have become an indispensable platform for art shows and art education. The importance and influence of private art museums in the global art landscape is undeniable. The quality of artworks displayed and the shows curated rival or even surpass institutional exhibitions, often being recognized not only locally but also on an international art level, especially in the field of contemporary art. The number of visitors attending private museums often equals public institutions. Private museums are running, in a number of cases, full-fledged academic programs, launching publications, and offering artist-in-residencies. Despite the increase in private museums, the surge of press headlines regarding these new buildings—such as “China is building thousands of new museums” or “A museum in every mall?” it has hard to fully grasp what is happening.
HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) covers 7000 m2, is located in Pudong New District of Shanghai and will open to the public in July 2017. The museum will have multiple functions including a contemporary art collection, exhibitions, research and education. The museum will focus on both local and international artists, art institutions and projects in order to create international exchange and to promote the development of Chinese contemporary art in a global context.
HOW Art Museum was founded by Mister Zheng Hao in 2012. Mister Yun Cheagab was appointed director of HOW Art Museum in November of the same year. HOW Art Museum consists of two museums: HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) and HOW Art Museum-Wenzhou. HOW Art Museum-Wenzhou opened to public in 2013 and has held more than 20 art exhibitions, including: 1.62M: Lin Tianmiao Solo, Misinterpret: Zhou Xiaohu Solo, Chinese Expression, The Moment We Awe: Contemporary Art from Korea, Tour Exhibition in China’s Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, HOW NOW • Chinese Young Artists Collective Exhibition, and Face-book. Meanwhile, HOW Art Museum develops extensive cooperation with other arts and cultural institutions and co-organizes significant exhibitions, such as Social Sculpture: Beuys in China.
The HOW Art Museum collection consists of over 2000 works including: painting, sculpture, installation, and new media. Some important artists in the collection are Joseph Beuys, Damien Hirst, Markus Lüpertz, Anish Kapoor, Darren Almond, Carsten Nicolai, Yayoi Kusama, Chun Kwang Young, Xu Bing, Zhang Xiaogang, Lin Tianmiao, Zhang Huan, and Ai Weiwei.
As part of his research Chen Che will visit The Netherlands as guest in the Mondriaan Fundvisitors program between 17 and 21 July 2017. With a view to promoting art from the Netherlands abroad, the Mondriaan Fund organizes special visitors programs for foreign visual art professionals. Visitors programs are organized for curators and other professionals to offer greater insight into contemporary visual arts from the Netherlands and to strengthen international ties and promote the exchange of ideas.